Members of Kátł’odeeche First Nation voted in a new chief in an election held on Thursday.
Elaine Auger won 129 votes and opponent Ken Norn received 80.
“I am still trying to take it in, it’s just a little bit overwhelming,” said Auger on Friday morning.
Auger will take over from April Martel, who announced in October that she wouldn’t be running again. In a post on Facebook, Martel said it was “time for me to rest, go back to school and heal from all the traumas.”
In recent years, KFN faced flooding that took out multiple buildings in the community, followed by a summer of intense wildfire.
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Auger previously sought the role of chief in 2021 but was disqualified from the race because she hadn’t lived in the community for two years. In 2022, a by-election was held after an independent adjudicator found that the residency rule disqualifying Auger from the 2021 election was unfair.
Auger lost that by-election to Martel by four votes.
In her term as chief, Auger says she’ll prioritize improving transparency with community members, implementing more drug and alcohol programs, and offering more services for youth and Elders.
She said she would like to build more community engagement, something she said had been lacking due to Covid, flood and fire.
“I’m working on getting more community together and getting community members involved in helping with the programs and services,” said Auger.
“Most of all, I want to get feedback from the community members as to what it is they want to see moving forward.”
