John Taylor will remain mayor of Newmarket, he said on social media today. Taylor was unopposed when the filing deadline for candidates passed at 2 p.m. on Aug. 19.
"I have been re-elected as Mayor of Newmarket. The deadline for people to file to run in the upcoming election was today and no one filed to run against me for Mayor," he said in an Instagram post on Friday evening.
Taylor thanked the residents of Newmarket for their support.
"I consider this a significant endorsement and an honour. I believe that the people of Newmarket feel the town is doing very well and moving forward in great ways," he said.
The municipal election period this year will be from Oct. 15 to 24. However, with the mayoral seat remaining uncontested, it means Taylor has been acclaimed well ahead of that date.
"Being acclaimed is, of course, an honour but it is also a responsibility. I want everyone in Newmarket to know that I take this responsibility very seriously," he said. "I will continue to come to work every day excited by the project of making Newmarket one of the very best communities in Canada. I will never 'mail it in'. I will bring determination, hard work, and passion with me every day to work."
Taylor said his focus for the next term will be on partnerships with council, other levels of government, the private sector and not-for-profit agencies.
"Together we are building this incredible town and together we will do amazing things!" he said.
Just eight days ago, five out of the nine council seats were uncontested. However, that is now down to just three, according to the town's online list of registered candidates. A number of candidates have joined the race in the past few days.
On Aug. 17, Mark Holmes was registered as a candidate in Ward 1, running against incumbent Grace Simon and on Aug. 18, Lukas Fuina joined the race in Ward 6, against incumbent Kelly Broome. There are also challengers in place for deputy mayor, Ward 2, Ward 4 and Ward 7.
Other last-minute candidate registrations were in the race for York Region District School Board trustee, where Jessica Neto registered on Aug. 19, the last day to register. There were two Aug. 19 registrations for York Catholic School Board trustee, as well with Donnie Aloisi and Peter Fracassi joining as candidates on the last day.
Newmarket residents will cast their votes either online or in person from Oct. 15 until 8 p.m. on Oct. 24.
