David West elected Richmond Hill mayor

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 25, 2022

Richmond Hill Ward 4 Coun. David West is the new mayor of Richmond Hill.

West had garnered 13,053 votes (33.55%) in the 2022 mayoral byelection, putting him ahead of Ward 6 Coun. Godwin Chan (10,167 votes or 26.13%), Regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli (8,017 votes or 20.60%) and acting mayor Joe DiPaola (6,074 votes or 15.61%), according to unofficial results posted on RichmondHill.ca.

"I am thrilled with the results," West told The Liberal via phone. "I think the community has certainly spoken."

"I am looking forward to getting to work on all the things that need to be done in the community. We need to get moving on that right away."

With 38,958 ballots cast from 121,364 eligible voters in Richmond Hill, the voter turnout for this byelection hits 32.10 per cent, higher than the 2018 municipal election at 27 per cent.

The election office only began to tabulate both online and paper ballots after all the vote centres had closed and all voters in line at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 had been given the opportunity to vote, said Libbi Hood, city communications adviser.

"Eligible voters in line to vote at 8 p.m. must be permitted to vote, which may lead to delays in any tabulation of the voting results," said Hood.

Voting Results are considered unofficial until certified by the city clerk, which the city clerk is obligated to do as soon as possible following voting day.