Previous
An exciting result
?There are quite a few things to be excited about when you look at the returns in Monday night’s municipal election here in Uxbridge.
The first is that everybody in the election got a decent measure of support; everybody can walk away feeling that their message got across to a goodly number of people. In 2006, a few candidates received less than a hundred votes, a discouraging result to say the least. This time around, the lowest tally was 168, and that from a busy businessman who entered the race on the last day and frankly admitted he didn’t have a lot of time to campaign. But Joe Amarelo, like everyone else, had some interesting and thoughtful ideas to put forward. And we listened; our turnout was even a little better than in 2006, when we topped the GTA.
The level of support hopefully means that some of the unsuccesful candidates will be back for another kick at the can four years down the road. That being said, however, it was a little surprising that some of the contests weren’t a little tighter. Almost all of them were virtually over after the first returns came in. Who knew that a 21-year-old could be such an effective campaigner? That the soft-spoken Gordon Highet could wallop his nearest rival by almost a thousand votes? That Jack Ballinger’s popularity could so easily overcome a determined campaign by Ted Eng? That Pat Molloy could parlay his high profile in Zephyr into a relatively easy victory over a farmer who’s lived in the ward his whole life?
The most shocking result, though, is Gerri Lynn O’Connor’s convincing 1100-vote defeat of incumbent Bob Shepherd. We talked to a lot of people in the weeks leading up to the vote. Some thought Ms. O’Connor’s enduring popularity would win her back the mayor’s chair, some thought Mr. Shepherd’s tireless campaigning would give him the same result as four years ago. But virtually everyone thought it would be close, and that the third candidate, George Apostolou, would pull enough votes to make a real difference in the race. It wasn’t close, and even though Mr. Apostolou polled a very respectable total, it wasn’t enough to affect the outcome. We’ll examine some of the possible reasons in the coming weeks.
Another reason we’re excited about this new council is a feeling of energy that’s more than just a new term, more than just the presence of a 21-year-old at the table. Even Ms. O’Connor seems rejuvenated by her four-year break (although she didn’t exactly just sit around, running the Toronto Region Conservation Authority and the Fall Fair, for example). It was one of the reasons she stepped away, after all.
At the Chamber breakfast Tuesday (see page 2), the mayor-elect said one of her first priorities was to get her new troops working as a team (something Mr. Shepherd was never able to do). We agree with that priority, and look forward to the fruits of her labours.
There were sad things about the election too, of course. The lack of a farmer at the table, for example, but we think Mr. Herrema and Mr. Eng will both be back. And the saddest thing is the loss of the talents, ideas and energy of Bob Shepherd, the only incumbent to be defeated. We wish him the best in all the other things he says he’s going to catch up on in his private life, but we also hope we haven’t lost him to public life, as we lost Susan Self after he defeated her in 2006. We hope he’ll continue to participate in Township affairs, and that the new mayor will use his experience well.
Lastly, we’d like to echo the public-spirited ad placed by First Leaside on page 11, and thank all the candidates who threw their hats into the ring in this election. Your participation was important and, we trust, meaningful and even fun for you. We hope to see you again.
