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A big change in Collingwood!
26 October 2010
What a night. What a change! The pundits were right in their predictions that a wave of change was coming, but I don't think many realized it would be this big. Collingwood came out in tsunami-strength force to vote - a record-breaking number just shy of 50 per cent turnout - and firmly repudiated the current administration in favour of newcomers and promises of change.
Only two council incumbents - Mike Edwards and me - were returned to the council table. The rest were swept away by the electorate.
Some of the numbers are stunning. Landslides, they are. In the race for mayor, Sandra Cooper took more than double what her combined opponents polled. Her main opponent, Councillor Kathy Jeffrey, polled a remote third at less than 17% of Cooper's tally. For the first three years, Jeffrey was a staunch supporter of the current mayor and only in the past year was seen as standing separate from him on some issues. She took an opposing stand over the patio issue and supported the curbside move, despite public opposition.
Newcomer Mike Young came a distant second - had he been running for council, I suspect he would have handily taken a seat. His no-nonsense, common sense approach resonated with a lot of voters, but although he surpassed Jeffrey by 500 votes, wasn't enough to seriously challenge the Cooper machine.
Here are the numbers for the mayoralty race, with 8,447 total votes cast:
Sandra made history as Collingwood's first woman mayor. She took more than 67% of the vote, a clear and eloquent vote of confidence.
The strength of Sandra's win is a snapshot of the public opinion about both the popular issues and the current mayor. The public cried, "Enough!" Canadians often tend to vote against, rather than for things, and in this election I believe as many votes were cast against the mayor and his supporters as were cast for the candidates. That added up to some major changes for next term.
The race for deputy mayor was equally or perhaps even more dramatic. Former councillor Rick Lloyd was paired against incumbent Councillor Norman Sandberg. Rick had been worried that he would have a tough fight on his hands against the well-spoken, accomplished Sandberg. He was unsure of his chances. But the public chose him handily, with more than double the number of votes than his opponent scored and almost 72% of the total - a huge victory. Of the 8,147 total votes cast:
As I wrote in an earlier post, the mayor was the albatross around the necks of Jeffrey and Sandberg, and their chances of winning were in large part dependent on them separating themselves from him early in the race. The results show to me that association weighed both candidates down well below their potential.
In his loss, Sandberg also loses his seat as president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) board. The costs of that role played some part in his election loss, but not as much, I suspect, as his close ties with the mayor, or his adamant stand on keeping the patios curbside.
For the next election, I think we should re-consider the role of deputy mayor and ask whether it should be a separate race as it is now, or rather given to the councillor who polls highest.
Council candidates took a collective 47,047 total votes. That's astounding. Of that 25,860 were cast for the winners, or almost 55% of the total.
The winners in the race for council are:
Edwards continues to take top spot as he did last term, although for the life of me, I can't think of a single thing he stands for aside from parsimony over issues and projects he doesn't like (he's generous enough with those he supports). But he's a nice guy and contrary to the adage, nice guys apparently finish first. Edwards was also a strong supporter of the mayor for the first half of the term, and only recanted his vote to kill the Admiral Collingwood project during the election, but it appears he was forgiven.
Lloyd worked hard for his seat, tirelessly campaigning door-to-door. Shows what you can achieve by aggressively stumping on the hustings. Lloyd also made the somewhat canny move of declaring almost as soon as it was legal to do so, and getting some early publicity from that.
I moved up from sixth to third place, a comfortable position with several hundred more votes than I got last term. More, I should note, than Scoop predicted for me, although he did predict correctly I would be third. I've been told the current mayor had predicted I would not do very well this election. If so, it seems he misread the public mood, something he's been doing for the last four years. I think my win vindicates my efforts this term.
I thank everyone who voted for me and had faith in my attempts to keep things above board and in the open this term. I will do my best to live up to your confidence in me. I expect we will have a much more effective, open council that won't be prey to as many of the hijinks of the current council.
Both Keith and Dale were also predicted wins, coming in with comfortable margins, and they will both be good at the table, bringing much-needed perspectives on many issues.
Sandy is a surprise. I didn't see a lot of his signs, or hear anything about him from the public. He came from the middle of the pack to take a seat as sixth, and I think that caught the pundits off-guard, most of whom predicted he would not make it. I'm not sure if that speaks to the strength of his campaign or the weakness of the others', but he took a seat with a good margin regardless. I think Sandy will bring a lot to the table as well, particularly his experience in municipal administration as former fire chief.
At last place, Joe is the wild card. He was elected in 2003, but resigned from council in 2004 after a fit of pique. I didn't think the public would forgive him quitting, but I was wrong. Joe was a strong supporter of the current mayor last election and was one of the recommended slate of candidates proposed by the CCRA in 06, but the only one of their seven not to get elected. He has been, I've been told, a strong supporter of Jeffrey and Sandberg this election, as well, and that could play against him this term.
Joe barely managed to eke out a seat, coming in a mere 27 votes about the eighth-place Donna Mansfield (a precarious hold that could be lost in a recount if called).
The candidates who did not get elected are, in order:
Michael Christie didn't do as well as I had expected, either. He was endorsed by the Collingwood Connection and was the only one on their list not to take a seat at the table. He has a lot of solid business experience and worked within the BIA - he is the current chair of the board. I suspect his stand on keeping the patios curbside hurt him and had he recanted and chosen the building side, he would have placed much higher, and likely taken a seat at the table. There's precious little retail experience among the new council and his presence would have helped keep both small business and BIA interests in the forefront.
Cheryl also posted lower than I expected. I had thought she might even be a contender with Donna for a seat because she speaks well, is confident, and presented some good arguments in her speeches.
The first incumbent to show up on the list is Tim McNabb, at 12th spot. The rest follow: Dave Labelle at 14th, Sonny Foley at 15th; all three of them came in a rung or two higher than where I expected them to be. Tim's the only one who even garnered 2,000 votes, and just barely - more than 700 below the number needed to get a seat at the table. All three placed below the half-way mark in the list and collectively tally barely more than Mike Edwards got by himself.
All three incumbents have been ardent supporters of the mayor, except over the recent patio issue. However, Labelle was one of the only three of us to vote against the mayor to repeal the Admiral Collingwood development's legally and democratically-approved permits. I thought that might have stood him in better stead with the voters in this backlash vote, but apparently not.
As recently as last week, one of these incumbents was telling me how the current mayor was the best mayor the town's ever had, and how the worst thing that could happen would be to see Sandra and Rick get in together. Seems the public disagreed with his assessment in a very big way. The vote is a significant repudiation of the current mayor, his supporters, policies and practices. That didn't surprise me, but I suspect it did some of the incumbents.
As for the remainder, there are few surprises. Scoop thought Wendy would show better and even had her pegged as a contender for one of the bottom three seats. She placed eighth in 2006, but since then has not been as vocal about issues, and has had fewer letters to the editor to keep her name in play this term. She placed 11th this time, almost 500 votes less than she needed to get a seat, but well above any of the three incumbents, so that's a feather in her cap.
I personally thought Norm Minnikin would rate a higher place, because he was one of the few candidates who showed up at council meetings for several months before the election to pay attention to issues and watch how council operated. His campaign, however, was low-key. I suspect he could be a good commenter/blogger about the next council, and that could be good for his name recognition, if he decides to run in 2014.
Congratulations to everyone. It takes a lot of courage and effort to put your name in the ring, and even if you didn't win, you have my respect and admiration for trying.
To round off the results, here are the school trustee votes:
English Public School Trustee - 5,610 total votes.
English Separate School Trustee - 745 total votes.
French Public School Trustee - 13 total votes.
Pretty soon we'll start to see media and online post-mortems about the current administration, about why and where it failed, and why the voters rejected it so fervently. We need these political obituaries to help understand where it went wrong, and how we move forward beyond the mistakes of the past. Of course, I'll write my own on this blog.
I suppose I have only a few more weeks left to gripe about this council - next council I might find myself looking for other things to complain about, since I suspect it will be a good, effective and dedicated group. But I will continue to blog and to keep you informed, even if it's all sweetness and light at times.
I have recommended o staff that the town invite all the council-elect to both the annual staff service awards night, in November, and to the town Christmas party in December. I believe it would be a great way for the newcomers to meet staff, to hear about their accomplishments, and to get to know them. They can share in the pride we have for their dedication and efforts. And it would be a good way for staff to meet them, too.
It would also give the new council a chance to socialize for the first time and get to know one another - and start a new relationship on a positive note.
Only two council incumbents - Mike Edwards and me - were returned to the council table. The rest were swept away by the electorate.
Some of the numbers are stunning. Landslides, they are. In the race for mayor, Sandra Cooper took more than double what her combined opponents polled. Her main opponent, Councillor Kathy Jeffrey, polled a remote third at less than 17% of Cooper's tally. For the first three years, Jeffrey was a staunch supporter of the current mayor and only in the past year was seen as standing separate from him on some issues. She took an opposing stand over the patio issue and supported the curbside move, despite public opposition.
Newcomer Mike Young came a distant second - had he been running for council, I suspect he would have handily taken a seat. His no-nonsense, common sense approach resonated with a lot of voters, but although he surpassed Jeffrey by 500 votes, wasn't enough to seriously challenge the Cooper machine.
Here are the numbers for the mayoralty race, with 8,447 total votes cast:
- Sandra Cooper 5,702
- Mike Young 1,447
- Kathy Jeffery 964
- Eammon D. Paterson 225
- Raymond Thomas Branget 109
Sandra made history as Collingwood's first woman mayor. She took more than 67% of the vote, a clear and eloquent vote of confidence.
The strength of Sandra's win is a snapshot of the public opinion about both the popular issues and the current mayor. The public cried, "Enough!" Canadians often tend to vote against, rather than for things, and in this election I believe as many votes were cast against the mayor and his supporters as were cast for the candidates. That added up to some major changes for next term.
The race for deputy mayor was equally or perhaps even more dramatic. Former councillor Rick Lloyd was paired against incumbent Councillor Norman Sandberg. Rick had been worried that he would have a tough fight on his hands against the well-spoken, accomplished Sandberg. He was unsure of his chances. But the public chose him handily, with more than double the number of votes than his opponent scored and almost 72% of the total - a huge victory. Of the 8,147 total votes cast:
- Rick Lloyd 5,836
- Norman Sandberg 2,311
As I wrote in an earlier post, the mayor was the albatross around the necks of Jeffrey and Sandberg, and their chances of winning were in large part dependent on them separating themselves from him early in the race. The results show to me that association weighed both candidates down well below their potential.
In his loss, Sandberg also loses his seat as president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) board. The costs of that role played some part in his election loss, but not as much, I suspect, as his close ties with the mayor, or his adamant stand on keeping the patios curbside.
For the next election, I think we should re-consider the role of deputy mayor and ask whether it should be a separate race as it is now, or rather given to the councillor who polls highest.
Council candidates took a collective 47,047 total votes. That's astounding. Of that 25,860 were cast for the winners, or almost 55% of the total.
The winners in the race for council are:
- Mike Edwards 4,925 (incumbent)
- Kevin Lloyd 4,336
- Ian Chadwick 3,791 (incumbent)
- Keith Hull 3,638
- Dale R. West 3,342
- Sandy Cunningham 3,090
- Joe Gardhouse 2,738
Edwards continues to take top spot as he did last term, although for the life of me, I can't think of a single thing he stands for aside from parsimony over issues and projects he doesn't like (he's generous enough with those he supports). But he's a nice guy and contrary to the adage, nice guys apparently finish first. Edwards was also a strong supporter of the mayor for the first half of the term, and only recanted his vote to kill the Admiral Collingwood project during the election, but it appears he was forgiven.
Lloyd worked hard for his seat, tirelessly campaigning door-to-door. Shows what you can achieve by aggressively stumping on the hustings. Lloyd also made the somewhat canny move of declaring almost as soon as it was legal to do so, and getting some early publicity from that.
I moved up from sixth to third place, a comfortable position with several hundred more votes than I got last term. More, I should note, than Scoop predicted for me, although he did predict correctly I would be third. I've been told the current mayor had predicted I would not do very well this election. If so, it seems he misread the public mood, something he's been doing for the last four years. I think my win vindicates my efforts this term.
I thank everyone who voted for me and had faith in my attempts to keep things above board and in the open this term. I will do my best to live up to your confidence in me. I expect we will have a much more effective, open council that won't be prey to as many of the hijinks of the current council.
Both Keith and Dale were also predicted wins, coming in with comfortable margins, and they will both be good at the table, bringing much-needed perspectives on many issues.
Sandy is a surprise. I didn't see a lot of his signs, or hear anything about him from the public. He came from the middle of the pack to take a seat as sixth, and I think that caught the pundits off-guard, most of whom predicted he would not make it. I'm not sure if that speaks to the strength of his campaign or the weakness of the others', but he took a seat with a good margin regardless. I think Sandy will bring a lot to the table as well, particularly his experience in municipal administration as former fire chief.
At last place, Joe is the wild card. He was elected in 2003, but resigned from council in 2004 after a fit of pique. I didn't think the public would forgive him quitting, but I was wrong. Joe was a strong supporter of the current mayor last election and was one of the recommended slate of candidates proposed by the CCRA in 06, but the only one of their seven not to get elected. He has been, I've been told, a strong supporter of Jeffrey and Sandberg this election, as well, and that could play against him this term.
Joe barely managed to eke out a seat, coming in a mere 27 votes about the eighth-place Donna Mansfield (a precarious hold that could be lost in a recount if called).
The candidates who did not get elected are, in order:
- Donna Mansfield 2,711
- Dale Hogg 2,576
- Michael F. Christie 2,394
- Wendy McKenzie 2,269
- Tim McNabb 2,002 (incumbent)
- Cheryl Nicholls Jones 1,766
- Dave Labelle 1,512 (incumbent)
- Sonny Foley 1,465 (incumbent)
- David Cubitt 1,047
- Irene Irving-Matwijec 948
- John Kitchen 801
- Trevor L. Henson 695
- Norman Minnikin 546
- Nello A. Torti 455
Michael Christie didn't do as well as I had expected, either. He was endorsed by the Collingwood Connection and was the only one on their list not to take a seat at the table. He has a lot of solid business experience and worked within the BIA - he is the current chair of the board. I suspect his stand on keeping the patios curbside hurt him and had he recanted and chosen the building side, he would have placed much higher, and likely taken a seat at the table. There's precious little retail experience among the new council and his presence would have helped keep both small business and BIA interests in the forefront.
Cheryl also posted lower than I expected. I had thought she might even be a contender with Donna for a seat because she speaks well, is confident, and presented some good arguments in her speeches.
The first incumbent to show up on the list is Tim McNabb, at 12th spot. The rest follow: Dave Labelle at 14th, Sonny Foley at 15th; all three of them came in a rung or two higher than where I expected them to be. Tim's the only one who even garnered 2,000 votes, and just barely - more than 700 below the number needed to get a seat at the table. All three placed below the half-way mark in the list and collectively tally barely more than Mike Edwards got by himself.
All three incumbents have been ardent supporters of the mayor, except over the recent patio issue. However, Labelle was one of the only three of us to vote against the mayor to repeal the Admiral Collingwood development's legally and democratically-approved permits. I thought that might have stood him in better stead with the voters in this backlash vote, but apparently not.
As recently as last week, one of these incumbents was telling me how the current mayor was the best mayor the town's ever had, and how the worst thing that could happen would be to see Sandra and Rick get in together. Seems the public disagreed with his assessment in a very big way. The vote is a significant repudiation of the current mayor, his supporters, policies and practices. That didn't surprise me, but I suspect it did some of the incumbents.
As for the remainder, there are few surprises. Scoop thought Wendy would show better and even had her pegged as a contender for one of the bottom three seats. She placed eighth in 2006, but since then has not been as vocal about issues, and has had fewer letters to the editor to keep her name in play this term. She placed 11th this time, almost 500 votes less than she needed to get a seat, but well above any of the three incumbents, so that's a feather in her cap.
I personally thought Norm Minnikin would rate a higher place, because he was one of the few candidates who showed up at council meetings for several months before the election to pay attention to issues and watch how council operated. His campaign, however, was low-key. I suspect he could be a good commenter/blogger about the next council, and that could be good for his name recognition, if he decides to run in 2014.
Congratulations to everyone. It takes a lot of courage and effort to put your name in the ring, and even if you didn't win, you have my respect and admiration for trying.
To round off the results, here are the school trustee votes:
English Public School Trustee - 5,610 total votes.
- Caroline Smith 3,326
- Rod Brown 2,284
English Separate School Trustee - 745 total votes.
- Shawn Cooper 531
- Michael Foreman 214
French Public School Trustee - 13 total votes.
- Guy M. Belcourt 7
- Eric R. Lapointe 6
- Luc Gagnon 6
- Cindy A. Labas 4
- Adrien A. Lamoureux 2
Pretty soon we'll start to see media and online post-mortems about the current administration, about why and where it failed, and why the voters rejected it so fervently. We need these political obituaries to help understand where it went wrong, and how we move forward beyond the mistakes of the past. Of course, I'll write my own on this blog.
I suppose I have only a few more weeks left to gripe about this council - next council I might find myself looking for other things to complain about, since I suspect it will be a good, effective and dedicated group. But I will continue to blog and to keep you informed, even if it's all sweetness and light at times.
I have recommended o staff that the town invite all the council-elect to both the annual staff service awards night, in November, and to the town Christmas party in December. I believe it would be a great way for the newcomers to meet staff, to hear about their accomplishments, and to get to know them. They can share in the pride we have for their dedication and efforts. And it would be a good way for staff to meet them, too.
It would also give the new council a chance to socialize for the first time and get to know one another - and start a new relationship on a positive note.
