Voters in Vaughan have overwhelmingly chosen former Liberal MP Maurizio Bevilacqua as their new mayor, delivering a stinging rebuke to incumbent Mayor Linda Jackson.
"They wanted change. They wanted a change in direction, change in leadership," Bevilacqua told CTV Toronto on Monday night.
"I was able to capture the energy generated by this mood for change. And of course, I have 22 years experience in this area."
With 99 per cent of the polls reporting, Bevilacqua had captured almost 64 per cent of the vote.
Jackson only won 14.6 per cent of the vote -- the same as rival Mario G. Racco. She said the people had spoken, and she wished Bevilacqua all the best.
She squeaked into office in 2006 by 90 votes in a campaign that left her facing about 40 charges under the Municipal Elections Act. A trial is expected sometime in 2011.
In 2008, all of Vaughan's eight councillors asked for Jackson's resignation, but she refused.
Bevilacqua said people will again be talking about the city of Vaughan, "but it will be in very positive ways."
Other '905' races
Elsewhere in the 905 communities, Aurora's Mayor Phyllis Morris went down to defeat, losing to challenger Geoff Dawe.
Mayor John Gray of Oshawa is also an ex-mayor now, losing to John G. Henry.
"I knew we were doing well at the doors," Henry said. "Now we'll just carry forward. I've just been incredibly excited by the results tonight."
Gray couldn't hide his disappointment. "I believe I worked very hard for the citizens of Oshawa, and I really wanted to always better the community," he said. "Obviously, that was not rewarded tonight, and we accept those results as they are."
In Mississauga, 89-year-old Mayor Hazel McCallion, known to some as Hurricane Hazel, won a 12th term in office.
McCallion won with about 76 per cent of the vote; in past races, she has won near unanimous approval in Mississauga.
When asked about the relative drop in support, she said: "I think that's pretty good."
McCallion, who was hit with conflict of interest allegations during her last term, blamed the drop on "daily" attacks in the media for the past six months.
Other Ontario cities
Down in southwest Ontario, Eddie Francis was heading towards re-election as Windsor's mayor.
He led the city through a municipal strike that lasted more than three months.
Windsor has also suffered greatly as a result of the downturn in the auto sector.
Ottawa survived the recession relatively unscathed, but voters there dumped incumbent Larry O'Brien in favour of former mayor and provincial cabinet minister Jim Watson.
O'Brien had faced controversy during his time as mayor, including allegations of influence peddling which forced him to step aside temporarily. Charges against him were later dropped.
At one point in the campaign, O'Brien told CTV Ottawa that while his first two years in office had been a disaster, he had improved in the second half of his mandate.
With files from CTV Toronto correspondents
