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Crane to lead experienced Diamond Valley council

Voters opted for experience as all seven members of the new Diamond Valley council currently hold seats in either Turner Valley or Black Diamond.
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Jonathan Gordon, left, and Barry Crane at Oilfields School in Black Diamond on Nov. 28.

Results of the Diamond Valley election show that experience carried the day. 

Barry Crane has been elected as the first mayor of the soon-to-be incorporated Town of Diamond Valley. 

He received 1,084 votes to easily outdistance challenger Randy Williamson, who received 128 votes. Unofficial results of the Diamond Valley election were posted after polls closed on Nov. 28. 

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the results,” Crane said. “What’s really exciting about the results is you have an even represented council of three and three from Black Diamond and Turner Valley.

“This speaks greatly for our collaboration and making sure that we move together as one.” 

As mayor, Crane will be working with familiar faces, as everybody elected to Diamond Valley council currently serves on the municipal government of either Black Diamond or Turner Valley. 

“I think having the incumbents back at the council table is a good thing at this point,” Crane said. 

Six councillors and one mayor were elected to form the incoming Diamond Valley council. 

Everyone is up to speed on the history and the conversations that have taken place, and the extensive workload that is on administrators' desks to keep moving ahead, Crane said.

Jonathan Gordon, Cindy Holladay, Brendan Kelly, Veronica Kloiber, Hazel Martin and Heather Thomson were elected as councillors. 

Currently serving as mayor of Black Diamond, Kelly ran for councillor in this election and with 979 votes, received the most electoral support of the 11 that sought seats on council.

Kelly said he was expecting mixed emotions after running for a councillor’s seat but is happy with his decision. 

“But at the end of the day, I'm very happy with the decision that I made to run for council," he said.

Kelly said the election results show the victorious candidates have earned the trust of residents to carry on the work of amalgamating.

“The results speak for themselves,” Kelly said. “They trust the councillors and the mayor that they've elected.” 

Residents spoke loud and clear that they wanted to have experience at the table moving into this historic amalgamation, Thomson said. 

“I noticed right away that the majority of the new council is women, right, which says a lot to me,” Thomson said. 

A current Black Diamond councillor, Thomson spent 10 years as legislative services manager for the Town of Turner Valley and has served stints as interim chief administrative officer for the Town. 

Holladay, current deputy mayor of Turner Valley, said residents know what the elected candidates stand for. 

“All through the campaign processes, there wasn't as much question as previous elections as to who they wanted,” Holladay said. “They knew us, and they knew what they wanted.” 

Gordon said he heard from a lot of people during the campaign, and that a common refrain was making sure the benefits of amalgamation are realized. 

The election results show that residents value the work that we have done in the past and are trusting us to move ahead carefully in the future, he added. 

“Experience does matter,” he said as he thanked the community for their trust and confidence in the incoming Diamond Valley council. 

Kloiber, currently Black Diamond deputy mayor, said she was pleased to see the election results. 

“I’m thrilled to be part of the new council,” Kloiber said. 

The biggest issues she heard during the campaign were about taxes and service levels. 

“There was a big sustainability, environmental component as well,” she said. 

She looks forward to continuing to lay the foundation for the merger of the two communities while also focusing on what residents need right now. 

Unofficial voting results: 

Barry Crane, for mayor, 1,084 votes 

Randy Williamson, for mayor, 128 votes 

For council: 

Brendan Kelly, 979 votes 

Cindy Holladay, 822 votes 

Jonathan Gordon, 760 votes 

Heather Thomson, 698 votes 

Hazel Martin, 669 votes 

Veronica Kloiber, 616 votes 

Curtis Dixon, 537 votes 

Dale Harrison, 522 votes 

Barry Williamson, 371 votes 

Shay Ford, 224 votes 

Mykayla Bergie, 146 votes 

Election results will become final at noon on Dec. 2. 

This was the first time Barry Crane had to contest the mayor’s seat. 

First elected as a councillor in Turner Valley in 2013, he was acclaimed as mayor in a 2019 byelection, and again acclaimed as mayor in the 2021 municipal election. 

A total of 1,223 votes were cast in the election. Between both Black Diamond and Turner Valley, over 1,600 residents voted in 2021 and more than 1,700 voted in the municipal election in 2017.

The Diamond Valley mayor and council will be sworn in after the amalgamation of Black Diamond and Turner Valley takes effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Until then, the existing elected officials of Turner Valley and Black Diamond will make up the interim council of Diamond Valley. 

Diamond Valley will be incorporated as a town on Jan. 1, 2023, when the amalgamation of Black Diamond and Turner Valley takes effect. The mayor and council members of the new municipality will be sworn in on Jan. 9 and the first council meeting will be on Jan. 11. 

From Jan. 1 to Jan. 9, current Black Diamond and Turner Valley elected officials will form the interim council of Diamond Valley. 

Council chambers for Diamond Valley will be at Black Diamond’s municipal building. 

Both existing councils will continue in their respective towns until year end. 


Robert Korotyszyn

About the Author: Robert Korotyszyn

Robert Korotyszyn covers Okotoks and Foothills County news for WesternWheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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