Darrin Canniff was elected to a second term as Chatham-Kent mayor on Monday, but he will serve with a different-looking council.
Canniff finished with 17,981 votes, just more than 75 per cent of the 24,546 ballots cast, well ahead of political newcomers William Pickard with 3,588 votes and Andy Fisher, who had 2,364 votes.
There was one seat available in Chatham Ward 6 with the departure of long-time councilor Doug Sulman, but Conor Allin and Alysson Storey will be among the six councilors representing the largest urban area in the municipality. They finished ahead of incumbent Karen Kirkwood-Whyte.
First-time candidate Allin finished third with 5,095 votes while Storey, who ran for mayor in the 2018 municipal election, finished fifth with 4,776 votes.
Incumbent Brock McGregor finished first in Ward 6 with 5,329 votes, followed by Michael Bondy with 5,146 votes. Amy Finn finished sixth with 3,900 votes to maintain her seat.
“Things are happening,” with respect to growth and development, Canniff said after the results were posted.
He added Chatham-Kent weathered the pandemic relatively well.
“The last four years have been a real challenge, but we’ve really come through a lot,” Canniff said.
The mayor said he’s looking forward to getting down to business, with some old and new faces at the council table.
“We’ve got some new councillors. We’ve got some returning councilors,” he said. “I’m excited about the next four years.
“It’s gonna be a group effort here as we move together.”
Storey credited her victory for knocking on thousands of doors and talking to constituents.
“They shared their dreams for Chatham, the challenges they saw in our community and some of the solutions, and I took that to heart,” she said.
“People talking to me on their doorstep really made a huge difference to me and my campaign, and how I understand our community and what I’m really excited to work on with the rest of council moving forward.”
Storey said she wants to help vulnerable people in the community, including those experiencing homelessness and seniors.
“And I want to make sure we look at all of our municipal assets with a healthy – but critical – eye, and we make sure we’re doing the right thing for taxpayers,” she said.
In West Kent Ward 1, Lauren Anderson won the seat left vacant by Mark Authier and will work alongside veteran councilor Melissa Harrigan, who was re-elected.
“I am here for our community,” Anderson said. “I’m going to continue to do whatever the community’s wants are.
“It’s not about me, individually. It’s about what’s best for the community of Chatham-Kent as a whole. Obviously, my focus has and always will be on Wheatley, especially since the explosion.”
Anderson said she believes the focus needs to be on the Wheatley explosion.
“I think any councilor (voted in) … needs to understand that needs to be a focus. We had a town explode,” she said.
Rhonda Jubenville won the North Kent Ward 4 seat left vacant by long-time councilor Joe Faas, while incumbent Jamie McGrail was re-elected.
“My mandate is to serve all of the people of Chatham-Kent, which I will do, but I’ve heard all of the concerns of the people in Ward 4 and I’ve told them I will bring all of these concerns to the table and I will advocate for them and address them and try to resolve all of these issues as best as I can,” she said.
Jubenville said people want to keep the municipal public service buildings in the rural wards.
“In my ward, that would be Dresden,” she said. “They want to keep their municipal building there, but I feel the existing council is leaning more the other way of it – selling it for private use.
“I will fight for them to maintain that building and the municipal services in Dresden. It’s also mirrored in Ridgetown, Tilbury; the same issue is in the other rural wards as well.”
South Kent Ward 2 will also have a new representative, as Ryan Doyle finished 2,083, just a single vote ahead of incumbent Mary Clare Latimer. Incumbents Anthony Ceccacci and Trevor Thompson were re-elected.
Incumbents Steve Pinsonneault and John Wright were returned in East Kent Ward 3.
Wallaceburg Ward 5 councilors Carmen McGregor and Aaron Hall were acclaimed.