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Black's back in as mayor
Black was returned to her fifth term at the head of the King Township council table Monday night, out-pacing Councillor Steve Pellegrini by more than 500 votes. According to unofficial figures supplied by the Township, Black collected 3,872 of the 7,316 votes cast; good for 52.93 per cent of the total. Pellegrini garnered 3,343 (45.69 per cent). King City resident Mark Healy, who entered the race but did little in the way of active campaigning, was not a factor in the outcome, taking just 101 votes. There will be a couple of new faces confronting the mayor at the council table. In the major surprise to the evening, Councillor Peter Grandilli was frustrated in his bid for a second term in the Ward 2 seat, losing to Jeff Laidlaw by just 37 votes (756-719). There will also be new face in the Ward 1 seat, which was vacated by Pellegrini's mayoralty bid. Cleve Mortelliti won the right to occupy it, taking 822 of the votes (55.88 per cent) to 601 for Liina Peacock (40.86 per cent), who was making her second bid for election. King City resident Stephen Kornblum notched 48 votes.
In Ward 6, Councillor Jack Rupke fought off a strong challenge from Clayton De Vries to hold the seat. He drew 317 votes (55.52 per cent) to 254 for the challenger. Public school supporters in King are also going to have a new trustee. Gord Kerr was easily elected to represent King and Aurora on the York Region District School Board. Figures supplied by the Town of Aurora gave him 7,839 to 3,179 for Christopher Pape of King City. Elizabeth Crowe had been returned to her seat on the York Catholic District School Board by acclamation, as had Ward 4 Councillor Bill Cober. "I hope the council deals with issues in an objective, equitable and informed manner," Cober commented late Monday night. "We'll work with the team the people selected." There was unbridled celebration among the supporters who packed Black's victory party at Hogan's Inn in King City, as she was joined by her husband Brian Beatty, sons Jeremy and Joel and other members of her campaign team. "What an incredible team we have here," a jubilant Black told her cheering supporters. "It's an amazing team, and I just want to thank everybody." "I'm feeling very emotional, very happy," she commented later. She admitted to being "terribly nervous" as the campaign wound down, observing there was a lot of misinformation being spread around the community. "I hope King's over that," she remarked. "I hope King Township's over the misinformation and inaccurate information." Black also said the campaign pace got to her. "I had a terrible, terrible cold during the last two weeks," she said, adding she lost four pounds on the hustings. The pace took its toll on Pellegrini too, but he was still in an upbeat mood as he celebrated with supporters after the results were in. "I'm delighted with the voter turnout," he remarked, adding he would naturally have liked to have seen more numbers on the other side. "I have had an absolutely fabulous campaign team and volunteers," he declared, adding he made friends to last a lifetime. "I can hold my head high," he added, saying he was not trying to sound boastful, but, "It's King's loss and my family's gain." Pellegrini did not rule out a return to political life, after having spend six years on council. "Lets' see what the next couple of months bring," he said, adding there are a couple of committees he's hoping to stay involved with, such as Kingfest. "I'm going to sleep for a couple of days," he said. Healy was not available for comment. Mortelliti was at the Township offices watching returns come in Monday night, and he wasn't too surprised at his victory. "I had a very positive response," he said, although he was concerned he might have been second-guessing himself. He added his and Peacock's platforms were "not too terribly different." "I am definitely disappointed, but I congratulate Mr. Mortelliti," Peacock commented Tuesday morning. "I'm just very thankful I had so many wonderful people who had confidence in me," she added as she expressed gratitude for the support she received. "I had so many people in this community who played so integral a role." Peacock said she would likely not run again, observing the people of King City are evidently not ready for the changes she wants to go ahead with. "Twice is enough,' she commented. Kornblum observed that he was hampered during the campaign by his mother's illness and eventual death, but added "I consider my 'no campaign' campaign to be a success." He reasoned that the roughly three per cent who voted for him liked his platform. "I would like to personally thank each and every one of them over coffee if they would contact me and that I will try to assist them in any way that I am able to," he commented in a statement he issued Tuesday morning. "I will be keeping a close eye on what goes on over the next four years and rest assured, I will make my opinions heard if there are inconsistencies," he added. Repeated attempts to contact Laidlaw after the vote were unsuccessful. "It's a democracy," Grandilli observed. "The people of Nobleton have chosen a new leader. I think I am very proud of my accomplishments over the last three years." "It's an honour and a privilege to have such support from the Ward 3 residents," Pabst remarked as she celebrated her victory. "I had a lot of confidence going in, however, you never say 'never.'" Alilovic was expressing gratitude for the support he received, as well as for the experience. "I've certainly learned a great deal," he remarked. He also suggested people might have been reluctant to vote for someone new. "I'm back for four years this time," Underhill remarked. "I'm very grateful to the people who voted for me. It's a wonderful victory She was also pleased to have Mortelliti and Laidlaw as allies on council. "We just might bring democracy back to King Township," she said. "I thought I'd do a lot better," Durbano commented, adding words of tribute for Underhill "I respect her as a person. I don't agree with her philosophy." He also stressed the need for infrastructure, which he said Underhill opposes. Durbano didn't rule out another bid for council. "I won't let her get a free ride in," he said. "She's not been proactive at all with the council." Rupke confessed to being "a little bit surprised" that his margin of victory was so slight. He said a lot of his supporters might not have got out to vote. "I'm disappointed," De Vries said. "I've been congratulated by the group around me for putting on an amazing showing against an incumbent." He added he wanted a good debate in Ward 6, and that's what he got. "The voters have made their decision," he said. "I suppose we'll have to fight a better day and a different day," he added. "And congratulations to Jack," he said. "We had a clean competition. We both worked hard. On this day, the best man won." Kerr was unaware that he had won until contacted by the Sentinel late Monday night. "That's great," was his initial reaction, as he commented there will be a number of new faces at the board table. "I will be a voice for consistency," he said. He also expressed his thanks to the voters of King and promised to work diligently on their behalf to sustain a strong public education system. "I offer my congratulations to all candidates, both successful and unsuccessful," he said in a statement he issued Tuesday morning. "It takes great courage to stand for public office and I believe that residents of King Township were well served with a number of good candidates to choose from." Pape said he was pleased with the share of the vote he attracted, and expressed satisfaction with having an opponent like Kerr. "I'm confident that he will do a good job," he said. He also thanked his supporters and promised his volunteer work in the community will continue. "The residents of our community can count on me to serve them to the best of my ability," he declared. |
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