Here are some quick insights from Monday’s local election results in London.
Incumbents Remain Difficult to Overcome
While four new councillors were elected, only Ben Durham managed to defeat an incumbent, beating Peter Cuddy in Ward 3. In the ten races where incumbents won, they generally won by a substantial margin.
Take a look at how dominant those winning incumbents were in these contests:
Ward 12: Elizabeth Peloza took home 79 per cent of the vote. Ward 11: Skylar Franke received 76 per cent of the vote. Ward 13: David Ferreira captured 70 per cent of the vote. Ward 8: Steve Lehman got 68 per cent of the vote. Ward 2: Shawn Lewis earned 65 per cent of the vote.
Successful incumbents also held their ground in closer races in Wards 1, 6, and 9, where Anna Hopkins fended off a strong challenge from Luke Thomas (she had 40 per cent of the vote while he had 33).
But think about this: In 2022, Ferreira won by just 34 votes. This time around, he increased his victory margin to an impressive 3,573 votes.
The takeaway? It’s still tough to beat incumbents.
Campaign Efforts Matter Significantly
Ward 3 winner Ben Durham campaigned using an e-bike filled with election signs. (Andrew Lupton/)
So how did Ben Durham manage to defeat an incumbent as a first-time candidate? He shared his approach on Tuesday.
To start off, he began campaigning early by door-knocking across the ward starting in May and took only one week off during summer. He used software called Door Line that tracks interactions with voters and creates a database highlighting important information like undecided voters and key issues based on area.
It’s not the only voting software available (other candidates used Nation Builder), but Durham mentioned that the data it produced was useful.
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Another tip from Durham was that during each door knock he started by asking voters what issues mattered most to them instead of launching into a hard sell about himself and his platform. He found it led to more meaningful conversations and made visits more memorable for voters.
“There is no one single thing that won this,” said Durham on London Morning. “From the beginning I had time and the incumbent maybe didn’t; that’s my only advantage. I needed extra time to knock on as many doors as possible in strategic locations.”
Durham also noted that campaigning on a cargo e-bike had its perks too-it helped him avoid parking hassles while distributing lawn signs easily throughout neighborhoods.
By Retaining Its Mayor, London Defies Ontario Trend
Josh Morgan was re-elected as London’s mayor, but mayors in several Ontario towns faced voter rejection. p >Josh Morgan secured re-election as mayor of London; however , many other Ontario mayors are likely updating their resumes today.
Voters decided to remove mayors across cities like Sarnia , where Carrie Mc Eachran unseated incumbent Mike Bradley , who held office for – and this isn’t a typo -38 years.
Other Ontario mayors shown the door included Drew Dilkens after serving 12 years in Windsor , Andrea Horwath in Hamilton , Carolyn Parrish in Mississauga , and Rob Burton in Oakville.
“I spent most of last night until three AM talking with colleagues who’ve been defeated-people who’ve served their communities sometimes for decades,” said Morgan.
“It was an election where people expressed ‘We’re unhappy ; we’re goingto do something about it,’ ”he stated.
Morgan pointed out that many ousted mayors collaborated with him atthe Associationof Municipalities (AMO) lobbying senior governments for funds aimed at supporting homeless responses.
“It’s not just Londoners who feel frustrated with current circumstances; Ontarians share similar sentiments,” he remarked. “This means our new colleagues acrossthis province must engage ineffectivediscussionswith provincialandfederalpartners.”
Turnout amongvoters remains low yet shows progress
( Kendra Seguin/CBC)
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