2018 East Gwillimbury election marks start of new ward system

Yorkregion.com
July 31, 2018
Simon Martin

The 2018 election is going to be much different in East Gwillimbury. Although Mayor Virginia Hackson is likely to get re-elected against her one challenger, Franco Colavecchia, the composition of the next council is going to be change.

East Gwillimbury is moving to a ward system and adding two more councillors to the table. The new system will split the town into three wards. Each ward will elect two councillors.

Ward 1 would encompass the vast majority of Holland Landing and run from Bathurst Street to 2nd Concession, and from the town’s southern boundary to Holborn Road. Ward 2 would encompass most of Queensville and Sharon, and run from 2nd Concession to Highway 404, and from the town’s southern boundary to Holborn. Ward 3 would consist of the rest of the municipality, featuring Mount Albert and the rural areas.

The town undertook an electoral review in 2016, where consultants recommended a similar setup with three wards with two councillors each.    

The decision will hit the town in the pocketbook as the addition of two councillors will cost approximately $140,000 a year.

Hackson said that, with the town on the verge of a population boom that few municipalities every encounter, it was time to update the electoral system.

“I want to be a proactive leader, not a reactive leader,” she said. “(The current system) is no longer effective. A community like Mount Albert no longer has a voice at the table and that is a problem.”

There will also be some noticeable omissions on the ballot in 2018. In every election since 1985, Johnston has had her name on the ballot in East Gwillimbury, but she has decided not to run again. Coun. James Young, a former mayor, also decided not to run for re-election.

List of Candidates
Virginia Hackson and Franco Colavecchia

Ward 1
Loralea Carruthers, Terry Foster, Joel Kerney, Calum MacMillan, Jeremy Smith and Leen Spiering

Ward 2
Aida Kostuck, Joe Persechini and Tara Roy-DiClemente

Ward 3
Scott Crone, Susan Lahey, Cathy Morton and Melody Somerville 

York Region District School Board
Lena Singh and Elizabeth Terrell-Tracey

York Catholic District School Board
Shawn Gaudet and Theresa McNicol