Turnover on Timmins council leaves mix of old and new

There will be plenty of new faces when the next term begins on Timmins city council.

First off, Michelle Boileau was elected mayor Monday, garnering 7,403 votes, or 61.47 per cent of ballots cast.

She finished well ahead of Joe Campbell, who was second with 32.07 per cent.

She succeeds George Pirie, who became a provincial cabinet minister after the spring election.

“I haven’t even processed it, really," she told CTV News Monday about her win.

"It’s a little overwhelming. It’s really nice. It’s really special to be here with all my friends and family. I think that’s what’s really making the moment feel so special.”

Boileau said she was looking forward to working with her council colleagues.

“I think we have a really great council," she said.

"We’ll be able to move a lot of things forward … addressing social issues. It’s something I’m very familiar with working in the downtown, working with social services. That’s something I’m looking forward to continue working on.”

In addition, she said the need for housing is a priority.

"We want to touch on some of those other priorities, such as population growth, you know, just being able to track skilled workers, attract post-secondary students," Boileau said.

"A lot of that is going to come down to housing, as well. Luckily we’ve already made quite a bit of leeway with provincial partners."

Rock Whissell was acclaimed in Ward 1, while Lorne Feldman took Ward 2 with 46.48 per cent of the vote. He defeated incumbent Mickey Auger, who trailed with 34.27 per cent.

Bill Gvozdanovic will represent Ward 3, taking 51.96 per cent of the vote to defeat Carter Lucyk (41.06 per cent), while John Patrick Curley was returned in Ward 4 with 47.99 per cent of the vote.

In Ward 5, the top four finishers are elected to council. Returning are Kristin Murray, who received the most votes (3,965), followed by Steve Black (3,801), a former mayor who is returning to council, and incumbents Andrew Marks (2,800 votes) and Cory Robin (2,370).

Overall voter turnout was 42.23 per cent. See the full unofficial results here.