There are some new faces coming to the Innisfil council table after last night's 2022 municipal election results came in.
At around 8:30 p.m. the results were announced live at town hall and streamed on the town's YouTube channel.
Ward 1
In Ward 1, incumbent Kevin Eisses won with 4,078 votes to Lynn Iwanow's 3,332 votes.
In a previous interview with InnisfilToday, Eisses, a lifelong farmer, said his reasons for running for council are to represent the rural part of town. This will be Eisses' second term on council.
"Being in leadership is difficult and when I first ran, I didn’t know all of what was involved,” he said in a previous interview. “I feel like I’ve learned how municipal governments work and it takes a lot of councillors, including myself, a couple of years to learn how to be effective. Because I’ve gone through that learning curve, I think I can be even more effective this term."
Ward 2
It was a tight race in Ward 2 with Grace Constantine winning by just 10 votes against Carol Griffith. Other candidates included Scott Jones and Anil Dutta.
Constantine is recently retired and looking forward to stepping into her new role as councillor.
“The change that I have witnessed in Innisfil over the past six years is very exciting and I want to be a part of it," she told InnisfilToday in a previous interview.
Although she has no political experience, she believes her customer service skills in the corporate world will serve her well.
"My genuine desire to see this community continue to grow and flourish," she said. “I’m so excited about it.”
Ward 3
Over in Ward 3, Jennifer Richardson took the lead with 768 votes. She beat out other candidates Leslie Pollak, Naz Obredor, and Andrew Harrigan.
Richardson and her family were at town hall last night when the results came in.
"I am so excited to start this new chapter and represent my ward on council," said Richardson. "I want Innisfil to be the place my kids will stay and have their families in."
Richardson has been a long-time volunteer in the community and is looking forward to transitioning to her new role as a councillor.
As part of her platform, she plans to focus on traffic, speeding and working with local organizations to put on more events for the town.
"Thank you to everyone that took the time to chat with me while canvassing, visited with me at the All Candidates meeting, who reached out to me via Facebook or email and who took a lawn sign to show your support. I loved every second of getting to know you and hearing your thoughts and issues about this community," she said.
Ward 4
Incumbent Alex Waters took home 545 votes against Steve Fishman who received 348.
This will be Waters' second term on council. In a previous interview with InnisfilToday he said he decided to run again to see through many of the projects already in the works.
“We have so many projects on the go that I thought leaving now would abandon those projects and I know the staff have put a lot of hard work into making some of these things happen,” he said. “I thought it would be good to stick around for another four years to make sure the green sustainability agenda gets anchored and won’t be taken out by the next council.”
Ward 5
With Kenneth Fowler setting his sights on the deputy mayor seat, four candidates stepped up to try to fill his spot as Ward 5 councillor: Matthew Kenney, Jeanette Luchese-Jacobs, Linda Zanella, and James Roncone.
But it was Zanella who won with a six vote lead over Kenney.
"It feels great to be elected as Councillor for Ward 5 in Innisfil," Zanella told InnisfilToday. "My top priority is to bring the voice of Ward 5 to the table..to my residents of Ward 5, I want to say thank you for your support and trusting me. Your voice will be heard loud and clear!"
Ward 6
In Ward 6, there were three candidates: Robert Saunders, Megan Varga, and Lisa Maxwell. Saunders, owner of the Cove Cafe, won with 656 votes.
"I am happy that I won and hope that I keep up to the expectations of the residents of Ward 6 and the town of Innisfil," said Saunders. "It going to be a learning curve for all of the new council and I look forward to that and making the right decisions for the town as a whole."
Saunders says his priorities will be to make sure new developments are built "green" and "sustainable" in order to preserve green space and farmlands while keeping pollution out of Lake Simcoe.
"I want to thank all the residents that voted for me," he said.
Ward 7
In Ward 7, it was Fred Drodge who came out on top with 915 votes to Kevin Eckhardt's 207 and Jake Tucker's 182.
Drodge says it feels great to be elected.
"I am truly happy and can't wait to make some positive changes for our future," he said.
His top priorities for the ward include addressing traffic and safety concerns, as well as water flooding issues on residential properties.
"I would like to thank each and every resident of Innisfil who supported me, it was a great experience getting to know all of you and I really look forward to making some positive changes over the next four years," he said.
