NDP turfs one- term Liberal incumbent

Beaches- East York voters are sending New Democrat Rima Berns- McGown to Queen's Park, turfing one- term Liberal incumbent Arthur Potts.

As of deadline Thursday night, Berns- McGown held a commanding lead of more than 5,000 votes with half the ballots counted.

The Beaches- East York race has been one to watch, where an aa expected collapse of Liberal support meant a likely change of representation in a riding that has long been held by the New Democratic Party but in 2014 went Liberal.

Francis Lankin represented the east- end riding since 1990, when ww it was under the name Beaches- Woodbine, and she was ww the NDP representative in Beaches- East York from its creation in 1999 to 2001.

She was succeeded by Michael Prue, the former city councillor and East York Mayor, who managed to hold it for the NDP until 2014.

That was the year Arthur Potts, a well- known lobbyist at Toronto TT City Hall and Queen’s Park, defeated Prue by a narrow, 431- vote margin, as a part of the Liberal sweep of Toronto. New Democrat Rima BernsMcGown is a former University of Toronto Professor with a PhD in International Politics who ww works as an anti- racism strategist with corporate clients.

She is South- African born, and has lived in the east end of Toronto for the past 25 years.

She ran on a local platform that tt included equitable access to transportation, affordable childcare and equal access to pharmacare regardless of age.

Progressive Conservative candidate Sarah Mallo has kept a low profile during the campaign, skipping two community all- candidates’ meetings. According to her campaign website, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and an LLB ( Honours) degree.