Rob Burton has been elected to his fifth term as Oakville’s mayor, beating out challenger Julia Hanna by fewer than 1,000 votes.
The veteran mayor was re-elected with 19,949 votes (49.24%), while Hanna earned 19,063 (47.06%) of the ballots cast.
Third-place finisher Jack Kukolic received 1,498 (3.7%) of votes.
Celebrating his win surrounded by supporters at Monaghan’s pub, Burton said his victory felt great. He was joined by a number of re-elected councillors.
Burton will oversee a town council of 11 returning councillors and three new faces.
While most incumbent councillors easily recaptured their seats, Ward 1 saw urban planner and life-long Bronte resident Jonathan McNeice beat incumbent Beth Robertson for the town council seat.
An emotional McNeice credited the hard work of his volunteers and his passion for the community for his win.
In Ward 7, Scott Xie will replace Jasvinder Sandhu, who chose not to run again. Nav Nanda ousted Pavan Parmar as the Ward 7 town and regional councillor.
At the regional level, Gary Carr handily beat out challengers Jane McKenna and Andrea Grebenc to hold on to the job of regional chair for a fifth term.
Despite the high-profile rematch of Burton and Hanna, as well as active council races in five of seven wards, Oakville’s voter turnout plummeted nearly 10 per cent this election.
Fewer than a third (28.3%) of eligible voters cast a ballot in this election, down from 37 per cent in 2018. The highest voter turnout was in Wards 1, 3 and 7.
The new term of council begins Nov. 15.
The following are unofficial results. Official results will be posted on elections.oakville.ca following certification by the town clerk. They are expected to be released by Oct. 27.
Who did Oakville elect?
Mayor
Rob Burton – 19,949 (ELECTED)
Julia Hanna – 19,063
Jack Kukolic – 1,498
Ward 1 town council
Jonathan McNeice – 3,137 (ELECTED)
Beth Robertson – 2,755
John Florio - 476
Oliver Vadas - 157
Ward 1 town and regional council
Sean O’Meara – 4,898 (ELECTED)
JD Meaney – 1,708
Ward 2
With no registered opponents, incumbent councillors Ray Chisholm (town) and Cathy Duddeck (town and regional) were acclaimed to their positions.
Ward 3 town council
Dave Gittings – 4,438 (ELECTED)
Dyanne Dumas – 898
Janet Haslett-Theall acclaimed as town and regional councillor
Ward 4 town council
Peter Longo – 5,465 (ELECTED)
Gordon Brennan – 1,398
Ward 4 town and regional council
Allan Elgar – 5,806 (ELECTED)
Gilbert Jubinville – 1,050
Ward 5 town council
Marc Grant – 2,769 (ELECTED)
Michael Reid – 1,951
Angela Parsons – 970
Pierre Sauvageot – 368
Ward 5 town and regional council
Jeff Knoll – 4,529 (ELECTED)
Alicia Bedford – 1,592
Ward 6 town council
Natalia Lishchyna – 4,238 (ELECTED)
Lama Aggad – 739
Tom Adams acclaimed as town and regional councillor
Ward 7 town councillor
Scott Xie – 820 (ELECTED)
Amir Henry – 687
Ajay Rosha – 482
Shahab Khan – 385
Nabil Bin Arif – 380
Melody Wong-Gonsalves – 315
Gregory Park – 293
Kashif Chaudry – 126
Faryal Ghanzanfar – 39
Ward 7 town and regional councillor
Nav Nanda – 1,984 (ELECTED)
Pavan Parmar – 1,454
Halton Regional Chair
Gary Carr – 45,579 (21,109 Oakville votes) (ELECTED)
Jane McKenna – 27,729 (9,609 Oakville votes)
Andrea Grebenc – 16,337 (6,783 Oakville votes)
Halton District School Board trustees
Ward 1 and 2
Carole Baxter – 6,276 (ELECTED)
Zena Al-Mudaris – 953
Abdullahi Jama – 710
Ward 3 and 6
Tanya Rocha acclaimed
Ward 4
Joanna Oliver – 3,535 (ELECTED)
Cheryl De Lugt – 822
Ward 5 and 7
Kelly Amos – 4290 (ELECTED)
Gemma Ahn – 2,386
Halton Catholic District School Board
Ward 1, 2 and 3
Robert Kennedy – 1,843 (ELECTED)
Alice Anne LeMay – 816
Alex Power – 651
Garrett Dennie – 192
Ward 4 and 7
Chris Saunders – 1,212 (ELECTED)
Ian McCombe - 740
Martin Gegus - 674
Ward 5 and 6
Helena Karabela – 2,171 (ELECTED)
Sylvia Agorua-Uzonwanne – 860
French trustees acclaimed: Pierre Gregory and Dominique Janssens.