Municipal elections in Richmond Hill, Ontario

Municipal elections in Richmond Hill, Ontario are held every four years, concurrent with other municipal elections in Ontario. Historically, elections were held more often. Elected positions include mayor, regional and local councillor and ward councillors (for six different wards) on the Richmond Hill City Council, as well as trustees for the York Region District School Board, the York Catholic District School Board and for a Conseillere for the Conseil Scholare de District de Centre SudOuest.

1873 election

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The first election in Richmond Hill was held January 6, 1873, just after its incorporation as a village.[1] The campaign focused on the need to build a new high school as the one built in the 1850s was becoming crowded.

 
Abraham Law, elected the first reeve of Richmond Hill

The vote tallies were (elected candidates bolded):

Reeve Votes Councillors Votes
Abraham Law 56 William Warren 98
Andrew McNair 47 Jacob Brillinger 83
Dr. John Duncumb 5 William Powell 77
David Hopkins 62
James Freek 58
J.R. Arnold 42

1985 election

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Concurrent with the 1985 election, two plebiscites were held, one relating to the ward system and one relating to Nuclear-free zones.[2] Voters rejected the new ward system 5057 to 5460 and endorsed the nuclear-free zone declaration 7073 to 3272. Low voter turnout was credited to the poor weather and the lack of a mayoral race.[3]

Mayor Votes Local and Regional Councillor Votes Ward 1 Votes Ward 2 Votes Ward 3 Votes Ward 4 Votes Ward 5 Votes Ward 6 Votes
Al Duffy Accl. Gordon Rowe 4890 Tom Simpson 681 Doug Smith 1455 William F. Bell 1042 Gail Blackburn 1345 Bob Case 1108 Bryon Wilfert 810
Lois Hancey 6232 Bill Corcoran 3468 Frank Gallant 1058 Terence Munsey 128 Paul Hunter 585 Bernie Gaten 755 Nick Papa 333
David Amos 2814 Larry Ashton 207 James Justin Hogan 106 Gerry O'Donnell 313 Frank Cavallo 381
Steven Rotman 747 John Fearon 44 Joe Pacitto 151

1988 election

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The election was held November 14, 1988.[4][5] Issues in the election included the rapid building of houses in Richmond Hill which many felt had outpaced the growth of corresponding services.[6] The relationship between the town councillors and developers had also been the subject of controversy.[7]

Mayor Votes Local and Regional Councillor Votes Ward 1 Votes Ward 2 Votes Ward 3 Votes Ward 4 Votes Ward 5 Votes Ward 6 Votes
William F. Bell 8887 Frank Endean 6277 Tom Simpson 1737 Janet Mabley 1901 David Cohen 1456 Gail Blackburn 2466 Catherine Bishop 1907 Bryon Wilfert 1479
Al Duffy 5386 Lois Hancey 6002 Bonnie Tiffin 589 Nicholas Legge 802 Bronwyn Frazer 976 Dennis Chris 919 Nick Papa 1636 Rosario DeGregorio 671
Isabelle Gargarella 4811 Linda Christie 5940 David Amos 530 Terence Munsey 433 Nick Negri 322
Bill Monroe 4407 Joanne Leroux-Willison 138 Stephen Kaye 350
Robert Cage 3749
Larry Ashton 1165

1991 election

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One of the main issue of the 1991 election was plans to scrap the building of a large civic centre in the downtown area, and instead lease office space in Beaver Creek Industrial Park for that purpose, and build a single purpose library downtown instead of integrating it into a multi-purpose facility.[8]

2003 election

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The 2003 election was held on November 12, 2003.

Mayor[9] Votes Local and Regional Councillor Votes Ward 1[10] Votes Ward 2[11] Votes Ward 3[12] Votes Ward 4[13] Votes Ward 5[14] Votes Ward 6[15] Votes
William F. Bell 2373 Vito Spatafora 2052 Arnie Warner 2027 David Cohen 1750 Lynn Foster 1830 Elio Di Iorio 2420 Joe DiPaola 1444
William Lazenby 917 Vince Agozzino 2006 Gary Schecter 614 Agnes Chan-Wong 1257 Bruce Gilmour 1121 Nick Papa 2175 Michael Charles Latour 858
Sonny Khan 202 Cathy Leung-Rosnuk 995 Ali Mian 399 Shirley Chan 86 Ted Bunker 850 Lucy Rosina Cunningham 294 Godwin Chan 702
Joe Pacitto 315 Blair Kingsland 107 Ali Zahedi 43 Jane Robertson 608

2006 election

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The election debates centred on urban sprawl, especially with regards to the Oak Ridges Moraine, waste management and urban renewal in the downtown area of Richmond Hill.[16]

Mayor[17] Votes Local and Regional Councillor[18] Votes Ward 1[19] Votes Ward 2[20] Votes Ward 3[21] Votes Ward 4[22] Votes Ward 5[23] Votes Ward 6[24] Votes
Dave Barrow 22007 Brenda Hogg 15296 Greg Beros 1568 Arnie Warner 2128 David Cohen 2179 Lynn Foster 4046 Nick Papa 2509 Godwin Chan 1627
David McCann 2661 Vito Spatafora 14536 Carrie Hoffelner 1209 Asghar Naqvi 1138 Natalie Helferty 685 Shiraz Hudda 608 Elio di Iorio 2480 Michael

Charles Latour

1292
Anastasios Baxevanidis 2276 Joe DiPaola 13916 Don Ciccone 746 Carmine Perrelli 1095 Vik Gandhi 436 Marg Aldridge 609 Sandra di Iorio 1069
Ramon Datol 962 Heather Sinclair 328 Mike McCallum 354 Arif Khan 228 Michael McGouran 552 Derek Wu 614
Adam Dodwell 78 D.L. Meitz 63 Nancy Storey 502 Muhammad Ali 303

2010 election

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The 2010 election was held on October 25, 2010.[25] This was the first election in Richmond Hill where the ballots were tabulated electronically instead of manually.[26] Issues in the election included regional transit planning (e.g. VIVA rapidways, Line 1 Yonge extension), the future of the David Dunlap Observatory, and debt in York Region.[27][28]

2010 Richmond Hill Election Results[29]
Position Electee
Mayor Dave Barrow
Local and Regional Councillor Vito Spatafora
Local and Regional Councillor Brenda Hogg
Ward 1 Councillor Greg Beros
Ward 2 Councillor Carmine Perrelli
Ward 3 Councillor Castro Liu
Ward 4 Councillor Lynn Foster
Ward 5 Councillor Nick Papa
Ward 6 Councillor Godwin Chan

2014 election

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The 2014 election was held on October 27, 2014.

2014 Richmond Hill Election Results [30]
Mayor Votes Local and Regional Councillor Votes Ward 1 Votes Ward 2 Votes Ward 3 Votes Ward 4 Votes Ward 5 Votes Ward 6 Votes
Dave Barrow 23397 Vito Spatafora 16112 Greg Beros 3426 Tom Muench 958 Castro Liu 3758 David West 3815 Karen Cilevitz 3405 Godwin Chan 4177
Carmine Perrelli 12320 Brenda Hogg 14145 Todd Hansen 1352 Stan Daneman 937 Donalda Johnson 950 Angel Freedman 2007 Nick Papa 2730 Frank Mastroianni 1365
Anastasios Baxevanidis 989 Joe DiPaola 13269 Trifon Haitas 749 Marjan Moridi-Arcuri 923 Alireza Rafiee 286 Ted Schneider 819 Ted Leider 1292 Igor Bily 190
David Cohen 11561 Alex Khoroshylov 289 Ramona Singh 756 Davood Borojerdi-Azar 151
Karen Trofimchuk 3672 Keith Menezes 734
Ally Hemani 535
Paul Tuen Muk 216
Paul Pilli 196
Morteza Behrooz 104

2018 election

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The 2018 election was held on October 22, 2018.

2018 Richmond Hill Election Results [31]
Mayor Votes Local and Regional Councillor Votes Ward 1 Votes Ward 2 Votes Ward 3 Votes Ward 4 Votes Ward 5 Votes Ward 6 Votes
Dave Barrow 23304 Joe DiPaola 11758 Greg Beros 2323 Tom Muench 1827 Castro Liu Accl. David West 3963 Karen Cilevitz 3137 Godwin Chan 4146
Susan Korman 4756 Carmine Perrelli 11418 Carol Davidson 1687 Scott Thompson 1076 Bob Aurora 1228 Nick Papa 2247 Julie Maxey 912
Abu Alam 1238 Carol Chan 9448 Lidia Kafieh 1167 Keith Menezes 636 Michael D'Amelio 799 Mahnaz Shahbazi 542
Ali Noroozi 770 Jason Cherniak 8878 Trifon Haitas 211 Michael Aziz 520 Nima Shahi 129
Mino Tari 567 Ramin Faraji 3706 Mike Rajbar 284
Weibo Cheng 3523
Sabine Ho 2605
Murtaza Bhujwalla 1269

2022 mayoral by-election

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2022 Richmond Hill mayoral by-election
← 2018 January 24, 2022 2022 →
Turnout32.10% (  4.47pp)
 
Nominee David West Godwin Chan
Popular vote 13,053 10,167
Percentage 33.55% 26.13%

 
Nominee Carmine Perrelli Joe DiPaola
Popular vote 8,017 6,074
Percentage 20.60% 15.61%

Mayor before election

Dave Barrow

Elected mayor

David West

The 2022 mayoral by-election was held on January 18-24, 2022. City council passed By-Law 133-21 on October 13, 2021 authorizing the use of internet voting to accommodate voters for the by-election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reasons for the by-election

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Then incumbent mayor Dave Barrow went on indefinite medical leave on February 24, 2021, leaving city council with 8 voting members.[32] According to local media reports, this left city council frequently gridlocked, as there was no leader in council and council votes would often end in a tie. City council meetings were characterized as "dysfunctional", where members would divulge into squabbling and name-calling.[33]

Barrow returned to preside over a special council meeting on September 8, 2021 regarding the future of the governance of council given the inefficiencies during his absence. Four councillors left the meeting in protest before it was adjourned.[34][35] On September 15, 2021, Barrow retired as mayor.[36]

On September 29, 2021, city council agreed to hold a by-election to fill the mayor's vacant seat instead of appointing a mayor.[37]

Candidates

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  • Godwin Chan, incumbent city councillor (Ward 6)
  • Joe DiPaola, acting mayor and one of two incumbent regional councillors
  • Susan Korman, CEO, Furry Friends Company[38]
  • Carmine Perrelli, deputy mayor and one of two incumbent regional councillors
  • Ruida Tian, Founder/CEO, Smair Inc.[39]
  • Rona Wang, President & CEO at GoBest Immigration Services[40]
  • David West, incumbent city councillor (Ward 4)
  • Juni Yeung, music teacher, author, cultural historian, and interpreter[41]
  • Michael Zambakkides, Vice president, Z3 Controls[42]

Results

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2022 Richmond Hill Mayoral By-election Results[43]
Candidate Votes Share
David West 13053 33.55%
Godwin Chan 10167 26.13%
Carmine Perrelli 8017 20.60%
Joe DiPaola 6074 15.61%
Rona Wang 406 1.04%
Ruida Tian 389 1.00%
Susan Korman 364 0.94%
Michael Zambakkides 237 0.61%
Juni Yeung 202 0.52%

Voter turnout for this election was 32.10%.

2022 election

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The 2022 election was held on October 24, 2022.

Mayoral candidate Vote %
David West (X) 28,318 70.18
Carmine Perrelli 10,304 25.54
Domenic Bardari 1,155 2.86
Holo Devnani 572 1.42

City council

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Regional council

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Two to be elected.

Council candidate Vote %
Godwin Chan 25,392 38.61
Joe DiPaola (X) 18,334 27.88
Terrence Au 12,005 18.25
Marco Coletta 7,617 11.58
Abu Alam 2,424 3.69

Ward 1

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Council candidate Vote %
Carol Davidson 3,201 45.88
Greg Beros (X) 1,856 26.60
Catherine Dellerba 1,301 18.65
Weibo Cheng 619 8.87

Ward 2

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Council candidate Vote %
Scott Thompson 2,028 39.37
Tom Muench (X) 1,597 31.00
Sigmund Lee 816 15.84
Yehuda Goldberg 536 10.41
Tabinda Jatoi 174 3.38

Ward 3

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Council candidate Vote %
Castro Liu (X) 5,299 84.92
Juni Yeung 941 15.08

Ward 4

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Council candidate Vote %
Simon Cui 2,498 32.34
Raika Sheppard (X) 2,235 28.93
Rose A. Weinberg 1,735 22.46
Liana Falzone 459 5.94
Johnny So 328 4.25
Mahnaz Shahbazi 247 3.20
Harry H. Harakh 223 2.89

Ward 5

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Council candidate Vote %
Karen Cilevitz (X) 1,525 23.34
Tarun Saroya 828 12.67
Richard Rupp 749 11.46
Yuliya Benedziktavich 673 10.30
Anders Lindfors-Wheeler 655 10.02
Wil Husnutdinov 595 9.11
Vera Murano 546 8.36
Sarkis Assadourian 467 7.15
Shohreh Sabaghpour 396 6.06
Emmanuel Lazaris 100 1.53

Ward 6

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Council candidate Vote %
Michael Shiu 1,893 27.66
Linda Zhang 1,685 24.62
Carol Chan 1,254 18.32
Sharon Chisholm 819 11.96
Kate Jiang 695 10.15
Julie Maxey 269 3.93
Yung Li 230 3.36

References

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  1. ^ Robert M. Stamp (1991). "The First Village Council". Fire Brigades and Fence Viewers. Town of Richmond Hill Public Library.
  2. ^ Thomas Claridge (November 14, 1985). "Voters return six York Region mayors Aurora results only exception in strong support for incumbents". The Globe and Mail. pp. A24. ISSN 0319-0714.
  3. ^ Victoria Stevens (November 13, 1985). "2 mayoralty upsets in York region but most incumbents back in office". Toronto Star. pp. B.8. ISSN 0319-0781.
  4. ^ "MUNICIPAL RESULTS". The Globe and Mail. November 16, 1988. pp. A 16. ISSN 0319-0714.
  5. ^ Rudy Platiel (November 15, 1988). "Easy wins, surprise upsets recorded". The Globe and Mail. pp. A 18.
  6. ^ Jock Ferguson, Dawn King and Rosemary Todd (November 16, 1988). "York region's new councillors 'no pushover' for developers". The Globe and Mail. pp. A 17. ISSN 0319-0714.
  7. ^ Jock Ferguson and Dawn King (November 15, 1988). "York region voters dump two mayors Jackson easily defeats challengers in Vaughan". The Globe and Mail. pp. A 1.
  8. ^ Marney Beck Robinson and Joan M. Clark (2000). Growing Success. Town of Richmond Hill/Richmond Hill Public Library Board. ISBN 0-9695376-1-1. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  10. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  11. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  12. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  13. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  14. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  15. ^ Robert Prowse. "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  16. ^ Courtney Paoletti, Andrei Zaretski and Neil Springer. "CBC Toronto - Toronto Votes 2006 - GTA Mayoral Races - Richmond Hill". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  17. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Office of the Mayor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  18. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Regional and Local Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  19. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Ward 1 Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  20. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Ward 2 Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  21. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Ward 3 Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  22. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Ward 4 Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  23. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Ward 5 Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  24. ^ Robert C. Prowse (November 13, 2006). "Official Results - Ward 6 Councillor" (PDF). Town of Richmond Hill.
  25. ^ "Cohen elects to fight for new council role". YorkRegion.com. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  26. ^ "e-voting comes to Richmond Hill". YorkRegion.com. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  27. ^ "Transit key to York votes". YorkRegion.com. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  28. ^ "York Region: 5 big election issues". The Toronto Star. 2010-04-20. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  29. ^ "Richmond Hill's voter turnout higher than 2006". YorkRegion.com. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  30. ^ "Election Results by Polling Station" (PDF). City of Richmond Hill. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-12-29.
  31. ^ "2018 Municipal Elections Clerk's Certificate Certified Election Results" (PDF). City of Richmond Hill. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-22.
  32. ^ "Richmond Hill mayor takes leave of absence to deal with health issue". CP24. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  33. ^ Javed, Noor (2021-10-01). "'The conduct of councillors is out of control': Name-calling, bullying and squabbling at Richmond Hill council". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  34. ^ Special Council Meeting - September 8, 2021 - 1:00 p.m. - City of Richmond Hill, 8 September 2021, retrieved 2021-12-29
  35. ^ "Special Council Meeting Minutes C#34-21 Wednesday, September 8, 2021, 1:00 p.m." (PDF). City of Richmond Hill. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29.
  36. ^ "Statement from Mayor Dave Barrow". City of Richmond Hill. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  37. ^ "Special Council Meeting Minutes C#38-21 Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 9:30 a.m." (PDF). City of Richmond Hill. Archived from the original on 2021-12-29.
  38. ^ "Susan Korman, candidate for 2022 Richmond Hill mayoral byelection". The Toronto Star. 2022-01-05. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  39. ^ "Ruida Tian, candidate for 2022 Richmond Hill mayoral byelection". The Toronto Star. 2022-01-05. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  40. ^ "Rona Wang, candidate for 2022 Richmond Hill mayoral byelection". The Toronto Star. 2022-01-05. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  41. ^ "Juni Yeung, candidate for 2022 Richmond Hill mayoral byelection". The Toronto Star. 2022-01-05. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  42. ^ "Michael Zambakkides, candidate for 2022 Richmond Hill mayoral byelection". The Toronto Star. 2022-01-05. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  43. ^ "Election Results". www.richmondhill.ca. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-26.