Former Liberal leader Steven Del Duca wins close mayoral race in Vaughan

Former Liberal leader Steven Del Duca and Sandra Yeung Racco wage tight fight for mayors office

Ottawasun.com
Oct. 25, 2022

The election of Vaughan’s mayor turned into a fierce battle royale as former Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca beat Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco with a razor-thin lead.

“I just want you to know how much all of it means,” the mayor-elect told supporters gathered at a Woodbridge banquet hall Monday night. “The fact that you have put your faith and your confidence in me -- just means the world to me.”

Del Duca and Yeung Racco were separated by barely 1% of the vote for much of the night.

Just 4 1/2 months ago, Del Duca led the Liberals to one of its worst election results in party history.

He resigned the Liberal leadership June 2 just minutes after losing the provincial election -- when he also lost his own seat in Vaughan-Woodbridge.

Monday night’s victory marked Del Duca’s return to elected office in what is one of the closest races in the GTA.

“You have my iron clad commitment that I will work as hard as I possibly can -- day in and day out -- to make sure that you have a quality of life that you deserve,” Del Duca said.

In the middle of this campaign, Del Duca got a boost when outgoing Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua gave him a high-profile endorsement.

In anointing him, Bevilacqua said “given his experience and his willingness to serve, he will be able to remain on the same path and that, I think, is the way we’re going to build the potential of our city.”

A longtime Liberal, Del Duca is a former senior cabinet minister, and local MPP who ran this municipal race on a platform of keeping property taxes low, and finding ways to provide financial relief for vulnerable residents.

Another key issue that dominated the race was traffic gridlock.

Del Duca pledged to lead a regional campaign to reduce truck traffic on Hwy. 7 by moving it to Hwy. 407, building key roadway links and advocating for the Yonge North Subway Extension.

Yeung Racco is a longtime councillor who has described herself as someone “who has worked tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Vaughan for more than 18 years (and) is answering the call to step up and be the next mayor of Vaughan.”