SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - Brent Gallant set down his pen with a sigh.
The sheet of paper he had been keeping close to hand since the polls closed was left behind on the kitchen table. He stepped out for some air with his wife, Gloria.
Despite holding on to nearly a third of the votes for most of the night, Gallant’s disappointment grew as numbers from the polls rolled in.
“We’ll see,” he kept saying, working to stay positive.
He had eight members of his team distributed to the polling stations and as they called in their numbers, he was philosophical with each of them.
“We ran our best, that’s all we can do,” he said to one, over the phone.
As soon as the polls closed in the 2018 municipal election, Gallant sat down with a sheet of paper, nervously doodling along the edges as he waited.
Brent Gallant and daughter, Jillian, waited for numbers to come in from polls during the Summerside municipal elections on Nov. 5.
Volunteers at the polling station, social media and the Elections P.E.I. website kept his team informed.
But as the polls finished up and the results came in, Gallant steeled himself as the trend leaned away from him.
After nine weeks on the campaign trail, Gallant was looking forward to getting back to work as his business
This was likely his last crack at municipal politics.
“I have four years to think about it, but I think I’ve had my run,” he said.
“I put out the platform I wanted to put out,” he said.
He shrugged and said, “The other candidates will do a good job, too.”
