Five votes separate two candidates vying for the job of councillor for Ward 10. Frances Caldarelli received 40.6 per cent of the votes, (2,151 votes), while Fern Cormier received 40.5 per cent (2,146 votes).
Caldarelli, who held a slight lead in the polls all night, said she'll “just have to wait and see what happens.”
According to the Municipal Elections Act, a recount is required by law before a winner can be declared in the ward.
Cormier said he supports a recount “out of fairness to the voters.”
Votes weren't so tight in Ward 8, where eight candidate lined up behind the starting gates.
According to Greater Sudbury's unofficial election results page, Fabio Belli scored 1,991 votes, which equaled the support of about 45 per cent of voters.
“I've got a lot of learning to do, and I'm going to listen to people in this community, and I'm going to listen to my colleagues,” Belli said outside a crowded bar room at M.I.C. in the New Sudbury ward.
“I'll do whatever I can to better this community and better this ward.”
Belli said, after spending some much-needed time with his wife and daughters, he wants to establish a community action network right away.
He said he plans on incorporating the same kind of teamwork that helped him win his seat on council when he begins his term. Belli said he intends on inviting the other candidates from Ward 8, who have a “big interest in this ward,” to help him make it the best it can be.
“You can't do things on your own. Even in the community, you need everybody working together.”
In Ward 11, Terry Kett, who came out about 460 votes on top of the next leading contender Tom Fenske, said he looks forward to taking the helm. He said the ward has been “underrepresented for a number of years.”
Some of Kett's priorities include enhancing recreational features in the area. He said he plans to push for park reconstruction at Moonlight Beach and wants to establish a committee within the ward to oversee the future of the park. He said he also wants to see a dog park come to fruition.
Kett said he believes people in his ward want to be represented by someone with experience — someone who was willing to hear people's concerns.
“I'm very humbled by the trust people in this ward have given me,” he said. “ I feel that the last three-and-a-half months have now been worthwhile.”
Incumbents retake wards across Greater Sudbury
- Ward 1 councillor Joe Cimino was acclaimed
- Ward 2 incumbent Jacques Barbeau won 3,689 votes, beating challenger Peter Albers (1,216)
- Ward 3 incumbent Claude Berthiaume scored 3,019 votes, beating challengers Andrew Fahey (1,133) and Rickey Goudreau (175)
- Ward 4 incumbent Evelyn Dutrisac earned 2,614 votes to overtake challenger Richard Paquette (1,479)
- Ward 5 councillor Ron Dupuis was acclaimed
- Ward 6 incumbent André Rivest received 2,400 votes, defeating challengers Pete Chenier (1,598) and Christine Guillot-Proulx (504)
- Ward 7's Dave Kilgour claimed his seat by earning 2,078 votes. He beat out Gordon Drysdale (1,181) and Dave Della Vedova (775). This was one of three vacated wards
- Ward 8, also a vacated ward, was claimed by Fabio Belli, who beat out eight other contenders for the job
- Ward 9 incumbent Doug Craig landed 1,879 votes, defeating challengers Jim Sartor (1,501) and Paul Stopciati (1,447).
- Ward 12 incumbent Joscelyne Landry-Altmann earned 2,844 votes, while challenger Jeff MacIntyre earned 1,148
