Brian Saunderson is the new mayor of Collingwood.
Saunderson won with 5,065 votes, beating out John Trude who received 3,310 votes. Michael Blair was third with 999.
Keith Hull was elected deputy mayor with 6,112 votes. Ian Chadwick received 2,828 votes. Of the 9,482 voters, 544 did not vote for a deputy mayor candidate.
Mariane MacLeod was the councillor candidate to receive the most votes winning first seat with 4,683 votes.
Next in line was Tina Comi with 4,468 votes then Bob Madigan with 4,293. The remaining councillors are Deb Doherty with 4,101 votes, Steve Berman with 3,981 votes, Kathy Jeffery with 3,918 votes, and Yvonne Hamlin with 3,813.
Madigan, Doherty, and Jeffery were the only incumbent councillors re-elected.
The voter turnout for this election reached 48 per cent, which is down from the 2014 election when voter turnout reached 52 per cent.
Saunderson, the current deputy mayor and now mayor-elect, was celebrating his win with his campaign team at the Men with Knives Larder on Ronnell Crescent.
"My first reaction was really to be humbled," said Saunderson, adding he was inspired by his team and grateful for the support he received from voters.
Along the campaign trail, Saunderson said he encountered residents who were "by-and-large pleased" with the direction the previous council took to reduce debt, develop a community-based strategic plan, a waterfront master plan and take steps to improve accountability.
The hospital became a hot-button issue during the election campaign and separated Saunderson from fellow mayoral candidate John Trude.
"We knew it was going to be a problem," said Saunderson. "We made a conscious decision this was going to be a positive campaign."
He offered congratulations to his fellow candidates, those who were elected and those who were not.
"It's a huge undertaking and Collingwood is stronger and a better community for it," he said.
Saunderson reflected on the voting system outage last night and resulting 24-hour extension, suggesting it was not something he wanted, but commended the clerk for her decision to extend the voting period by a day.
"It was a good turnout," he said. "We're certainly going to have to look at the process going forward.
Deputy Mayor-elect Keith Hull's celebrations were more subdued. CollingwoodToday reached him by phone while he was picking up his son from work.
"I'm ecstatic with the results," said Hull, "From top-down it's going to be an incredible council."
Along the campaign trail, Hull said he noted a significant concern with affordability and growth in town. However, before making too many sudden moves, Hull said he wants to meet with the other eight members of the council-elect to learn more about their priorities.
"So we move forward collectively instead of individually," said Hull.
Hull also commended town staff for their response to the online and telephone voting outage last night.
"They did an excellent job under difficult circumstances to make sure anyone who wanted to vote still had the opportunity," said Hull, adding he heard from some concerned citizens who were having trouble voting, but later heard they were all able to cast their ballots successfully. "I'm not aware that anybody was disenfranchised. It was an inconvenience, no doubt."
According to a results report from the town, there were 9,482 ballots cast, four of which were blank.
Tanya Snell was elected school board trustee for the English Public School Board.
The remaining candidates received the following votes:
Tim Fryer, 3,492 votes
Cam Ecclesone, 2,386 votes
Dale West, 2,385 votes
Shawn Cooper, 2,349 votes
Jason Booth, 2,195 votes
Christopher Baines, 2,090 votes
Sal Greco, 1,507 votes
Stephen Aldred, 1,421 votes
Kathleen Knoll, 1,323 votes
George Dickenson, 1,084 votes
Nick Brindisi, 1,021 votes
Stuart Beeston, 997 votes.
