Ian Rabbitts called Monday’s election results a “humbling” experience.
“It was a tough night,” said the Norfolk mayoral candidate. “It certainly wasn’t the result that I was hoping for but the people have spoken.”
Norfolk voters elected Ward 6 Councilor Amy Martin as the new mayor on Monday. Rabbitts finished in fourth spot behind Martin, incumbent Kristal Chopp and Bill Culver. Simcoe businessman Dave Bate finished in fifth place.
“I think the focus now should be on the new mayor and council and I think we all need to rally around them,” Rabbitts said on Wednesday.
Elected as a councilor for Norfolk Ward 5 in 2018, Rabbitts announced his candidacy for mayor in January.
He went to the Norfolk County council chamber on Monday to congratulate Martin on her victory.
“I want to wish her all the best,” Rabbitts said.
Although Rabbitts fell short of his goal, he said Norfolk County got the change at the top that was needed.
There were 53,713 eligible voters in Norfolk and there were 19,512 votes cast for a voter turnout of 36.33 per cent. The number is down considerably from 2018 when vote turnout was 41.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, the inaugural meeting of the newly-elected Norfolk County Council takes place Nov. 15 at 6 pm It will include a wearing-in ceremony for the new council. The event will be open to the public and live-streamed on Norfolk’s social media platform.
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