Harper trails Sutherland by 85 votes
At approximately 11:15 p.m. Ward 1 candidate Ward Sutherland grabbed the microphone as nervous supporters and family gathered around.
“It’s going to be a late late night for our campaign,” said a somber Sutherland.
Sutherland finished 85 votes ahead of rival Chris Harper, but neither was ready to concede defeat in the face of an impending recount.
Harper socializes with supporters during his campaign.
Photo courtesy of Chris Harper
At 12:10 a.m. Chris Harper confirmed with his supporters that a recount was very likely.
The crowd went from happily chatting to complete silence and the devastation was apparent.
Shortly after, Harper added, “If we finish under 100 votes difference, then it is an automatic recount. We’re behind 81 right now.”
For Sutherland’s part, he feels he’s done all he can do to appeal to voters during a neck and neck campaign.
“It was a tough battle,” Sutherland said. “Like my brother said, we’re not politicians and we ran the campaign and Harper had a machine behind him and we did pretty good for being two brothers.”
Sutherland is hoping a recount goes his way.
Photo courtesy of Facebook“We ran a clean campaign and we’re very proud of that.”
As the night came to a close, Sutherland gave emotional praise to his brother and campaign manager Dane after which the two embraced.
Exhausted and worn out, Sutherland and his campaign staff know the fight will go on a little longer, hoping it will all be worth it in the end.
By 12:40 a.m. Harper announced that he would be leaving his headquarters at the University of Calgary and ensured his supporters that he would demand a recount.