GTHA municipal elections - Results are in

NRU
Oct. 29. 2014
By Leah Wong

With unofficial results from the municipal elections in there are 10 new mayors across the GTHA, including four who managed to unseat incumbents.

One of the races that garnered considerable attention was in Brampton, where, following a spending scandal, Brampton mayor Susan Fennell lost to former Liberal MPP Linda Jeffrey.

In Brock John Grant ousted Mayor Terry Clayton, in Georgina former councillor Margaret Quirk defeated longtime mayor Robert Grossi and in Scugog Tom Rowett beat Mayor Chuck Mercier. Concerns about development and taxes would appear to have played a role in these three races.

The six other new mayor-elects-Allan Thompson (Caledon), Fred Eisenberger (Hamilton), Bonnie Crombie (Mississauga), John Tory (Toronto), Don Mitchell (Whitby) and Justin Altmann (Whitchurch-Stouf ville)-won in open races. All are familiar faces to voters in their respective municipalities. Thompson and Mitchell had served as regional councillors, Crombie as an MP and local councillor, Eisenberger was mayor from 2006-2010, Tory was previously the Ontario PC leader and Altmann ran for mayor in 2010.

At the other end of the spectrum is Milton mayor Gord Krantz, who is poised to become Ontario’s longest serving mayor before the next municipal election in 2018. At 77-years-old Krantz is the oldest mayor in the GTHA, while at 32-years-old Whitchurch-Stouffville mayor-elect Altmann is the youngest.

Ajax mayor Steve Parish, Aurora mayor Geoffrey Dawe, Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman, Burlington mayor Rick Goldring, Clarington mayor Adrian Foster, East Gwillimbury mayor Virginia Hackson, Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti, Newmarket mayor Tony Van Bynen, Oakville mayor Rob Burton, Oshawa mayor John Henry, Pickering mayor Dave Ryan, Richmond Hill mayor Greg Beros, Uxbridge mayor Gerri Lynn O’Connor and Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua were all re-elected. King mayor Steve Pellegrini was acclaimed following nomination day.

On top of mayoral changes, Georgina and Scugog also experienced major council shakeups. Georgina Ward 1 councillor Naomi Davison is the only returning councillor-two councillors were defeated and two did not seek re-election. In Scugog the only local councilor returning is Ward 4 councillor Wilma Wotten, the other two incumbents running were defeated. Both regional councilors Danny Wheeler (Georgina) and Bobbie Drew (Scugog) were acclaimed.

While Caledon’s local councillors all held onto their seats, there is a whole new roster of regional councillors. Ward 1 regional councillor Richard Paterak lost to Barb Shaughnessy, Wards 3 & 4 councillor Richard Whitehead lost to Jennifer Innis and Ward 5 councillor Patti Foley lost to Annette Groves. Johanna Downey was elected as Ward 2 regional councillor, the position currently held by Thompson.

In Mississauga and Brampton the new mayors will be joined by a number of new councillors. There are four new local and two new regional councillors in Brampton, which is the result of five councillors not seeking re-election and Wards 9 & 10 local councillor Vicky Dhillon’s defeat by Gurpreet Singh Dhillon. There are three new councillors in Mississauga, one of whom is a familiar face. Former MP and Mississauga councillor Carolyn Parrish was elected to replace Crombie in Ward 5. Each city also has a family legacy as Brampton Wards 2 & 6 councillor Paul Palleschi will be replaced by his son Michael Paul Palleschi and Mississauga Ward 8 councillor Pat Mahoney will be replaced by her son Matt Mahoney.

Durham regional chair Roger Anderson was elected for the fi rst time by the general public, having previously been appointed by regional council. Halton regional chair Gary Carr also held on to his seat; Halton has been voting directly for its chair since 2000. Both Peel regional chair Emil Kolb and York regional chair Bill Fisch are stepping down this year, with their respective regional councils appointing replacements at their inaugural meetings in December.

While municipalities are still preparing official results, early numbers show Barrie mayor Jeff Lehman with one of the greatest wins, having earned around 92 per cent of the votes. Lehman’s win is also notable considering Barrie has not given a mayor a second term since 1997. Barrie will have three new councillors this term, Rose Romita (Ward 2), Sergio Morales (Ward 9) and Mike McCann (Ward 10). While Romita and McCann won open races, 21-year-old Morales unseated former Innisfil mayor Brian Jackson.