Regional election roundup

By Dan Rolph

With the results throughout the region having been certified after the municipal election on Monday, Oct. 26, local councils are set to be made up of a mixture of familiar and new faces for the next four years.

The new term of council will begin Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Participation rose in many of the local races, with South Huron, Bluewater and Lucan Biddulph all seeing bumps in voter turnout when compared to the 2022 municipal elections. However, in Lambton Shores, turnout dropped by more than 2 per cent with just over 37 per cent of voters casting a ballot.

In Bluewater, just over 69 per cent of voters opted to give incumbent mayor Paul Klopp another four years as the head of council, defeating former mayor Tyler Hessel. Klopped garnered an increased share of voter support when compared to the 2018 election, where the two last ran against each other for the position.

Lucan Biddulph’s mayoral race proved to be incredibly close with just 30 votes making the difference, placing David Manders narrowly ahead of former mayor Paul Hodgins to become the community’s next mayor.

The mayoral election in Lambton Shores proved to be more lopsided, with current councillor Jeff Wilcox defeating incumbent Doug Cook handily. Wilcox currently serves as the councillor for Ward 7 and made communication with residents a pillar of his campaign.

Certified election results:

Bluewater

Mayor

Paul Klopp, elected, 2415

Tyler Hessel, 1073

Deputy mayor

Bill Whetstone, acclaimed

Hay East Ward

Joey Groot, elected, 325

Megan Goss, 199

Hay West Ward

Brian Heagle, acclaimed

Hensall Ward

Scott Harris, elected, 160

Joan Bradley, 152

Zurich Ward

Jason Becker, elected, 231

Winona Sangster, 160

Stanley West Ward

Greg Lamport, elected, 273

Brian Kellow, 152

Stanley East Ward

Peter Walden, elected, 270

David Armstrong, 178

Bayfield Ward

Michael Decorte, elected, 458

E.J. Bauer, 381

Lambton Shores

Mayor

Jeff Wilcox, elected, 3020

Doug Cook, 1781

Deputy mayor

Dan Sageman, elected, 2616

Marilyn Smith, 2008

Ward 1

Chris Vanderydt, elected, 506

Randy McClinchey, 198

Sarah Nicholson, 132

Ward 2

Dave Maguire, acclaimed

Ward 3

Shawn Dickey, acclaimed

Ward 4

David (DJ) Pugh, elected, 403

David McLean, 326

Ward 5

Suzanne Shea, elected, 447

Jim Hansen, 288

Ward 6

Dave Marsh, acclaimed

Ward 7

Randy Shaw, elected, 566

Jeff Girling, 178

Lucan Biddulph

Mayor

David Manders, elected, 1172

Paul Hodgins, 1142

Deputy mayor

Daniel Regan, elected, 1398

Adam Sachs, 825

Ward 1

Ken Hoggart, elected, 493

Bryan Frank Malito, 181

Ward 2

Allan Cunningham, acclaimed

Ward 3

Alex Westman, elected, 334

Jim Law, 225

Nolan Goldie, 53