Wesley Sam and Pauline Goertzen were nominated for the position of chief for the Burns Lake Band (BLB) in Burns Lake (Ts'il Kaz Koh First Nation). And yesterday the official election was held with Wesley Sam winning with 45 votes to Goertzen's 32 votes.
Sam is a former elected band councillor, Village of Burns Lake councillor, BLB member, and local business owner.
All registered band members, both on and off reserve, were eligible to vote.
The position of chief for the Burns Lake Band was vacated on Dec. 31, 2013 when then Chief Albert Gerow resigned from his position citing the desire to pursue other opportunities.
Gerow was in his second term as chief when he resigned. His tenure was marked with controversy surrounding on-reserve band members who challenged his leadership. Burns Lake Band's bi-election for chief was held yesterday.
See next week's edition of Lakes District News for more on this story.