WATSON — Jeffery Turchyn has been elected councillor for the Town of Watson, passing Judy R. Schmid by six votes.
Turchyn, a local taekwondo coach and full-time paramedic, said he’s hoping to bring a younger perspective to council and find a way to brighten up Watson. This is the 31-year-old’s first political position.
“I’m just excited for the opportunity,” he said. “I’m just interested in getting involved in the community a little bit more, trying to get into hopefully a bigger voice in the community.”
The election held on Oct. 13 had 45 votes cast for Turchyn and 39 for Schmid. The position was previously held by Rene Beaudry, who stepped down for personal reasons.
Lani Best, Watson’s administrator, said that while the turnout was low, they felt that was a little bit understandable.
“With normal elections every single municipality is doing it so you get a lot more publicity, and for a byelection it’s only us doing it so not quite as much chatter about elections at that time,” Best said. “It is harder to get people out.”
