District of North Vancouver mayor Richard Walton remains Metro Vancouver vice chair.

Delta mayor Lois Jackson has been reelected as the chair of the Metro Vancouver board of directors, fending off a challenge from District of North Vancouver mayor Richard Walton.

Jackson and Walton were the only candidates for the position, which is elected by the municipal officials who comprise the Metro board.

After losing the chair’s election, Walton was reelected as vice chair, defeating Belcarra mayor Ralph Drew.

Surrey councillor Judy Villeneuve nominated Jackson for reelection, while West Vancouver mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones nominated Walton for chair.

After he was reelected vice chair, Walton, addressing Jackson, admitted that a lot of e-mails and voice mails about his candidacy had been sent over the past week.

Walton said he was sure that Jackson agrees this is a healthy part of democracy.

In their nomination speeches, both Jackson and Walton talked about the important role that Metro Vancouver plays in the environment and other regional issues.

However, Walton said that the leadership of Metro could be “more responsive” to the issues facing the region.

The elections were conducted by secret ballot, with each director casting one vote. The vote totals were not revealed.

Two years ago, the Jackson trounced then-Vancouver city councillor Peter Ladner, who at the time was the vice chair of the regional district’s board, in the election for the body’s top seat.