Fresh faces take the reins as mayoral incumbents fall short across Waterloo region

There were some major upsets during Monday night’s municipal election with incumbent mayors in Cambridge, Waterloo, Wellesley and Wilmot losing their races.

Scott Hamilton in Cambridge, who is the city’s Ward 7 councillor, beat incumbent Jan Liggett with over 56 per cent of the vote. Liggett placed third, capturing only 11 per cent of the vote.

In Waterloo, a rematch between sitting mayor Dorothy McCabe and Shannon Weber took place. Weber lost to McCabe in 2022 by 331 votes, but came back much stronger this time, beating McCabe by 6,379 votes.

Wilmot’s Natasha Salonen also saw a major upset Monday night, placing third after second place Stephanie Goertz. Township Ward 2 councillor Kris Wilkinson ended up winning the mayoral race.

There was also a shake up in Wellesley as Chris Martin ousted incumbent Joe Nowak, who served three terms as mayor in that township. Martin was the only other candidate running for mayor in Wellesley.

Shannon Weber walks onto the stage at her watch party. She won the mayoral race in Waterloo, beating incumbent Dorothy McCabe. (Aastha Shetty/CBC)

Historically, incumbents are favoured to win since they have the advantage of name recognition on the ballot, especially in municipal elections.

Retired political professor from the University of Waterloo, Robert Williams, said it may be the case of residents seeing the situation as the “glass empty or half full.”

“I think for a lot of people, those who think about it a lot or do the research, it’s really a question of, ‘Am I satisfied with the performance of the mayor leaving aside that I know that name’ or are they saying maybe there’s a better way to do this?” he told CBC News.

Williams said change in municipal politics is normally fueled by conflict during a mayor’s term and residents doing their homework for a new candidate.

“That takes a fair bit of preparation, thinking and research and for a lot of people, it’s probably a lot more than they would be putting into it,” he said.

“It’s often just as easy to look for a name you recognize and go for that.”

Wave of fresh faces leading council

Local councils across the region will also look very different, as a wave of fresh faces will take charge of the region’s municipalities over the next four years.

With the exception of the City of Kitchener, the municipalities of Cambridge, Waterloo, Woolwich, North Dumfries, Wellesley and Wilmot will have new mayors.

It will also mean that regional council will look a little different since elected mayors sit on regional council, making decisions around the regional budget and other big ticket items like homelessness and transit.

North Dumfries and Woolwich will also have new mayors leading the townships for the next four years after Sue Foxton and Sandy Shantz also announced they would not seek reelection.

Elmira councillor Evan Burgess was elected as Woolwich’s new mayor and Rodney Rollerman was elected in North Dumfries.

Leanne Caron speaks to supporters at her watch party Monday night. (Diego Pizarro/CBC)

Guelph also has a brand new mayor after Cam Guthrie announced he would not seek re-election after serving three terms.

Leanne Caron won the mayoral race in that city with 54 per cent of the vote. Caron will be a familiar face in a different role, as someone who has been in council since 2006.

Mayors can capture identity of community

In Kitchener, Berry Vrbanovic will enter his fourth term as mayor. he won the vote by a landslide, earning 55 per cent of the vote. Runner up Cindy Ward only managed to capture 15 per cent of the vote.

Andrea Perrella, an associate professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University said a mayor can capture the identity of a community.

“Vrbanovic very much reflects that, so when you think of Vrbanovic, you think of Kitchener,” he told CBC News.

“It’s not just an administrator when you think of Kitchener. So he he’s part of that brand, part of the Kitchener community brand.”