Cumberland Councillor Jesse Ketler this week became the first woman to chair the Comox Valley Regional District since its inception in 2008.
All 12 of the past chairs have been five different males. Two of them — Bruce Jolliffe and Edwin Grieve — each held the post for four consecutive terms.
Ketler defeated two male opponents — David Frisch and Edwin Grieve — to win the annual November election of board officers.
Arzeena Hamir was elected vice-chair for the second consecutive year. The only other woman elected to the vice-chair position was former Comox councillor Patti Fletcher, who previously held the post in 2012.
In her speech to directors before the vote, Ketler touched on a variety of issues including fiscal responsibility, equality of power and climate change.
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