Former Toronto District Faculty Board Trustee Rachel Chernos Lin has received the byelection in Ward 15 – Don Valley West, in keeping with town’s unofficial outcomes.
With all 52 polls reporting on Monday evening, Chernos Lin beat out columnist and broadcaster Anthony Furey by greater than 5,500 votes.
The 2 have been the main contenders for the council seat vacated following the demise of former councillor Jaye Robinson, who represented the Don Valley West space for years.
Chernos Lin, who had greater than 50 p.c of the votes, mentioned the outcomes confirmed that residents needed native management. Furey doesn’t presently stay within the ward however grew up close by.
“They want experience. Experience matters. They want optimism. They do not want division. They want optimism. They want someone who is going to bring people together, who’s going to get things done, who’s going to work collaboratively, and who’s going, who’s going to really care about Ward 15,” she mentioned throughout her victory speech at Laird Pub.
Throughout the marketing campaign, Chernos Lin’s supporters characterised Furey as an “extreme right” candidate who should be stopped.
“I really think this has been a repudiation of the negativity and the division, and this is a call for moving forward, for progressing forward with kindness, with caring, with optimism, and, and, and with a really positive attitude, and I can’t wait to work with Ward 15 to do just that,” the previous faculty trustee added.
Chernos Lin garnered 12,899 votes whereas Furey obtained 7,343. Sam Robinson got here in third with 1,271 votes.
Chernos Lin, who additionally served as TDSB chair for 2 years, promised to sort out gridlock and crime, make the group extra walkable, and make it possible for new developments mirror “our community’s values.”
Current at Chernos Lin’s victory celebration have been a number of metropolis councillors and Mayor Olivia Chow, who mentioned the councillor-elect is concentrated on getting loads of issues performed for the individuals of Don Valley West.
Talking about her expertise working with Chernos Lin whereas she was the TDSB chair, the mayor described her as a collaborative individual.
“The fact that she got more than 50 per cent of the votes tells you that people have faith in her delivering results right here,” Chow mentioned.
In the meantime, Furey congratulated Chernos Lin for her win.
“I want to wish Rachel Chernos Lin well during her time as a councillor moving forward. I hope she serves the residents of Don Valley West well these next two years, and I’m sure she will,” Furey mentioned.
He mentioned operating for Ward 15 councillor had been an “experience of a lifetime” earlier than claiming that his marketing campaign was up towards “one of the ugliest voter suppression campaigns” in latest Toronto political historical past.
“It’s very unfortunate, but the one thing that we can be proud of is while there were some voices out there that went negative, we always stayed positive,” Furey mentioned.
He concluded his concession speech: “This is a great city – a city worth fighting for, and I know we’re gonna continue to do just that.”
Based on the unofficial byelection outcomes, 23,555 votes have been solid.
