What does it take to get voters to the polls - a big issue. At least that's the conclusion that can be drawn from Saturday's civic vote.
Port Moody's divisive election campaign, focusing on the future of the official community plan and development along the Evergreen Line route, bumped up voter turnout in Saturday's election by nearly 10%.
Even with a referendum question about a potential casino for the city, the 2011 civic election in Port Moody drew only 26% of the electorate, compared to 35.51% this year.
This year, there was also a strong race for school trustee, with six people battling it out for two spots, compared to 2011, when both Port Moody trustee candidates were acclaimed.
Of note are the number of votes drawn by both candidates in the mayor's race - Mike Clay won with 4,261, 1,149 more than in 2011, while challenger Gaetan Royer pulled in 3,450 votes, 1,431 more than Clay's 2011 challenger Robert Simons.
Voter turnout was also up in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. Coquitlam's voter turnout increased from 21.7% in 2011 to 26.01% and, in Port Coquitlam, turnout increased from 20.8% in 2011 to 26% in 2014.
