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NANAIMO — Veteran MLA Leonard Krog won Nanaimo’s mayoral race Saturday, setting the stage for a crucial byelection that could decide the fate of B.C.’s minority NDP government.

Krog’s pledge to clean up a scandal-plagued city hall and restore order to a dysfunctional local council carried the day with voters, earning him a margin of victory of more than three to one votes over the nearest rival, Don Hubbard.

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“This is a great night for the city of Nanaimo,” Krog said at an election party at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.

“We are not going to be an embarrassment to the province of British Columbia and we’re not going to be an embarrassment to the people of Nanaimo.”

But Krog’s victory in Nanaimo, may have huge ramifications provincially.

Krog, 65, has said he’ll resign his provincial seat upon winning the mayoralty. Premier John Horgan technically has six months to call a byelection but it’s expected he’ll call the race relatively quickly to get an MLA in place before the provincial budget in February.