THUNDER BAY — Incumbent candidates carried an advantage in four of Thunder Bay’s seven ward contests.
Andrew Foulds easily retained Current River, a ward he has held since being first elected in 2007.
Albert Aiello secure a second term in McIntyre, holding off challenger Brent Boyko.
"I really think I was available and very much accessible to them, answering questions, finding information for them and helping them along the way," Aiello said. "But it extends far further than just the McIntyre ward residents. It’s really working on behalf of the city and doing what’s best for the city."
Going forward, Aiello said he wants to see the city grow by bringing in more business.
"One of the long-standing issues for me is it’s really about growth," he said. "We’ve had basically four years of zero growth and it’s not sustainable. We can’t continue on this path. We need growth and finding ways to grow the city."
In McKellar, Brian Hamilton also won a second term. Hamilton withstood upset bids from Lori Paras, Cory Bagdon and Stephanie Danylko.
"Four more years of hard work," Hamilton said Monday night. "McKellar ward is not without its issues but these are issues I know well. I think a lot of people who voted in this election knew and saw the work I was doing, liked that grassroots and hands on approach and my work over the next four years will reflect that."
Hamilton added that he is looking forward to building relationships with community organizations to help move the city forward.
"I’ve been talking a lot in this campaign about circular leadership and empowering organizations to bring some of those solutions forward," he said. "I am looking forward to bringing everyone to the table."
The lone other ward incumbent, Kristen Oliver, was in a tight race with John Collins in Westfort, but she pulled away at the end of the evening to secure a second term on council.
Oliver said she anticipated a close race with Collins and said he ran a strong campaign.
Now that she is returning to council, Oliver said she wants to focus again on expanding the playground at Vickers Park that was delayed due to the pandemic and she is looking forward to the rejuvenation of the downtown south core.
"We were looking to expand the park’s accessibility and create some opportunities for children and adults of varying abilities to have a fun place to play," she said. "And I’m also looking forward to the south core rejuvenation and how it will impact all of the south core, but it will also build some momentum and capacity for Westfort to expand as well."
The Northwood ward vacated by Shelby Ch’ng’s shift to the at-large race will be filled by Dominic Pasqualino, a long-time union leader representing workers at the city’s Alstom plant.
Pasqualino said he is looking forward to joining city council and he feels the strong show of support from the ward has given him a big responsibility.
"I more importantly feel I have to look at how things are going to look four years from now," he said. "I want to get thing done over here. Getting elected is one step, but it's still a long journey. There's a lot of things that need to be done, a lot of important decisions that have to be (made). Four years ago we didn't know we were going to go through COVID, so we really don't know what the future is going to be, but we'll all work together, hopefully, as a city council to make this city better."
The Neebing and Red River wards were also guaranteed to have new representation with incumbents Cody Fraser and Brian McKinnon not putting their names on the ballot.
Michael Zussino captured Red River in the closest race of the night, finishing 116 votes ahead of second-place Jason Veltri.
In Neebing, Greg Johnsen emerged victorious in a crowded slate. He prevailed over runner-up Yuk-Sem Won by 194 votes.
