# 2018 London, Ontario municipal election

The 2018 London municipal election was a municipal election that occurred on October 22, 2018, to elect the Mayor of London, London City Council and the Thames Valley District School Board, London District Catholic School Board, Conseil scolaire catholique Providence and Conseil scolaire Viamonde. The election was held on the same day as elections in every other municipality in Ontario.
As per the Ontario Municipal Elections Act, 1996, nomination papers for candidates for municipal and school board elections could be filed from May 1, 2018, at which time the campaign period began.
For the first time since Calgary's last use in 1971, a city in Canada used preferential voting to elect members of its city council, the mayor and city councillors.
The major issues facing candidates in this election included Bus Rapid Transit, safe injection sites, affordable rent and social housing stock as well as city unemployment rates.
The use of Instant-runoff voting means (theoretically) that to be elected an aldermanic candidate had to have the majority of the ward vote. In the mayor's case the successful candidate needed to have a majority of the city vote. Where no candidate had majority in first preferences, votes transfers were used to assemble a majority behind one of them. London's rule that only two back-up preferences could be marked (and some voters' not even marking the three choices allowed) meant that in a few of the contests many votes had to be set aside as they had been transferred twice and still had not gone to a candidate with a chance to be elected. Although a majority is required to be elected, that could be a majority of votes still in play. Due to the number of votes being deemed invalid or becoming exhausted, in a few cases the majority accumulated by the winning candidate was less than a majority of valid votes or less than a majority of votes cast.
Holder, the winning mayoral candidate, was elected in the end with 44,373 votes when 48,320 was a majority of valid votes that were cast.
In Ward 5, Cassidy won with 3922 votes, 44 percent of votes cast.
In Ward 8, Lehman won with 3058 votes, 39 percent of votes cast.
In Ward 12, Peloza won with 3139 votes, 48 percent of votes cast.
Ward 13, Kayabaga won with 2325 votes, 41 percent of votes cast.
Ward 14, Hillier won with 2522 votes, 48 percent of votes cast.
The amount of support recorded for the winning candidate is more than shown in those vote totals. Unusually, in the vote count for the 2018 London election, transfers of votes between candidates continued even after a candidate had accumulated a majority of votes still in play and had been declared the winner. In the mayoral contest for example, the winner (Holder) was determined in the 13th round so there was no need for a 14th round where Holder apparently is recorded as accumulating 100 percent of the votes.
That the winner in nine out of 15 of the contests held in London in 2018 was elected with a majority of votes cast is noteworthy though. In other municipal elections where first past the post is used, more than half the winners are elected with just a minority of votes cast. (The 2017 Edmonton municipal election is an example where this happened.)
Perhaps in part due to the large number of "exhausted" votes, the leader in the first count won in the end in all the contests in this election. There were no "turn-overs" caused by the front-runner not having the most overall support.
Although ranked ballots were expected to increase the civility of the election, it failed to prevent the creation of two negative websites targeting former city councillor, Virginia Ridley (ward 10), and city councillor, Maureen Cassidy (ward 5). The controversy has since triggered an OPP investigation into the behaviour of several organizations and candidates in the 2018 municipal election.

## Mayor

The mayoralty was an open seat, as incumbent mayor Matt Brown was not running for re-election.
London, Ontario mayoral election, 2018 :
| Candidate | % 1st Pref | Count 1 | Count 2 | Count 3 | Count 4 | Count 5 | Count 6 | Count 7 | Count 8 | Count 9 | Count 10 | Count 11 | Count 12 | Count 13 | Count 14 |
| Ed Holder | 34.2 | 33,042 | 33,056 | 33,073 | 33,101 | 33,135 | 33,183 | 33,240 | 33,280 | 33,325 | 33,391 | 33,543 | 38,690 | 44,373 | 57,609 |
| Paul Paolatto | 22.2 | 21,456 | 21,464 | 21,471 | 21,487 | 21,516 | 21,541 | 21,579 | 21,604 | 21,637 | 21,675 | 21,856 | 25,943 | 31,061 |
| Tanya Park | 20.3 | 19,656 | 19,676 | 19,690 | 19,740 | 19,781 | 19,801 | 19,828 | 19,960 | 20,071 | 20,199 | 20,434 | 22,415 |
| Paul Cheng | 19.8 | 19,161 | 19,175 | 19,190 | 19,211 | 19,238 | 19,254 | 19,329 | 19,362 | 19,396 | 19,442 | 19,616 |
| Mohamed Moussa | 1.0 | 919 | 922 | 925 | 933 | 949 | 1,023 | 1,035 | 1,043 | 1,063 | 1,077 |
| Sean M. O'Connell | 0.4 | 370 | 372 | 380 | 389 | 401 | 406 | 416 | 442 | 483 |
| David Millie | 0.3 | 337 | 343 | 347 | 358 | 380 | 385 | 391 | 401 |
| Nina McCutcheon | 0.4 | 340 | 344 | 351 | 361 | 364 | 375 | 384 |
| Vahide Bahramporian | 0.4 | 348 | 351 | 351 | 357 | 363 | 368 |
| Ali Hamadi | 0.3 | 304 | 304 | 304 | 306 | 311 |
| Dan Lenart | 0.3 | 255 | 258 | 263 | 275 |
| Jordan Minter | 0.2 | 212 | 217 | 224 |
| Carlos Murray | 0.1 | 127 | 131 |
| Jonas White | 0.1 | 111 |
| Electorate: 244,962 Valid: 96,638 Spoilt: 1,297 Quota: 48,320 Turnout: 40.0% |||||||
Analysis of transferred votes, ranked in order of 1st preference votes :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Ed Holder | 14 | 57,609 | 100.0% | ​​ |
| Paul Paolatto | 13 | 31,061 | 41.2% | ​​ |
| Tanya Park | 12 | 22,415 | 25.8% | ​​ |
| Paul Cheng | 11 | 19,616 | 20.6% | ​​ |
| Mohamed Moussa | 10 | 1,077 | 1.1% | ​​ |
| Sean M. O'Connell | 9 | 483 | 0.5% | ​​ |
| Vahide Bahramporian | 6 | 368 | 0.4% | ​​ |
| Nina McCutcheon | 7 | 384 | 0.4% | ​​ |
| David Millie | 8 | 401 | 0.4% | ​​ |
| Al Hamadi | 5 | 311 | 0.3% | ​​ |
| Dan Lenart | 4 | 275 | 0.3% | ​​ |
| Jordan Minter | 3 | 224 | 0.2% | ​​ |
| Carlos Murray | 2 | 131 | 0.2% | ​​ |
| Jonas White | 1 | 111 | 0.1% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 96,638 | 59.6% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 39,029 | 40.4% | ​​ |

## City Council

Ward 1 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Michael van Holst (X) | 1 | 2,581 | 50.7% | ​​ |
| Melanie O'Brien | 1 | 1,332 | 26.2% | ​​ |
| Bud Polhill | 1 | 1,178 | 23.1% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 5,091 | 100.0% |
Ward 2 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Shawn Lewis | 1 | 3,481 | 63.9% | ​​ |
| Bill Armstrong (X) | 1 | 1,799 | 33.1% | ​​ |
| Alan Jackson* | 1 | 163 | 3.0% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 5,443 | 100.0% |
*Withdrew in September 2018
Ward 3 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Mo Mohamed Salih (X) | 1 | 3,421 | 72.8% | ​​ |
| Harry Prince | 1 | 1,281 | 27.2% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 4,702 | 100.0% |
Ward 4 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Jesse Helmer (X) | 1 | 2,559 | 50.5% | ​​ |
| Stephen William Orser | 1 | 1,191 | 23.5% | ​​ |
| Tricia Lystar | 1 | 1,003 | 19.8% | ​​ |
| Connor Garrett | 1 | 180 | 3.6% | ​​ |
| Xuemei Jiang | 1 | 130 | 2.6% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 5,063 | 100.0% |
Ward 5 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Maureen Cassidy (X) | 6 | 4,741 | 100.0% | ​​ |
| Randy Warden | 5 | 3,816 | 49.3% | ​​ |
| Charles Knott | 4 | 1,833 | 21.6% | ​​ |
| Stephanie Marentette Di Battista | 3 | 937 | 10.7% | ​​ |
| Shane Clarke | 2 | 809 | 9.0% | ​​ |
| Shiv Chokhani | 1 | 88 | 1.0% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 9,002 | 52.7% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 4,261 | 47.3% | ​​ |
Ward 6 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Philip Squire (X) | 1 | 3,959 | 69.5% | ​​ |
| Mike Bloxam | 1 | 1,737 | 30.5% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 5,696 | 100.0% |
Ward 7 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Josh Morgan (X) | 1 | 6,117 | 75.2% | ​​ |
| Joe Kolenko | 1 | 2,020 | 24.8% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 8,137 | 100.0% |
Ward 8 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Steve Lehman | 9 | 3,823 | 100.0% | ​​ |
| Matt Reid | 8 | 2,904 | 48.7% | ​​ |
| Bill Downie | 7 | 1,282 | 19.3% | ​​ |
| Tariq Khan | 6 | 1,059 | 14.6% | ​​ |
| Morena Hernandez | 5 | 743 | 9.9% | ​​ |
| Osam Ali | 4 | 464 | 6.1% | ​​ |
| Nour Hamid | 3 | 374 | 4.8% | ​​ |
| Matthew Greer | 2 | 191 | 2.4% | ​​ |
| Moon Inthavong | 1 | 112 | 1.4% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 7,835 | 48.7% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 4,012 | 51.2% | ​​ |
Ward 9 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Anna Hopkins (X) | 3 | 4,948 | 54.4% | ​​ |
| Matt Millar | 3 | 2,606 | 28.7% | ​​ |
| Kyle Thompson | 3 | 1,536 | 16.9% | ​​ |
| Ben Charlebois | 2 | 922 | 9.9% | ​​ |
| Veronica Marie Warner | 1 | 240 | 2.5% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 9,418 | 96.5% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 328 | 3.5% | ​​ |
Ward 10 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Paul Van Meerbergen | 1 | 4,402 | 53.1% | ​​ |
| Virginia Ridley (X) | 1 | 3,040 | 36.7% | ​​ |
| Kevin May | 1 | 404 | 4.9% | ​​ |
| Gary Manley | 1 | 298 | 3.6% | ​​ |
| Thomas Risley | 1 | 140 | 1.7% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 8,284 | 100.0% |
Ward 11 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Stephen Turner (X) | 1 | 4,255 | 54.1% | ​​ |
| Rachel Powell | 1 | 1,803 | 22.9% | ​​ |
| Vicki Van Linden | 1 | 671 | 8.5% | ​​ |
| Paul-Michael Anderson | 1 | 509 | 6.5% | ​​ |
| Menno Meijer | 1 | 419 | 5.3% | ​​ |
| Eric H. Deleeuw | 1 | 209 | 2.7% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 7,866 | 100.0% |
Ward 12 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Elizabeth Peloza | 5 | 3,403 | 58.3% | ​​ |
| Eric Weniger | 5 | 2,434 | 41.7% | ​​ |
| Gord Evans | 4 | 1,061 | 17.2% | ​​ |
| Rowa Mohamed | 3 | 730 | 11.4% | ​​ |
| Faisal Mahmood | 2 | 219 | 3.4% | ​​ |
| Jesse Haidar | 1 | 132 | 2.0% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 6,546 | 89.2% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 709 | 10.8% | ​​ |
Ward 13 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Arielle Kayabaga | 8 | 2,804 | 100.0% | ​​ |
| John Fyfe-Millar | 7 | 2,186 | 48.5% | ​​ |
| Jonathan Hughes | 6 | 1,100 | 21.6% | ​​ |
| Kevin Wilbee | 5 | 831 | 15.3% | ​​ |
| Ben Benedict | 4 | 391 | 7.5% | ​​ |
| Gil Warren | 3 | 358 | 6.3% | ​​ |
| David Lundquist | 2 | 240 | 4.2% | ​​ |
| Rod Morley | 1 | 57 | 1.0% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 5,714 | 49.1% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 2,910 | 50.9% | ​​ |
Ward 14 results :
| Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Steven Hillier | 4 | 3,370 | 100.0% | ​​ |
| Jared Zaifman (X) | 3 | 2,128 | 45.8% | ​​ |
| Allan Tipping | 2 | 787 | 15.8% | ​​ |
| Annette Swalwell | 1 | 647 | 12.4% | ​​ |
| Eligible votes | Eligible votes | 5,229 | 64.4% |
| Exhausted votes | Exhausted votes | 1,859 | 35.6% | ​​ |

## School Board Trustee

TVDSB Wards 7, 8, 9, 10, 13
Elected: Jake Skinner, Joyce Bennett
TVDSB Wards 1, 11, 12, 14
Elected: Lori-Ann Pizzolato, Sherry Polhill
TVDSB Wards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Elected: Peter Cuddy, Corrine Rahman
LDCSB Wards 5, 6, 7
Elected: Gabe Pizzuti
LDCSB Wards 11, 12, 13
Elected: John Jevnikar
LDCSB Wards 1, 14
Elected: Pedro Almeida
LDCSB Wards 2, 3, 4
Elected: Sandra Cruz
LDCSB Wards 8, 9, 10
Elected: Linda Steel