Newmarket councillors celebrated their election victories at home tonight, as voters confirmed they wanted the same council back again.
Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh, Ward 1’s Grace Simon, Ward 2’s Victor Woodhouse, Ward 4’s Trevor Morrison, Ward 6’s Kelly Broome and Ward 7’s Christina Bisanz all earned back their seats on council. Most opted to stay at home with family and friends to celebrate, while acclaimed Mayor John Taylor watched on as staff announced results at the town office.
Taylor complimented the council’s camaraderie of the last four years and said though there is not necessarily a preference, having incumbents makes it easier to “hit the ground running.”
“We’ve been operating a very professional council, a very calm council, one void of personal conflicts,” he told NewmarketToday. “Virtually no grandstanding, no personal attacks, and I think a lot of that can be incubated in an election.
“We (have) a lot of priorities from the last term of council still in action, not fully complete. We know we got to keep those on the front burner.”
Council will be back for the last official meeting of the term Nov. 4, followed by an inaugural meeting for a new term Nov. 15.
Vegh won his seat back handily after a campaign with plenty of attacks from opponent Gordon Prentice. Neither deputy mayor candidate provided their location for election night or availability for comment. Vegh said he would release a statement following the results, which was not provided before publication.
Prentice released commentary on his blog. He lamented the lack of a debate opportunity and said it could have changed the trajectory of the election.
“I have no regrets about running and losing. I did not want Tom Vegh to be acclaimed after all the damage he had done to our environment. The voters had to be given a choice,” Prentice said.
Incumbent Grace Simon emerged victorious over challenger Mark Holmes. She said it was a lot of work, but it was fun to connect with the community again.
“I was out there every single day door-knocking, making sure we got literature to all the doors," she said. “You need to be in front of people all the time. It’s a big deal.”
But there are difficult times to come with the budget, she said.
“Budget time is never fun, but it’s especially not fun going into the times we’re in, with recession and inflation and food costs and people just living paycheque to paycheque,” she said. “Council is going to have to take a real, serious, hard look at the budget this year. And we’ll work through this together.”
Taylor echoed the sentiment.
“Every municipality, every government, is going to be strained,” he said. “This is going to be a very, very tough year.”
Morrison bested two opponents, Chris Dupee and Grant Waddell, to maintain his seat for a second term. That included a debate to discuss the future of Newmarket Heights.
“I'm very excited and thrilled that we ran a strong campaign,” Morrison said. “It was a challenge the last couple of years, but with hope on the horizon where we’re at, that we’ll be able to run some amazing events, get everybody out, and re-establish our community feel in Ward 4."
He thanked his family and supporters and welcomed anyone in the community to contact him for anything.
Newmarket had a chance to elect its first black councillor ever, with Mark Holmes in Ward 1 and Nadia Hansen running in Ward 7. But that did not happen.
Taylor said diversity on council is something that will come with more time.
“In time, it will reflect that diversity (in Newmarket),” Taylor said. “You will see a more diverse council in five or 10 or 20 years from now. I think that’s a good thing … We can hopefully see more people from the BIPOC community continue to engage in the process and run for office."
He added that the council has diversity in terms of women members, and there are other areas of diversity that can hopefully be reflected in council, such as LGBTQ+, and different faiths.
Voting turnout was below 25 per cent. Taylor said it was one of the quietest elections he had ever seen.
After all the re-elections, Taylor said council cannot take things for granted.
“This is a democratic process with accountability and responsibility, and we need to make sure we’re listening to people, week in and week out, we’re working hard, we’re getting things done.”
Three Newmarket candidates were acclaimed ahead of polls closing tonight: Taylor, Ward 3 incumbent Jane Twinney and Ward 5 incumbent Bob Kwapis.
Taylor posted on Instagram and reflected on not having a result to wait for on election night.
“I can only explain what I am feeling today as being ‘unanchored.’ This is a day in my family, for over 50 years, where it was all hands on deck,” Taylor said, referring to his father’s long time in office. “Today, I am missing that excitement and energy and tension. This election I will not have a picture of my children building signs … I am not complaining, only sharing my thoughts and emotions. I remain honoured to have been acclaimed.”
