LOUISDALE - An election-night cliff-hanger for Melanie Sampson ended with the first-time candidate knocking off the sitting Richmond County Warden to score her first term on the county's municipal council.

Running in District Three, which takes in the central community of Louisdale as well as the westernmost portions of Richmond County, Sampson and incumbent Brian Marchand traded leads throughout the evening before the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) instructor pulled away and finished the night with 604 votes as compared to Marchand's 506. It was Marchand's first election loss in four campaigns dating back to 2008, and it effectively ended his tumultuous tenure as Richmond Warden, a position chosen by elected councillors. 

Speaking to TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke less than 48 hours after her victory, Sampson said she wasn't convinced she would take the seat until the final results came in and showed her with an increasing lead over Marchand after she had fallen behind in the individual polls from Louisdale, which is home to both candidates.

"When that happened, I kind of said, 'holy smokes, this is a done deal,'" recalled Sampson, but she also admitted that she was surprised at her nervousness as the results poured in. 

"Now I understand how people can become addicted to politics - it's quite exciting."

Asked for the keys to her win, Sampson suggested that she was "not 100 per cent sure" as to why or how she defeated the sitting warden but quickly added that a desire for change was filling Richmond County in general and District Three in particular. 

"That was my opinion, and I'm glad the residents of District Three seemed to feel the same way," Sampson noted. 

"I knew it would be tough in the village [of Louisdale], and it was, because we're both from here, we both live here, we both have connections here, we both work here. But I really have to give credit to my team, who worked so hard to get the word out."

In her municipal politics debut, Sampson chose to avoid door-to-door campaigning in the era of COVID-19, opting instead use non-traditional strategies such as providing regular video messages on her campaign's Facebook page.

In that respect, she gave thanks to her family, friends and campaign workers - including campaign manager LeeAnne Marchand, a two-time municipal council candidate herself - for taking the extra steps to ensure that Sampson's face, voice and message would reach voters from Grand Anse to Point Tupper and everywhere in between.