ARICHAT - The man who encouraged his fellow Richmond County municipal candidates to "never stop campaigning" is pledging to keep up that approach, and include many others in the conversation, as he begins his first term representing the county's District One. 

Shawn Samson's first crack at municipal politics won over voters in the constituency, which takes in the southeastern communities of Isle Madame, including Petit de Grat, Little Anse, Samson's Cove, Alderney Point, Cap-Auguet, and the eastern half of Arichat. 

In unofficial results from the October 17 election count, Samson took 438 votes to the 352 chalked up by another political newcomer, Brandon Boudreau. At one point Boudreau led Samson by a 17-vote margin, but Samson told TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke that, even at this stage of the ballot count, he felt confident that the remaining polls would confirm that he had used a winning strategy in the 2020 campaign.

In the end, political neophytes Samson and Boudreau charged ahead of two candidates who had each served on Richmond Municipal Council. Incumbent James Goyetche, who was originally elected to council in 1982 and served as its warden from 1985-88, finished third with 151 votes, while Rod Samson, elected to council for a single term in 2012, suffered a second consecutive defeat, finishing fourth with 118 votes. 

However, Councillor Samson made it clear that he sees potential in many of the ideas put forward by his fellow candidates, and he plans to reach out to them as well as to constituents that displayed how "passionate" they were about the issues that came up during the campaign. 

"I want to pick their brains, for sure," Samson declared. "We can't all go to the council table together, obviously, but I would like to bring some of their ideas forward."

Asked if there was a turning point in the campaign, Samson - whose day job sees him making food deliveries all over Nova Scotia - suggested that the Richmond Candidates' Forum hosted by Telile Community Television on October 5 was a key moment, as it enabled him and several other Richmond County election hopefuls to articulate their views and gave viewers a chance to distinguish between the different approaches and positions taken by the names of their election ballots. 

In his closing remarks, Samson thanked his friends, family members and additional campaign workers for getting the word out about his run for council. He also had a direct message for the voters of District One that had trusted him to represent them at the council table over the next four years. 

"I won't let you down," Samson pledged.