In the most crowded ward in Monday’s municipal election in Orillia, the incumbents prevailed.
Ward 4 voters returned Pat Hehn and Tim Lauer to the council table for another four years.
Lauer led the list of six candidates, receiving 1,490 votes (34.27 per cent). He was pleased but not necessarily surprised at his re-election, given his experience knocking on doors during the campaign.
“I recognize, in this day and age, that elections can go either way very quickly, but when I was campaigning, there was a really positive feeling,” he said. “The reception I was getting was a positive feeling about what this council had accomplished.”
What did surprise Lauer was the number of votes he secured.
“I thought our ward was really competitive. We had some great candidates across the board,” he said. “I was thinking I would be closer to the pack.”
Hehn, who garnered 950 votes (21.85 per cent), feels voters still remember the acrimony that plagued the 2010-14 council, and she believes it played a role in the results.
“Four years ago, I was not an incumbent and people were generally dissatisfied with the council as a whole and they wanted a change,” she said. “(Monday’s result) shows that they’ve seen a change in direction in this council, that there’s been a decorum. For the most part, we’ve treated each other with respect.”
It was about action, too, not just attitude, she added.
“We’ve accomplished a lot in the past four years. That’s what the residents recognized.”
Of the four women running for election, Hehn was the only one voted in.
“I’m glad that there’s at least one woman on council. It’s important to have female representation,” she said. “I would have liked there to have been more, and I would have liked more to run.”
Lauer is confident council will have a respectful and productive 2018-22 term with two new councillors at the table – David Campbell in Ward 1 and Jay Fallis in Ward 3.
“I know both of the new councillors. They’re both earnest and will put in a good effort,” he said.
While the incumbents won the night, Lauer recognizes many residents were seeking change when they cast their ballots.
“It’s an affirmation that the majority of folks think we’re headed in a good way, but there were a significant number of votes to indicate there was some dissatisfaction,” he said. “That has to be paid attention to and we have to see how we can address their concerns.”
Despite pulling out of the race, Andrew Shuttleworth remained on the ballot as he withdrew after the deadline to officially do so. He came in last, but barely – collecting 71 votes to sixth-place finisher Richard Weese’s 72.
Ward 4 results (unofficial)
Tim Lauer: 1,490 (34.27 per cent)
Pat Hehn: 950 (21.85 per cent)
Ed Novosky: 727 (16.72 per cent)
Peter Hislop: 562 (12.93 per cent)
Stephanie Kenny: 476 (10.95 per cent)
Richard Weese: 72 (1.66 per cent)
Andrew Shuttleworth: 71 (1.63 per cent)
