Will more Richmond Hill residents vote this time? Only 27 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in 2018 election

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 29, 2022

When former Mayor Dave Barrow was re-elected to his fourth term in Richmond Hill in 2018, he was positive that the new council would do well despite the evidently divergent opinions among the newly elected officials.

Less than three years into the term, the longtime mayor bowed out shortly after a six-month-long medical leave at a time when council was knee-deep in a quagmire of political infighting, name calling and lack of productivity.

This led to a byelection in January, through which then Ward 4 councillor David West rose to the mayoral seat, with his previous position filled by new councillor Raika Sheppard.

However, the challenges in conducting city business in and out of the Richmond Hill council chambers have continued -- some of those challenges have turned into legal wrangling with millions of tax dollars on the line.

Some 200,000 residents have borne the brunt of what has been described as a “dysfunctional” council for the last four years, elected by a small fraction of the population -- 27 per cent of eligible voters.

As the current term draws to a close, the residents are once again expected to exercise the hard-won right to vote in the 2022 Richmond Hill Municipal Election on Oct. 24.

A total of 44 candidates are competing for the nine council seats, including all incumbent members, with some seeking to defend their current positions and some hoping for a change of position.

Over the past four years, several of the nine incumbents have made headlines for various reasons, including breaches of the city's code of conduct, lawsuits, a criminal conviction as well as allegedly owed public money.

While the voter turnout for Richmond Hill’s municipal elections has been historically low, that of the last election was lower than the previous two. It was also notably lower than the average of all Ontario municipalities that year, at 38 per cent.

The chart above compares the voter turnout rates between Richmond Hill and the Ontario average from 2006 to 2018.

It shows Richmond Hill voters exercising their democratic rights at levels consistently lower than other municipalities across Ontario on average over the past four elections.

At its peak, some 44 per cent of eligible voters in Ontario cast their ballots in the 2010 municipal elections, whereas Richmond Hill only saw 28.8 per cent voters go to the polls.

From 2006 to 2014, the voter turnout rates in Richmond Hill steadily climbed up from 26 per cent to 32 per cent until the 2018 municipal election saw a sharp drop to 27 per cent.

The January mayoral byelection saw an apparent increase in voter turnout to 32 per cent, but it was still trailing behind the Ontario average in the last four municipal elections.

If some attributed Richmond Hill residents’ collective indifference to the last municipal election partly to the “boring races,” the election this fall is shaping up to be anything but.

Incumbent David West is running in a four-way mayoral race in the hopes of continuing to lead the municipal government for the next four years. Carmine Perrelli, a current regional councillor, seeks to unseat West in this election.

The other two contenders in the mayoral race are Domenic Bardari, a city employee who entered the race last minute, and Holo Devnani, a longtime resident who has worked in information technology.

Not to be overshadowed by the mayoral race, the most competitive race in this election -- going by the number of candidates -- goes to Ward 5.

A total of 10 candidates are vying for a seat Karen Cilevitz has occupied since 2014.

Cilevitz -- who entered the race right before the deadline -- will face her former campaign manager Richard Rupp, among others.

In the race of regional and local councillors, incumbent Joe Dipaola and current Ward 6 Coun. Godwin Chan are seeking to secure the two spots in the five-way race.

For a complete list of candidates and their information, please visit the voter guide.