Burlington voters wanted change, and got it

Five new councillors and a new mayor will change the face of local government

On Monday Burlington voters, with an unofficial 39.79 per cent voter turnout, about six per cent more than 2014, swept out all but one councillor, and elected a new mayor.

Sadly, there is no consolation prize for unsuccessful candidates, but please stay involved. Thanks for your strength in the face of the meanest campaign Burlington has seen. You deserved better. There were multiple examples of bending or skirting rules. There’s no shame in losing fairly.

Ward 2 councillor Marianne Meed Ward galloped to become our second woman mayor, with over 46 per cent of the vote in a four-way race. Mary Munro was a progressive mayor from 1976 to 78. Meed Ward’s biggest challenge will be making council cohesive, but this group looks promising.

Defeated incumbent Rick Goldring deserves special thanks. He was disadvantaged by presiding over some long-serving strong-minded divisive members. He and former MP Mike Wallace ran thoughtful campaigns, but voters were looking for real change, and they got it.

The five new councillors face steep learning curves, especially at the Region (where Gary Carr is again Regional Chair). Few showed real insight into regional issues during the debates. But all appear to be up to the task of learning regional business and politics.

My advice to the new arrivals: Stand up for what you believe in and ran on. Otherwise you’ll become part of the problem you were out to fix.

Ward 1’s new councillor, Kelvin Galbraith has a strong business background, and is chair of the Aldershot BIA. Runner-up Judy Worsley trailed by over 400 votes. She is competent, but because retiring councillor Rick Craven was so prominent in her campaign, many believed they would get a Craven clone, which became a negative for her.

In Ward 2 Lisa Kearns won handily over runner-up Roland Tanner. Kearns is no stranger to City Hall. She has delegated to council frequently, and very credibly, as has Tanner.

Three Ward 3 candidates were outstanding — a richness of talent — and voters overwhelmingly (54 per cent) chose Rory Nisan, an international diplomat and community volunteer who was keen go serve locally. He’ll be excellent.

In Ward 4 dragon slayer Shawna Stolte handily defeated 24-year veteran Jack Dennison, with over 55 per cent of the vote. She promises to be a strong thoughtful councillor.

Ward 5’s Paul Sharman, the only returning incumbent, won a fivecandidate race, but with only 34 per cent of votes. Perhaps that narrow win will give him pause for thought. He could be the one on this new council to give grief to the new mayor. He and Craven were the two councillors hardest on delegations.

Ward 6’s race was the tightest. But 2014 runner-up Angelo Bentivegna defeated two-term councillor Blair Lancaster by 39 votes. Lancaster ran a lacklustre campaign for an incumbent.

Neither she nor Sharman (the only two) would participate in the Engaged Citizens of Burlington ward debates.

There were far too many breaches of the rules. Virtually every ward reported sign damage and vandalism. That may sound trivial, but it’s costly to replace both signs and stakes, not to mention the time and worry involved.

There were at least three complaints to the city clerk, two of which involved Dennison and Lancaster, who know the rules. They’re accused of using city email lists for election purposes, which is prohibited.

In my opinion the most abhorrent actor was Ward 3 candidate Peter Rusin, who voters soundly rejected, with less than three per cent of the vote. He circulated an ad smearing Meed Ward. The City Clerk advised him she believed this constituted third-party advertising, which candidates are not permitted to do. He disagreed and continued. Rusin had challenged Goldring for mayor in 2014, and Goldring said he’d encountered poor sportsmanship then, too. Council should lobby the province to disallow personal attack advertising.

Thanks to the City for offering live results on its site, and thanks to ECoB for hosting debates in all wards — a first. Brickbats to CBC TV and CH TV for deeming Ontario’s municipal results too insignificant to carry live after the polls closed.

To recap, here’s our 2018-2022 council: Mayor Marianne Meed Ward; Ward 1 businessperson Kelvin Galbraith; Ward 2 businessperson Lisa Kearns; Ward 3 Canadian diplomat Rory Nisan; Ward 4 entrepreneur Shawna Stolte; Ward 5 incumbent Paul Sharman, and Ward 6 retailer Angelo Bentivegna.

They’re a capable group, and we wish them well in their very steep and time-consuming learning curve.