Germuth wins narrow re-election victory in Kitimat mayoral race

Germuth wins narrow re-election victory in Kitimat mayoral race

Published 11:43 pm Saturday, October 17, 2026

Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth has won a fourth term after narrowly defeating Coun. Terry Marleau in the district’s first contested mayoral election in eight years.

Unofficial results posted by the District of Kitimat as of 11:10 p.m. Oct. 17 show Germuth receiving 1,135 votes to Marleau’s 1,022, a margin of 113 votes. A third candidate, Daniel Boudreau, received 124 votes.

The result keeps Germuth in the mayor’s chair while ending Marleau’s tenure on council. Marleau, who was first elected to council in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, chose to challenge the incumbent mayor rather than seek another term as councillor.

Germuth has served as mayor since 2014, winning re-election in 2018 before being acclaimed in 2022. A Kitimat-born business owner and licensed automotive technician, he entered municipal politics as a councillor in 2011.

While the mayoral contest has been decided, the composition of Kitimat’s next council remains uncertain, with only partial results available for the six councillor positions.

The latest figures released for council cover only the first advance voting opportunity and are not sufficient to determine the winners.

Michelle Martins leads the preliminary councillor count with 239 votes, followed by Ankur Patel with 227 and Gerry Leibel with 222. Louise Avery has 199 votes, Adam Perry has 193 and Mario Feldhoff has 161.

Other candidates include Graham Pitzel with 157 votes, Edwin Empinado with 150, Gregory Judas with 116, Linda Feuerhelm with 95, David Hamilton with 28 and Katrina Kindrat with 25.

The early figures suggest the possibility of changes around the council table, although no councillor candidates have been declared elected.

Voters were choosing six councillors alongside the mayor in the Oct. 17 general local election.

The mayoral results remain unofficial, and the final makeup of council will not be known until the remaining votes are reported.