Landslide win for Saint John mayoral challenger
Posted May 15, 2012 06:10:27 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Saint John lawyer has claimed a sweeping victory over the incumbent mayor in the only major shakeup of New Brunswick’s municipal elections.
Mel Norton held an early 10,000-vote lead, with about 80 per cent of the popular vote, as he beat out incumbent Ivan Court to be the latest mayor of Saint John. Court conceded defeat around 8:45 p.m. Monday, less than an hour after the polls closed.
Norton, who was elected to council in a byelection in December 2010, ran on a platform of fixing the beleaguered Saint John pension plan and creating a friendlier atmosphere around the council horseshoe.
Elsewhere, Brad Woodside returned as mayor of Fredericton, and Moncton voters re-elected George LeBlanc as mayor.
Elections New Brunswick says that 95 municipal councillors and 44 mayors have already been acclaimed prior to today’s municipal elections.
That’s about 18 per cent of councillors and 42 per cent of mayors.
