Still feeling the excitement of her win in Saturday's civic election, Esquimalt mayor-elect Barbara Desjardins is already honing her to-do-list.

A day after posting an 853-vote victory over incumbent mayor Chris Clement, Desjardins reeled off such municipal priorities as sewage treatment, policing, Esquimalt's village project, secondary suites, development cost charges and a review of the official community plan.

This week Desjardins plans to meet with municipal staff and the new council to set priorities. The mix of experience on council – three of the six spots were filled by newcomers to the position – may help bring new solutions to existing challenges, she adds.

Although not aiming to chair the Capital Regional District board, as Clement tried unsuccessfully to do, Desjardins said she will make sure Esquimalt's demands are heard by the CRD's core area liquid waste management committee, the body dealing with the region's sewage treatment decisions.

"I can speak just as loudly and strongly as a member of that committee without having to be the chair," she said, adding she would want more experience before entering such a position.

Returning to council are incumbent councillors Don Linge and Lynda Hundleby. Bruce McIldoon, who sat on council from 2002-05, reclaimed a seat after being defeated in 2005.

New to the council table are Alison Gaul, co-ordinator for the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health's community respite service; Camosun College criminal justice and political science instructor Randall Garrison, and Meagan Brame, who runs Saxe Point Daycare.

The newcomers will have a steep learning curve, Linge said. But he agreed the new councillors may bring fresh ideas, a crucial requirement in a floundering economy.

"We are going to have to be creative fiscally, because the cost of everything is going up and yet people's incomes are not increasing that much," he said. "That may really have some bearing on what we do with secondary suites for instance."

Premier Gordon Campbell has stated that property assessments will remain at the same level as last year, which means the municipality, with increasing costs, will have to juggle infrastructure and service demands. Council will have to examine closely the cost of services and its purchasing patterns, Linge said.

Close to 13,000 residents voted in Esquimalt's election, about 26.8 per cent of eligible voters. In the 2005 election, 33 per cent of Esquimalt voters cast a ballot.

raldous@vicnews