Jerry F. Sack re-elected as chief of Shubenacadie Band

The Shubenacadie Band chief and council remained relatively the same in the Nov. 2 election with only three new faces on council.

After more than 10 hours of counting ballots on the Indian Brook First Nation, N.S. on Wednesday, Jerry F. Sack was re-elected as chief of the Shubenacadie Band, beating his nearest opponent by 79 votes.

Sack won the election with 552 votes while his challengers, Rufus C. Copage received 473 votes and Nathan William Sack with 67 votes.

Nathan Sack, 32, had to cut short his campaign for chief after undergoing an appendectomy on Monday.

The election results were released at the Indian Brook Multi-Purpose Centre around 7:30 pm.

Nine councillors also regained their seats on council. Thomas J. Howe received the most votes with 521 with Alexander (Butchie) McDonald at 460 votes, Reg Maloney with 446 and Colleen Knockwood with 407 votes.

The chief’s son, Ronnie Augustine, also reclaimed his seat on council with 398 votes.  Ryan Joseph Julian and Ian Knockwood kept their seats with both receiving 371 votes each. Deborah Thiebaux captured 355 votes and Jim Nevin with 345 votes.

The three new faces on council include Keith Joseph Julian with 355 votes, Doreen E. Knockwood with 337 votes and Ron Knockwood, older brother of Ian Knockwood, with also 337 votes.

Jerry M. Sack and Michael Patrick Sack were unable to regain their seats this time around. Rufus C. Copage chose not to run for his former seat on council during this election.

The Nov. 2 election was called in late September when the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, or INAC, overturned the results of the previous election that was held on June 12, 2009. A department investigation uncovered instances of fraudulent activities after an appeal of the election was filed.

In one instance, one person filled out four separate ballots.

Approximately 70 per cent of 1,584 eligible voters participated in this election.

The Shubenacadie Band is the second largest Mi’kmaq band in Nova Scotia. The majority of its band members reside in Indian Brook First Nation, located 70 kilometres north of Halifax.

Tags: election, Indian Brook, Shubenacadie Band

This entry was posted on November 3, 2010 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Elections, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.