VAUGHAN VOTES: Former Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca elected mayor in tight race

Sandra Yeung Racco comes in second place in race that comes down to the wire

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 25, 2022
Jeremy Grimaldi

A new mayor has been elected in Vaughan with former Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca narrowly edging out former councillor Sandra Yeung Racco.

“I’m so humbled to have the support of the people of Vaughan," Del Duca said. "I look forward to working with council to deliver on our plan and get Vaughan moving. I want to thank my friend and a truly spectacular public servant, Maurizio Bevilacqua for his years of service. He will continue to be both a trusted advisor and a mentor of mine for years to come.”

The city above Toronto has seen its share of changes over the years and now sees the departure of an elder statesman in Bevilacqua, who all but anointed Del Duca when he announced he was not running for mayor again.

Del Duca ran on a platform that included fixing gridlock and drawing on experience as the former Ontario Minister of Transportation.

He had plenty of name recognition after losing badly to Premier Doug Ford in the last provincial election.

Yeung Racco focused on her tenure as a well-known city councillor as part of Bevilacqua’s team.

The two career politicians slugged it out but ultimately there can only be one winner and that was Del Duca with 22,699 votes. Yeung Racco came in second with 21,848, followed by Danny DeSantis with 7,591.

There are some new faces on council, but many will be familiar to Vaughan voters.

They include regional councillors Linda Jackson, Mario Ferri, Gino Rosati and Mario Racco (Sandra Yeung Racco's husband).

Ward 1 went to Marilyn Iafrate.

In Ward 2, Adriano Volpentesta bested former councillor Tony Carella.

Ward 3 went to Rosanna DeFrancesca.

Ward 4 went to newcomer Chris Ainsworth and Ward 5 went to Gila Martow, the former MPP, who beat out longtime councillor Alan Shefman.

Follow along with results and commentary from election night in Vaughan.