Oromocto First Nation re-elects chief, 2 new councillors
The Oromocto First Nation has re-elected chief Shelley Sabattis in its first election since moving from two-year to four-year terms.
Sabattis was elected in 2015 as the first female chief of the community. Several of her other council members were re-elected yesterday as well.
A total of 316 people voted in the election. About 500 people were eligible.
Re-elected councillors were Allan Sabattis-Atwin, Ryan Atwin, and Chris Atwin. They are joined this year by Stefan Saulis and Jason Buchanan.
Sabattis-Atwin happens to be the son of re-elected chief Shelley Sabattis. He said he is pleased with the outcome of the election, and is looking forward to the chance to work with his mother and fellow councillors again.
"I'm really excited for the next four years," he said in an interview. "There was a good team elected and our chief was re-elected and she gets to continue her projects that she's been working on."
He said the council has lot of plans around community infrastructure, business and education.
"A lot of language and culture initiatives," he said. The band council wants to offer indigenous oriented curriculum to help students flourish in their culture.
He has been working with elder-in-residence Imelda Perely from the University of New Brunswick to bring a program will promote the language for all ages. He heard last week that he's been approved for a language grant from Heritage Canada.
Support through the community
Sabattis-Atwin said many people showed up at Chief Shelley Sabattis' house in support of her win.
But support from the greater community of Oromocto has been welcomed too.
MLA Jody Carr has worked closely with Sabattis in her time as chief. He said he looks forward to working with her for another four years.
He said her re-election is a testament to how hard she has worked for the community.
