Voters have chosen new mayors across several eastern Ontario towns, including Kingston, where a tight contest resulted in Conny Glenn’s win, according to Monday’s unofficial results.
Glenn, who has served as a city councillor, beat incumbent Bryan Paterson with 16,451 votes against Paterson’s 15,658 after all polls reported their results.
Paterson has been mayor for three terms while Glenn has represented District 10 (Syndenham).
The city’s official results are expected to be released on Tuesday.
New mayors were also elected in Belleville, Brockville, Perth, and the Township of Rideau Lakes.
Similar to Kingston, Belleville saw an incumbent mayor lose his position; current mayor Neil Ellis was defeated by newcomer Paul Fleming.
In Perth, incumbent Judy Brown chose not to run again for mayor but instead aimed for one of five council seats but did not succeed.
The community has elected Deputy Mayor Ed Mc Pherson as its new mayor.
Leadership Changes Lead to Fresh Perspectives
In Brockville, Mayor Matt Wren opted not to pursue another term. Coun. Cameron Wales will take over after Monday’s election.
“I just want to say how grateful I am for the confidence of residents in the city, and even more so for the time that residents took with me at the doors,” he told .
The Township of Rideau Lakes made headlines by electing almost an entirely new council on Monday.
This past term was marked by conflict among members; three councillors sued nearly all their colleagues over alleged misconduct regarding their public roles.
The only councillor not involved in that lawsuit, Dustin Bulloch, was re-elected on Monday.
John Fenik, a former mayor of Perth, was elected mayor of the Township of Rideau Lakes on Monday night according to unofficial results. (Ashley Burke/CBC) p >
John Fenik , a former mayor of Perth , was elected as mayor of Rideau Lakes. He mentioned he looks forward to creating a positive new direction for the community. p >
Fenik added that he does not intend to utilize the controversial strong mayor powers now available to municipal leaders. The outgoing mayor , Arie Hoogenboom , who chose not to run again , had used those powers , which created division among councillors. p >
“It undermines democracy,” Fenik said about strong mayor powers on Monday just moments after his election. “The council is made up of people , and the democratic process is that the majority vote carries the day. So I will never , ever use strong mayor powers.” p >
New mayors were also chosen in Cornwall and Pembroke. p >
