The cost to fill two Coquitlam council seats this fall is being estimated at $143,000, city staff said this week.
The price tag for the Oct. 26 byelection, which saw former Olympic wrestler Chris Wilson and businesswoman Bonita Zarrillo elected, is on par with the previous two byelections held in 2010 and 2007.
The total for the 2013 vote included staffing during the campaign and on election day, supplies, ballots, equipment rentals, advertising, shipping, courier services and postage.
The byelection to replace councillors Linda Reimer and Selina Robinson, who were elected as MLAs in May's provincial election, drew a 9.23% voter turnout.
Wilson earned 3,826 votes (25.99% of votes cast) while Zarrillo collected 2,648 votes (17.99%). They were followed by former councillors Doug Macdonell at 2,109 (14.33%) and Barrie Lynch at 1,760 (11.96%). Taking the remainder of the votes, in order, were: Teri Towner, Vincent Wu, Ben Craig, Ben B.H. Kim (a Port Moody resident), Michael Bell, Kurt Zaporozan and Kevin Startin.
