Former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath elected mayor of Hamilton after tight race

Andrea Horwath has been elected mayor of Hamilton after a nail-biting race.

"If I make one promise tonight, as I take the oath of office in a couple of weeks time, it is that I will be transparent. I will make sure city hall is transparent and accountable," she told a room full of people Monday night around 11:30 p.m., as they started cheering for her.

"Because guess what? It's not my city hall, it's not the council members's city hall, it's your city hall. This is your city," she said before supporters sang her happy birthday. Horwath turned 60 on election day.

With all 246 polls reported shortly after midnight, Horwath, the former Ontario NDP leader and Hamilton Centre member of provincial parliament, had 59,216 votes, compared to Loomis's 57,553.

The race was close throughout the night, with Horwath and Loomis taking the lead over each other at different times, after the polls closed at 9:20 p.m.

Only an hour before the final count, Loomis, the former head of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, told supporters at his event around one kilometre away from Horwath's, that he wasn't conceding. "I think there are some scenarios that may make tomorrow look quite different," he told CBC Hamilton.

As "Let's hear it for the boy" from the 1984 movie Footloose played in the background, Loomis said he found it notable that Horwath gave her victory speech before he had conceded. However, he said he is open to working with her to improve things for Hamiltonians in the future.

"I am committed to working with her in any way that I can," he said.

Speaking more generally on the election results, he said, "We knew there was a desire for change and that came out loud and clear."

Not long afterward, a campaign spokesperson indicated Loomis was in fact conceding.

"We've now see the final results and Keanin respects the outcome of the election," said Jeff Blay.

Tuesday, Loomis said on Twitter that he had spoken with Horwath. 

"I had a chance to speak with Andrea Horwath this morning and congratulate her on making history as the first woman mayor of #HamOnt, an achievement we should all celebrate. I pledged to help her in any way I can to improve this incredible city," he wrote.

Fred Eisenberger, the outgoing mayor, issued a statement congratulating Horwath after she declared victory.

"This is a historic win for Andrea, becoming Hamilton's very first female Mayor since our founding in 1846. Andrea will be guided by new ideas, a wealth of experience in how government works at all levels, and a track record of advocating and delivering for Hamiltonians."

Bob Bratina, the former Liberal member of parliament and mayor of Hamilton, came in third, with 17,436.

Three incumbents dethroned

In the lead up to election day, some residents said they wanted a "change election" — they got one, with three incumbent councillors losing their seat.

Several new faces were elected to council: Cameron Kroetsch for Ward 2; Tammy Hwang in Ward 4, Matt Francis in Ward 5, Jeff Beattie in Ward 10, Mark Tadeson in Ward 11, Craig Cassar in Ward 12, Alex Wilson in Ward 13, and Mike Spadafora in Ward 14.

Incumbents who held onto their seat include Maureen Wilson in Ward 1, Nrinder Nann in Ward 3, Tom Jackson in Ward 6, Esther Pauls in Ward 7, John-Paul Danko in Ward 8, and Brad Clark in Ward 9.

Ted McMeekin, a former councillor and Liberal member of provincial parliament, won Ward 15. 

"I'm overjoyed," Kroetsch said on Twitter after declaring victory early on in the night over incumbent Jason Farr. 

"This has been a long journey with many, many volunteers," he told CBC Hamilton by phone afterwards, adding that Ward 2 wanted a councillor who is "compassionate." 

Alex Wilson, 25, was elected Ward 13 councillor, defeating long-time incumbent Arlene VanderBeek by a wide margin.

"We're seeing so clearly that the status quo was failing people," Wilson said in an interview, adding their priorities will be housing and climate change.

Beattie was elected Ward 10 councillor, besting Louie Milojevic and incumbent Maria Pearson.

"I consider this is a victory for the community," he told CBC Hamilton, saying he wants to focus on how the city will respond to Ontario Land Tribunal appeals from developers.

While there was no incumbent in Ward 4, Hwang beat somewhat high-profile candidates in former public school board chair Alex Johnstone and Eric Tuck, president of the (Amalgamated Transit Union) ATU Local 107.

"I am going to work so hard on making sure that I keep your trust and confidence in this next term," she said in a video posted to social media Monday night.

She added she's "honoured" to be the city's first East Asian councillor.

Spadafora edged out a win in Ward 14 over candidate Kojo Damptey, the former executive director of the Hamilton Centre For Civic Inclusion (HCCI) and a prominent community organizer.

Tadeson and Pauls also won by narrow margins. Pauls beat Scott Duvall, who served as a city councillor and Hamilton Mountain NDP member of parliament.

Nail-biting evening at mayoral candidate headquarters

Election results came in later than most municipalities as a delay in the opening of some polling stations kept them open later into the evening. The city released results at 9:20 p.m. rather than 8 p.m. 

Before results were released, Loomis's diverse group of supporters were steadily streaming into downtown event space Bridgeworks. The atmosphere then was enthusiastic and hopeful.

Volunteer Erin Griver said she's been waiting a long time for a different type of leadership. She says as soon as she met Loomis she felt confident he would be a good fit for the role.

"All you have to do is meet him. He's been our there every single day talking to people but most importantly listening… And getting people so hopeful."

Adélé Wilpshire says she has never voted or been involved in politics before meeting Loomis. 

"I didn't ever think this was a forum that included me or was interested in me," she said. "I'm Black, I'm young. In any forum I never thought that I mattered. I am not a voice that comes from a lot of money or status and I thought politics was monopolized by those kinds of people."

Change was coming no matter what

In addition to a new mayor, new councillors were certain in Hamilton wards 4, 5, 11, 12, 14 and 15, with the departures of councillors Sam Merulla, Russ Powers, Brenda Johnson, Lloyd Ferguson, Terry Whitehead and Judi Partridge respectively.

But more than just looking for new faces, many residents have said they're looking for changes in how city hall operates: particularly around transparency after two scandals during the most recent council term that saw important information kept secret from the public, related to safety concerns on the Red Hill Valley Parkway and a 24-billion-litre stormwater and sewage spill in Chedoke Creek.

Voter turnout was roughly 35 per cent slightly down from roughly 38 per cent in 2018. That comes despite having much higher advanced polling rates.

Final election results in Hamilton

Mayor

• Bob Bratina
• Andrea Horwath - elected 
• Keanin Loomis
• Ejaz Butt
• Jim Davis
• Solomon Ikhuiwu
• Hermiz Ishaya
• Michael Pattison

Ward councillors

Ward 1

• Ian MacPherson
• John Vail
• Maureen Wilson - elected

Ward 2

• Shahan Aaron
• Jason Farr
• Cameron Kroetsch - elected 
• Robin McKee
• Raquel Rakovac

Ward 3

• Michael Falletta
• Laura Farr
• Walter Furlan
• Stan Kruchka
• Nrinder Nann - elected

Ward 4

• Maxwell Francis
• Angelica Hasbon
• Tammy Hwang - elected
• Alex Johnstone
• Cindy Kennedy
• Pascale Marchand
• Adam Oldfield
• Robery Paris
• Laura Taylor
• Eric Tuck
• Mary Williams

Ward 5

• Sebastian Aldea
• Krysta Boyer
• Matt Francis - elected
• Kevin Geenen
• Stan Habza
• Bob Hurst
• Ryan Ladner
• Lynda Lukasik
• Gordon Noble
• Angela Pugliese
• George Rusich

Ward 6

• Tom Jackson - elected
• Dan Preston
• Donna Puddu
• Stefan Spolnik
• Chris Slye

Ward 7

• Scott Duvall
• Esther Pauls - elected

Ward 8 

• Sonia Brown
• Joshua Czerniga
• John-Paul Danko - elected
• Anthony Frisina
• Daniel Veltri

Ward 9

• Brad Clark - elected
• Walt Juchniewicz
• Peter Lanza
• Muhammad Naeem

Ward 10

• Jeff Beattie - elected
• Louie Milojevic
• Maria Pearson

Ward 11

• Nick Lauwers
• Terri Moffett
• Nick Pellegrino
• Mark Tadeson - elected 

Ward 12

• Chuck Alkerton
• Robert Baboth
• Craig Cassar - elected 
• Richard Deverson 
• Karl Hanley
• William Robert Hume
• Cindy Kaye
• Megg Markettos
• Bob Maton
• Pamela Mitchell

Ward 13

• Arlene Vanderbeek
• Alex Wilson - elected 

Ward 14

• Kojo Damptey
• Brian Lewis
• Christopher Poole
• Don Ross
• Mike Spadafora - elected
• Christine Seketa
• Colleen Wicken

Ward 15

• Zobia Jawed
• Robert Kunysz
• Ted McMeekin - elected 
• Chris Pera
• Sumaira Waqar

Public school board trustees

Ward 1

• Graeme Noble
• Cameron Prosic
• Wendy Thrasher
• Elizabeth Wong (incumbent) - elected

Ward 2

• Sabreina Dahab - elected
• Tarek Jalbout
• Michael Peters
• Andrew Smyth

Ward 3

• Larry Pattison
• Fatima Baig
• Maria Felix Miller (incumbent) - elected

Ward 4

• Shane Cunningham Boles
• Ray Mulholland (incumbent) - elected
• Davin Thornborrow

Ward 5 and 10

• Zahid Butt
• Marie Marica Jackson
• Nancy Silva Khan
• Joseph Szigeti
• Todd White - elected

Ward 6 and 9

• Kathy Archer (incumbent) - elected
• Jay Edington.

Ward 7

• Amy Cowling
• Dawn Danko (incumbent) - elected
• Ryan Weinberger

Ward 8 and 14

• Behrouz Bakhtiari
• Becky Buck (incumbent) - elected
• Ben O'Reilly
• Ahona Mehdi

Ward 11 and 12

• Amanda Fehrman - elected
• Tom Patterson

Ward 13

• Larry Masters
• Paul Tut (incumbent) - elected

Ward 15

• Syed Banoori
• Catherine Kronas
• Graeme Noble - elected

Catholic school board trustees

Ward 1, 2 and 15

• Mark Valvasori - acclaimed

Ward 3 and 4

• Ralph Agostino
• Josie Angelini - elected

Ward 5

• Aldo D'Intino (incumbent) - elected
• Lucas Mascotto-Carbone

Ward 6

• Ellen Agostino - elected
• Peter Mamer
• Anthony Mari

Ward 7

• Nick Agostino
• Michael Di Giacomo
• Patrick John Daly (incumbent) - elected

Ward 8 and 14

• Francesco Capisciolto
• Wieslawa Chrapka
• John Valvasori - elected

Ward 9 and 11

• Louis Agro - elected
• Jeanie Corner
• Tyler Iorio

Ward 10

• Andrea Di Nicola
• Mary Angela Nardini - elected

Ward 12 and 13

• Phil Homerski - elected
• Ricky Tavares

Marcel Levesque was elected as the French Catholic school board trustee (Conseil Scolaire Catholique MonAvenir) while Pierre Gregory was acclaimed as the French public school board trustee (Conseil scolaire Viamonde).