Coun. Jeemeet Patel signs the official documents following his oath of office administered by Cpl. Chad Hirtle of the Fort Macleod RCMP detachment.
Fort Macleod’s newest town councillor took his oath of office last week.
Jeemeet Patel, who won the May 6 by-election, was sworn in during council’s meeting at the G.R. Davis Administration Building.
The ceremony was carried out by Cpl. Chad Hirtle of the Fort Macleod RCMP detachment.
Patel received 168 votes in the by-election, followed by Sydney Tobler with 106, Werner Dressler with 97 and Bill Hall with seven.
“We want to congratulate all those who ran for their interest and their commitment to the Town of Fort Macleod,” Mayor Brent Feyter said. “It was good to see the four candidates run and have a good debate and discussion at the forum.”
Patel moved to Fort Macleod 10 years ago, and lives here with his wife Disha Shaw and their two children. He works as a financial advisor.
Patel, who has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Masters of Electronic Business, volunteers with Citizens On Patrol and the board of the Fort Macleod Library.
Cpl. Hirtle, dressed in ceremonial red serge, led Patel through the oath of office and a pledge to execute the duties of a town councillor diligently, faithfully and to the best of his ability.
Both men signed the required documents.
“We look forward to working with you for the balance of our term at least,” Feyter said. “We have lots going on a hopefully you can fit right in.”
With the addition of a new councillor, the mayor and council all signed the council covenant that guides their actions as elected officials.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Coun. Marco Van Huigenbos.
Van Huigenbos resigned ahead of his trial on mischief charges related to the Coutts border blockade during the COVID-19 pandemic.
