Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis wins recount
Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis will hang onto his seat following a recount of the October mayoral election.
Recounts are normally held within 30 days of an election, as per the Municipal Election Act. But when a motion calling for a recount was brought forward at Brantford city council in November, it failed in a tie 5-5 vote.
The city agreed to the recount earlier this year after candidate Dave Wrobel – who finished just 208 votes behind Davis according to the official count in October – filed a court challenge.
In a statement issued last month the city said “in order to avoid a lengthy and expensive tax-funded legal process” it would hold a recount.
RUNNER-UP 'VERY HAPPY' WITH RESULTS
The City of Brantford said the count began at 9 a.m. Saturday with five recount tables set up in council chambers and two staff members at each manually recounting ballots.
Just before 2 p.m. the City announced the results in a media release.
According to the recount, 9,223 votes were cast for Davis and 9,013 votes for Wrobel – a difference of 210 votes.
“I’m very happy with the overall results and I say this because democracy and votes are very important to me,” Wrobel said.
“I guess the best way to explain this is every vote is like democratic currency and when things don't add up, you want those cheques and balances no different than you have your bank account.”
Wrobel said he will run again, adding it’s unfinished business for him.
FRUSTRATED WITH COMMUNICATION
Wrobel said he was told by officials 274 votes were “unaccounted for” after election night.
Given he lost by 208 votes, “you do the math and you go, you know, there’s a pretty good probability that things could change so let’s make the request,” he said.
Wrobel said his push for a recount was based on what he felt was a lack of transparency.
“That’s what we premised the whole argument on,” he said, referring to his lawyer and the “unaccounted for” votes.
On Saturday he got his answer.
He said during the recount, city staff explained that the 274 “unaccounted for” votes were ballots where a selection for mayor had not been marked correctly.
He said “ultimately if there was a good sense of transparency at the beginning, back at the end of the election in 2022,” the recount process may not have been necessary.
“[I’m] absolutely frustrated that they could have talked about this months ago and we would have had a better sense on where the numbers were without having to go through the recount process,” he said.
“Let’s be accountable, let’s be transparent with our democratic process.”
Staff from the City of Brantford were unavailable for comment Saturday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.