On election night at Twiggs, supporters were jubilant as Yvon Duhaime was declared mayor-elect and Fern Pellerin (left) and Yvon Renaud (right) won their ward seats on the next West Nipissing municipal council. 
The crowd at Gervais Tavern in Sturgeon Falls first cheered and then turned sombre as the elections results were broadcast live, showing many incumbent council members re-elected but outgoing mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon defeated. 
Five incumbents re-elected, Yvon Duhaime becomes mayor
Christian Gammon-Roy
(with notes from Suzanne Gammon on site at Twiggs)
Tribune
Municipal election candidates and their supporters gathered and waited anxiously for results on Monday evening, October 26, with the mood at Twiggs restaurant and Gervais’ Tavern taking different turns as the tally was announced. Voting closed at 8 pm and results came in faster than ever, thanks to the new electronic voting system West Nipissing tried out for the first time this year. Municipal Clerk Melanie Ducharme was able to get on camera to announce the results live within 30 minutes, prompting cheers and jeers in both halls for some ward candidates, then celebration at Twiggs around new mayor elect Yvon Duhaime, and disappointment at Gervais for supporters of outgoing mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon.
For the most part, West Nipissing’s new council will look the same, with all but three incumbents regaining their seats. Those include Kris Rivard in ward 1, Jamie Restoule in ward 4, Kaitlynn Nicol in ward 5, Roland Larabie in ward 6, Fernand Pellerin in ward 7, and Georges Pharand in ward 8. Wards 2 and 3 saw their incumbents defeated, with Yvon Renaud taking over ward 2 from Roch St-Louis, and Corrin Smith elected for ward 3 against three rivals including incumbent Daniel Gagné. Some victories were landslides, with Rivard and Pellerin taking roughly 85% of the vote in their ward; Larabie earning 75%; Nicol getting 65%; and Pharand taking 66.5% against two opponents. Other races were extremely tight, including in ward two where Renaud edged out St-Louis by just 8 votes, and in ward 4 where a three-way race saw just four votes separating frontrunners Jamie Restoule and former mayor Joanne Savage.
At the Gervais Tavern, the energy throughout the night was fairly high right up until the announcement of the mayoral winner. Many incumbent councillors joined Thorne Rochon to wait for results among friends, family and supporters. Jamie Restoule, Dan Gagné, Roch St. Louis, Georges Pharand, Kris Rivard, and Rolly Larabie were all there, and were also joined by ward 7 hopeful Jeanette Laurin. Over 50 people came and went throughout the night. Cheers erupted when councillors Restoule, Rivard, Larabie and Pharand were declared winners, but the energy dropped at the announcement that Thorne Rochon had been defeated by Yvon Duhaime by a 64.4% to 32.1% margin, while candidate Charles Desgroseilliers received just 3.5% of votes.
