YOUR Independent Community Newspaper THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2014
Vol. 2 Edition 43
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Four more years for Hope
Several incumbents upset in outlying wards By Jim Blake & Bruce Corcoran jim@chathamvoice.com bruce@chathamvoice.com
Mayor Randy Hope will get the opportunity to complete his 12-year vision for Chatham-Kent as he earned a third term in Monday’s municipal election, defeating six opponents. Hope outpaced councillor Marjorie Crew and five other candidates with a total of 9242 votes, 1,358 ahead of Crew. Finishing behind Crew were Steve Brent with 5,603 votes, followed by Ian McLarty with 4,451, Jeff Bultje with 4,298, Reno Lachapelle with 558 and John Willatt with 339. Hope and Crew were the only candidates to have had previous municipal council experience prior to seeking the mayor’s seat this time around. Hope, visibly fatigued by 9 p.m., called this campaign “interesting. “This is one of the first with social media,” he said, admitting he’s not sure if that was for positive or negative. “And we had very little in terms of debates. Today has been stressful.” He said some elements of the campaign, especially on social media, got “vicious.”
Hope described Crew as a good candidate that some may have underestimated her, something he said he never did. He said the focus for the next four years is employment. “Jobs are the key. We’ve got to put people back to work,” Hope said. “And foreign investment is key to our success in lowering the jobless rate and decreasing tax assessment on individuals.” Crew spent the evening at her home in Chatham’s east side, surrounded by friends and family. “That’s the way we do things,” she said of the friendly gathering. “I won anyway. Look at the people I’m surrounded with.” Crew offered some advice to Hope for the coming four years. “You have to be a collaborative person,” she said, stressing the need for the mayor to work with council as a whole. Voter turnout was 42.1%, 2.2 per cent higher than 2010. In all, 32,783 of 77,855 voters cast ballots. Hope took an early lead and never looked back, opening an 800-vote margin within the first 45 minutes and cruising to the win. Continued on page 2
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Bruce Corcoran/The Chatham Voice
Randy Hope hugs his wife, Diane, in celebration of being re-elected mayor of Chatham-Kent Monday.
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