‘Worked so hard to get to today’: Trustee speaks out after Cambridge confirms WCDSB election results
More than a month after Ontario’s municipal elections, the City of Cambridge clerk certified the results for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) trustee election.
"Though this extended voting process has been both challenging and frustrating, I’m very grateful for the many supporters who came out to vote for a second time," said Marisa Phillips, one of WCDSB’s newest trustees. "I feel so blessed and humbled to win this seat for such an important position."
The city released the unofficial results on Friday which showed a voter turnout of 5.7 per cent. The winners of the election included David Guerin, Robert Sikora and Marisa Phillips.
"We all worked so hard to get to today and we have a sense of relief," said Phillips.
The election results come after the vote followed a series of mistakes.
On Oct. 22, the city clerk declared an emergency under section 53 of the Municipal Elections Act to ensure the election’s integrity after it was discovered that the ballots in Cambridge were missing two of six names for the school board trustees representing Cambridge and North Dumfries.
The election was pushed to Nov. 7, but then was further delayed on Nov. 17 after the city reported postage delays.
One retired political sciences professor says these issues can undermine voter confidence.
"Somebody has to be checking those ballots and Cambridge did the right thing once they knew it, it just surprised me that it took so long for them to find out about it," said Peter Woolstencroft.
The city has launched a third-party review to understand how and why the error occurred and to ensure improvements towards future processes.
For Phillips, she is relieved the election is over and looks forward to working alongside her fellow trustees.
"So much has happened and you know, when the election was cancelled and redone again, we had to keep going and we had to keep campaigning," she said.
A summary report, including costs, is expected to be completed by the New Year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How more than 100 women realized they may have dated, been deceived by the same man
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.

Mother charged with sexual abuse of toddler in Edmonton area after FBI tip
A Strathcona County toddler has been rescued from suspected sexual exploitation, and the child's mother has been charged, police said.
LeBron James becomes NBA's all-time scoring leader, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
LeBron James is the NBA's new career scoring leader. With a stepback jump shot with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, James pushed his career total to 38,388 points on Tuesday night and broke the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.
Biden in State of Union urges U.S. Congress: 'Finish the job'
U.S. President Joe Biden exhorted Congress Tuesday night to work with him to 'finish the job' of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he delivered a State of the Union address aimed at reassuring a country beset by pessimism and fraught political divisions.
Fears grow for untold numbers buried by Turkiye earthquake as deaths pass 7,700
Rescuers raced against time early Wednesday to pull survivors from the rubble before they succumbed to cold weather two days after an earthquake tore through southern Turkiye and war-ravaged northern Syria. The death toll climbed above 7,700 and was expected to rise further.
Canadian military plane heads home after two surveillance flights over Haiti
A Canadian Armed Forces surveillance plane was heading home on Tuesday after two intelligence-collecting flights over Haiti.
On list of 50 'most Instagrammable' places, only 1 is in Canada
A new ranking by global travel site Big 7 Travel has revealed the most Instagrammable places for people to visit in 2023, but only one Canadian location, Banff, is among them.
Spy balloon part of a broader Chinese military surveillance operation, U.S. intel sources tell CNN
U.S. intelligence officials believe that the recently recovered Chinese spy balloon is part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, according to multiple American officials familiar with the intelligence.
From $55 to $130: Which Canadians plan to spend the most this Valentine's Day?
As Valentine's Day approaches, many Canadians are preparing to celebrate by taking their loved ones to dinner and buying them gifts, but how much are we spending on this day coast to coast?