Despite calls for change, Thorold residents voted for another four years of the same.
There were very little surprises in this year’s election results. Out of six sitting council members up for re-election, only one, Victoria Wilson, did not get back in.
There was only a three-vote difference between Wilson and sitting council member Jim Handley, who did manage to snag a seat.
When asked if she would fight the results, Wilson refused to comment.
“It’s very fresh,” she told ThoroldToday.
Handley, whose actions have come under scrutiny in the last four years, saw his vote count dwindle by almost 800, when compared to the previous election. In 2018, he managed to amass 2222 votes. Last night, he garnered only 1454.
Handley refused ThoroldToday's request for comment.
Handley wasn’t the only sitting councillor to see a decline. Vote totals were down across the board this year. In 2018, 5219 residents participated in the election, compared to only 4508 this year.
The real winner of the night was Henry D’Angela, who received the most votes of all elected councillors. He managed to get 8.34%, or 2133 votes.
“I’m very pleasantly surprised,” he told ThoroldToday. “I was just hoping to finish in the top eight so for me to finish first it was a bit of a surprise.”
D’Angela is no stranger to local politics. In the last two decades, he has served as Thorold mayor, city councillor and Niagara Regional Councillor. D’Angela ran for Thorold Mayor back in 2018 when he lost to Terry Ugulini.
Last night was D’Angela’s big return to municipal politics.
“I’m very excited getting back into an elected position to represent my community,” D’Angela said. “I’m grateful that the citizens of Thorold returned me back to council. I hope I can live up to their expectations and do a good job for them.”
Newcomer Tim O’Hare managed to come in third with 1930 votes, or 7.54% of the vote.
“I did not expect that,” he said, in a short interview with ThoroldToday. “I know I worked quite hard and met a lot of people in Thorold but I did not expect the outcome. I’m extremely honoured and thrilled.”
O’Hare stepped into the spotlight this year to try to stop a new housing development on 16 Ormond St S. from happening. Now, O'Hare is ready to fight for all of Thorold.
“Thorold is a very big fast-growing city and we have so many issues to cover,” he said. “It’s not about Ormond Street, it’s not about Pine Street, it’s not about any other street. It’s about all of our great city. We have a lot of need and we have a lot of areas that we need to focus on, build better, and invest in.”
Another newcomer, Mike De Divitiis, managed to secure the sixth spot in the race with 1645 votes.
When it comes to the mayoral race, there was no real surprise. As a newcomer with little to no experience, Damon Ford had an uphill battle to try to persuade voters to pick him.
It was no surprise then that Terry Ugulini managed to secure a second term with 72.71% of the vote.
“It is a boost of confidence,” Ugulini told ThoroldToday. “I think people are happy where we’re heading. We got a strong mandate to continue and I’m excited about that.”
Ugulini says that he wants to keep building on what he started four years ago.
“I think the path we’re on is showing results,” he said. “We were always building the houses but now we’re building the commercial and industrial growth. That is so essential. Not only is it providing jobs but it also helps support our tax base and allows us to be able to do the projects we need to do moving forward while maintaining a reasonable tax rate for the residents.”
There were no surprises in the school board election either.
Nancy Beamer reclaimed her seat on the District School Board of Niagara with 55.04%, and Rhianon Burkholder managed to snag another term on the Niagara Catholic District School Board with 72.30%.
Despite the low election turnout, voters have largely expressed their desire to keep Thorold going the way it has for the last four years.
