Message earns Costante win
Fabio Costante said it was the message that carried him to victory in Ward 2 over incumbent John Elliott.
Several would-be candidates opted to stay on the sidelines to prevent splitting the vote in hopes that Costante, who is a former Catholic school trustee, could win a two-candidate battle.
“I think what helped this campaign is a few things,” the 34-yearold Costante said. “A strong community effort full of very involved volunteers … and we had a good message.”
Costante captured nearly 60 per cent of the vote in west-end ward to beat Elliott by more than 500 votes. A lawyer whose office is set up in the west end, the biggest issue for Costante was about the replacement span for the Ambassador Bridge and how to ensure it would not have a negative impact to the ward.
“The bridge was No. 1 and building neighbourhoods was No. 2 and that was built on a ton of conversations and resident-led work,” Costante said.
“When I launched my campaign on July 3, I was ready to go. We didn’t care who filed, we were ready to go with a plan. That wouldn’t have changed if people had filed, but, of course, in a one-on-one race, it gives voters a clear choice.” Elliott lost his bid for the seat in 2010 by five votes to veteran Ron Jones, but secured the seat in 2014 by more than 10 per cent and had been touting his record to revitalize the ward.