Allan Thompson re-elected as Caledon Mayor

October 25, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By JOSHUA SANTOS

Allan Thompson secured a second consecutive term as Mayor of Caledon.

With all polls reporting, the incumbent received 7392 ballots at 45.37 per cent of the vote on Monday, Oct. 22, according to unofficial election results. A total of 16293 votes were casted.

Thompson attended Town Hall with his wife Anne watching the results come in and celebrated his victory at the Royal Ambassador Banquet. He felt a sense of relief.

Thompson will utilize what he learned in his first term as mayor when he takes the helm of council again.

“You’re learning every day. Are there more effective ways of doing things? For sure. You learn as a better leader as time goes on and I find too that the more we can inspire our councillors or staff I really think we can get things done much quickly than we did the first time,” Thompson said.

He was first elected as mayor in 2014 after receiving 7,822 votes. Thompson was first elected to council in 2003 as the area councillor for Ward 2 and subsequently elected as regional councillor in 2006.

He was up against former Ward 1 Regional Councillor Barb Shaughnessy and Kelly Darnley, former CEO of the Caledon Chamber of Commerce. Shaughnessy received 4976 ballots at 30.54 per cent while Darnley obtained 3925 votes at 24.09 per cent.

Shaughnessy was at her home watching the results with her family while Darnley was with her supporters at her campaign office. Shaughnessy declined to comment Monday night while Darnley was unavailable. Shaughnessy will not retain her seat as regional councillor of Ward 1.

Thompson was surprised by the low voter turnout. There were 51,190 eligible voters while 16,528 people casted a ballot at 32.29 per cent.

“I’m surprised of the results for such a low voter turnout,” said Thompson. “I would have thought the turnout would be better. What it tells elected people when the turnout is that low is that there’s no issues. There’re no real big issues. The Town must be doing something right.”

This election season become increasingly volatile especially on social media. Thompson said he stayed out of it.

“It was an echo chamber of negativity and it’s sad to see. We’re an educated society and I think we’re better than that. I think not engaging in that negativity helped my campaign immensely,” said Thompson.

He said he needs to be an inspiring leader to have people follow and show the Town is heading in the right direction.

“There’s been so much misinformation and so much negativity out there, we need to shut it down and focus on what Caledon can really become and that’s bringing everybody together,” said Thompson. “I think that’s the work that I think myself and council have to do. We need to build on our strengths, build on the positive attributes. I think we’re going to have an awesome term for the next four years but I think it’s how we set it in motion. We rise above it and continue on. I really think that’s what we have to do.

He said there’s going to be a lot of changes and sees a lot of positivity in town with the revitalization of the downtown core and pending Amazon warehouse in Caledon.

“They see the beautiful opportunity that we have to offer and I think that’s what we need to celebrate,” said Thompson.

New faces on council

Four incumbents have been re-elected to Caledon council while four new faces have been elected.

Thompson was enthusiastic about the new term of council.

“It looks like we have some good councillors returning and we have some new people. To me I think we have the fundamentals to have a really good council,” said Thompson.

Ward 1 Area

Lynn Kiernan has been elected as the new area councillor for Ward 1 in a tight race. She received 945 votes at 34.09 per cent defeating Dwayne Jackson (915 votes at 33.01 per cent), Mauro Testani (577 votes at 20.82 per cent) and Robert Rees (335 votes at 12.09 per cent). A total of 2772 ballots were casted.

Ward 1 Regional

Ian Sinclar has been elected as the new regional councillor for Ward 1 with 1219 votes at 43.33 per cent. He defeated Tom Sweeny (885 votes at 31.46 per cent), Jim Wallace (650 votes at 23.11 per cent) and William Motley-Bailey (59 votes at 2.10 per cent). A total of 16293 ballots were casted.

Ward 2 Area

Christina Early has been elected as the new area councillor for Ward 2 with 1796 votes at 44.70 per cent. She defeated Sandeep Singh (1193 votes at 29.69 per cent), Christopher Gilmer (447 votes at 11.12 per cent), Brian Dunn (372 votes at 9.26 per cent) and John N. Rutter (210 votes at 5.23 per cent). A total of 4018 ballots were casted.

Ward 2 Regional

Johanna Downey has been re-elected as regional councillor for Ward 2 with 3013 votes at 76.67 per cent. She defeated Kevin Corrigan (917 votes at 23.33 per cent). A total of 3930 ballots were casted.

Ward 3 and 4 Area

Nick DeBoer has been re-elected as area councillor for Ward 3 and 4 with 2319 votes at 56.19 per cent. He defeated Cheryl Connors (1808 at 43.81 per cent). A total of 4127 ballots were casted.

Ward 3 and 4 Regional

Jennifer Innis has been re-elected as regional councillor for Ward 3 and 4 with 2877 votes at 68.50 per cent. She defeated Derek Clark (1323 votes at 31.50 per cent). A total of 4200 ballots were casted.

Ward 5 Area

Tony Rosa has been elected as area councillor for Ward 5 in a contested competition with 2066 votes at 40.77 per cent. He defeated Steve Conforti (2036 votes at 40.17 per cent) and Joe Luschak (966 votes at 19.06). A total of 5068 ballots were casted.

Ward 5 Regional

Annette Groves has been re-elected with 3150 votes at 60.81 per cent. She defeated Angela Panacci (2030 votes at 39.19 per cent). A total of 5180 ballots were casted.

School Board

Peel District School Board

Stan Cameron has been re-elected with 8015 votes at 71.92 per cent. He defeated Dmytro Basmat (1606 votes at 14.41) and Amandeep Singh (1523 votes at 13.67 per cent). A total of 11144 ballots were casted.

Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board

Frank Di Cosola has been re-elected with 3482 votes at 63.18 per cent. He defeated Sheralyn Roman (2029 votes at 36.82 per cent). A total of 5551 votes were casted.