# Municipal elections in Richmond Hill, Ontario

Municipal elections in Richmond Hill, Ontario are held every four years, concurrent with other municipal elections in Ontario. Historically, elections were held more often. Elected positions include mayor, regional and local councillor and ward councillors (for six different wards) on the Richmond Hill City Council, as well as trustees for the York Region District School Board, the York Catholic District School Board and for a Conseillere for the Conseil Scholare de District de Centre SudOuest.

## 1873 election

The first election in Richmond Hill was held January 6, 1873, just after its incorporation as a village. The campaign focused on the need to build a new high school as the one built in the 1850s was becoming crowded.
The vote tallies were (elected candidates bolded):
| Reeve | Votes | Councillors | Votes |
| Abraham Law | 56 | William Warren | 98 |
| Andrew McNair | 47 | Jacob Brillinger | 83 |
| Dr. John Duncumb | 5 | William Powell | 77 |
| | | David Hopkins | 62 |
| | | James Freek | 58 |
| | | J.R. Arnold | 42 |

## 1985 election

Concurrent with the 1985 election, two plebiscites were held, one relating to the ward system and one relating to Nuclear-free zones. Voters rejected the new ward system 5057 to 5460 and endorsed the nuclear-free zone declaration 7073 to 3272. Low voter turnout was credited to the poor weather and the lack of a mayoral race.
| Mayor | Votes | Local and Regional Councillor | Votes | Ward 1 | Votes | Ward 2 | Votes | Ward 3 | Votes | Ward 4 | Votes | Ward 5 | Votes | Ward 6 | Votes |
| Al Duffy | Accl. | Gordon Rowe | 4890 | Tom Simpson | 681 | Doug Smith | 1455 | William F. Bell | 1042 | Gail Blackburn | 1345 | Bob Case | 1108 | Bryon Wilfert | 810 |
| | | Lois Hancey | 6232 | Bill Corcoran | 3468 | Frank Gallant | 1058 | Terence Munsey | 128 | Paul Hunter | 585 | Bernie Gaten | 755 | Nick Papa | 333 |
| | | David Amos | 2814 | Larry Ashton | 207 | James Justin Hogan | 106 | | | Gerry O'Donnell | 313 | | | Frank Cavallo | 381 |
| | | Steven Rotman | 747 | John Fearon | 44 | | | | | | | | | Joe Pacitto | 151 |

## 1988 election

The election was held November 14, 1988. Issues in the election included the rapid building of houses in Richmond Hill which many felt had outpaced the growth of corresponding services. The relationship between the town councillors and developers had also been the subject of controversy.
| Mayor | Votes | Local and Regional Councillor | Votes | Ward 1 | Votes | Ward 2 | Votes | Ward 3 | Votes | Ward 4 | Votes | Ward 5 | Votes | Ward 6 | Votes |
| William F. Bell | 8887 | Frank Endean | 6277 | Tom Simpson | 1737 | Janet Mabley | 1901 | David Cohen | 1456 | Gail Blackburn | 2466 | Catherine Bishop | 1907 | Bryon Wilfert | 1479 |
| Al Duffy | 5386 | Lois Hancey | 6002 | Bonnie Tiffin | 589 | Nicholas Legge | 802 | Bronwyn Frazer | 976 | Dennis Chris | 919 | Nick Papa | 1636 | Rosario DeGregorio | 671 |
| Isabelle Gargarella | 4811 | Linda Christie | 5940 | | | David Amos | 530 | Terence Munsey | 433 | Nick Negri | 322 | | | | |
| | | Bill Monroe | 4407 | | | Joanne Leroux-Willison | 138 | Stephen Kaye | 350 | | | | | | |
| | | Robert Cage | 3749 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Larry Ashton | 1165 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## 1991 election

One of the main issue of the 1991 election was plans to scrap the building of a large civic centre in the downtown area, and instead lease office space in Beaver Creek Industrial Park for that purpose, and build a single purpose library downtown instead of integrating it into a multi-purpose facility.

## 2003 election

The 2003 election was held on November 12, 2003.
| Mayor | Votes | Ward 1 | Votes | Ward 2 | Votes | Ward 3 | Votes | Ward 4 | Votes | Ward 5 | Votes | Ward 6 | Votes |
| William F. Bell | 2373 | Vito Spatafora | 2052 | Arnie Warner | 2027 | David Cohen | 1750 | Lynn Foster | 1830 | Elio Di Iorio | 2420 | Joe DiPaola | 1444 |
| William Lazenby | 917 | Vince Agozzino | 2006 | Gary Schecter | 614 | Agnes Chan-Wong | 1257 | Bruce Gilmour | 1121 | Nick Papa | 2175 | Michael Charles Latour | 858 |
| Sonny Khan | 202 | Cathy Leung-Rosnuk | 995 | Ali Mian | 399 | Shirley Chan | 86 | Ted Bunker | 850 | Lucy Rosina Cunningham | 294 | Godwin Chan | 702 |
| | | | | Joe Pacitto | 315 | | | Blair Kingsland | 107 | Ali Zahedi | 43 | Jane Robertson | 608 |

## 2006 election

The election debates centred on urban sprawl, especially with regards to the Oak Ridges Moraine, waste management and urban renewal in the downtown area of Richmond Hill.
| Mayor | Votes | Local and Regional Councillor | Votes | Ward 1 | Votes | Ward 2 | Votes | Ward 3 | Votes | Ward 4 | Votes | Ward 5 | Votes | Ward 6 | Votes |
| Dave Barrow | 22007 | Brenda Hogg | 15296 | Greg Beros | 1568 | Arnie Warner | 2128 | David Cohen | 2179 | Lynn Foster | 4046 | Nick Papa | 2509 | Godwin Chan | 1627 |
| David McCann | 2661 | Vito Spatafora | 14536 | Carrie Hoffelner | 1209 | Asghar Naqvi | 1138 | Natalie Helferty | 685 | Shiraz Hudda | 608 | Elio di Iorio | 2480 | Michael Charles Latour | 1292 |
| Anastasios Baxevanidis | 2276 | Joe DiPaola | 13916 | Don Ciccone | 746 | Carmine Perrelli | 1095 | Vik Gandhi | 436 | | | Marg Aldridge | 609 | Sandra di Iorio | 1069 |
| Ramon Datol | 962 | | | Heather Sinclair | 328 | Mike McCallum | 354 | Arif Khan | 228 | | | Michael McGouran | 552 | Derek Wu | 614 |
| | | | | Adam Dodwell | 78 | D.L. Meitz | 63 | | | | | Nancy Storey | 502 | Muhammad Ali | 303 |

## 2010 election

The 2010 election was held on October 25, 2010. This was the first election in Richmond Hill where the ballots were tabulated electronically instead of manually. Issues in the election included regional transit planning (e.g. VIVA rapidways, Line 1 Yonge extension), the future of the David Dunlap Observatory, and debt in York Region.
2010 Richmond Hill Election Results :
| Position | Electee |
| Mayor | Dave Barrow |
| Local and Regional Councillor | Vito Spatafora |
| Local and Regional Councillor | Brenda Hogg |
| Ward 1 Councillor | Greg Beros |
| Ward 2 Councillor | Carmine Perrelli |
| Ward 3 Councillor | Castro Liu |
| Ward 4 Councillor | Lynn Foster |
| Ward 5 Councillor | Nick Papa |
| Ward 6 Councillor | Godwin Chan |

## 2014 election

The 2014 election was held on October 27, 2014.
2014 Richmond Hill Election Results :
| Mayor | Votes | Local and Regional Councillor | Votes | Ward 1 | Votes | Ward 2 | Votes | Ward 3 | Votes | Ward 4 | Votes | Ward 5 | Votes | Ward 6 | Votes |
| Dave Barrow | 23397 | Vito Spatafora | 16112 | Greg Beros | 3426 | Tom Muench | 958 | Castro Liu | 3758 | David West | 3815 | Karen Cilevitz | 3405 | Godwin Chan | 4177 |
| Carmine Perrelli | 12320 | Brenda Hogg | 14145 | Todd Hansen | 1352 | Stan Daneman | 937 | Donalda Johnson | 950 | Angel Freedman | 2007 | Nick Papa | 2730 | Frank Mastroianni | 1365 |
| Anastasios Baxevanidis | 989 | Joe DiPaola | 13269 | Trifon Haitas | 749 | Marjan Moridi-Arcuri | 923 | Alireza Rafiee | 286 | Ted Schneider | 819 | Ted Leider | 1292 | Igor Bily | 190 |
| | | David Cohen | 11561 | Alex Khoroshylov | 289 | Ramona Singh | 756 | Davood Borojerdi-Azar | 151 | | | | | | |
| | | Karen Trofimchuk | 3672 | | | Keith Menezes | 734 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Ally Hemani | 535 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Paul Tuen Muk | 216 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Paul Pilli | 196 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Morteza Behrooz | 104 | | | | | | | | |

## 2018 election

The 2018 election was held on October 22, 2018.
2018 Richmond Hill Election Results :
| Mayor | Votes | Local and Regional Councillor | Votes | Ward 1 | Votes | Ward 2 | Votes | Ward 3 | Votes | Ward 4 | Votes | Ward 5 | Votes | Ward 6 | Votes |
| Dave Barrow | 23304 | Joe DiPaola | 11758 | Greg Beros | 2323 | Tom Muench | 1827 | Castro Liu | Accl. | David West | 3963 | Karen Cilevitz | 3137 | Godwin Chan | 4146 |
| Susan Korman | 4756 | Carmine Perrelli | 11418 | Carol Davidson | 1687 | Scott Thompson | 1076 | | | Bob Aurora | 1228 | Nick Papa | 2247 | Julie Maxey | 912 |
| Abu Alam | 1238 | Carol Chan | 9448 | Lidia Kafieh | 1167 | Keith Menezes | 636 | | | Michael D'Amelio | 799 | Mahnaz Shahbazi | 542 | | |
| Ali Noroozi | 770 | Jason Cherniak | 8878 | Trifon Haitas | 211 | Michael Aziz | 520 | | | | | Nima Shahi | 129 | | |
| Mino Tari | 567 | Ramin Faraji | 3706 | | | Mike Rajbar | 284 | | | | | | | | |
| | | Weibo Cheng | 3523 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Sabine Ho | 2605 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Murtaza Bhujwalla | 1269 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## 2022 mayoral by-election

The 2022 mayoral by-election was held on January 18-24, 2022. City council passed By-Law 133-21 on October 13, 2021 authorizing the use of internet voting to accommodate voters for the by-election during the COVID-19 pandemic.

### Reasons for the by-election

Then incumbent mayor Dave Barrow went on indefinite medical leave on February 24, 2021, leaving city council with 8 voting members. According to local media reports, this left city council frequently gridlocked, as there was no leader in council and council votes would often end in a tie. City council meetings were characterized as "dysfunctional", where members would divulge into squabbling and name-calling.
Barrow returned to preside over a special council meeting on September 8, 2021 regarding the future of the governance of council given the inefficiencies during his absence. Four councillors left the meeting in protest before it was adjourned. On September 15, 2021, Barrow retired as mayor.
On September 29, 2021, city council agreed to hold a by-election to fill the mayor's vacant seat instead of appointing a mayor.

### Candidates

* Godwin Chan, incumbent city councillor (Ward 6)
* Joe DiPaola, acting mayor and one of two incumbent regional councillors
* Susan Korman, CEO, Furry Friends Company
* Carmine Perrelli, deputy mayor and one of two incumbent regional councillors
* Ruida Tian, Founder/CEO, Smair Inc.
* Rona Wang, President & CEO at GoBest Immigration Services
* David West, incumbent city councillor (Ward 4)
* Juni Yeung, music teacher, author, cultural historian, and interpreter
* Michael Zambakkides, Vice president, Z3 Controls

### Results

2022 Richmond Hill Mayoral By-election Results :
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
| David West | 13053 | 33.55% |
| Godwin Chan | 10167 | 26.13% |
| Carmine Perrelli | 8017 | 20.60% |
| Joe DiPaola | 6074 | 15.61% |
| Rona Wang | 406 | 1.04% |
| Ruida Tian | 389 | 1.00% |
| Susan Korman | 364 | 0.94% |
| Michael Zambakkides | 237 | 0.61% |
| Juni Yeung | 202 | 0.52% |
Voter turnout for this election was 32.10%.

## 2022 election

The 2022 election was held on October 24, 2022.
| Mayoral candidate | Vote | % |
| David West (X) | 28,318 | 70.18 |
| Carmine Perrelli | 10,304 | 25.54 |
| Domenic Bardari | 1,155 | 2.86 |
| Holo Devnani | 572 | 1.42 |

### City council
#### Regional council

Two to be elected.
| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Godwin Chan | 25,392 | 38.61 |
| Joe DiPaola (X) | 18,334 | 27.88 |
| Terrence Au | 12,005 | 18.25 |
| Marco Coletta | 7,617 | 11.58 |
| Abu Alam | 2,424 | 3.69 |

#### Ward 1

| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Carol Davidson | 3,201 | 45.88 |
| Greg Beros (X) | 1,856 | 26.60 |
| Catherine Dellerba | 1,301 | 18.65 |
| Weibo Cheng | 619 | 8.87 |

#### Ward 2

| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Scott Thompson | 2,028 | 39.37 |
| Tom Muench (X) | 1,597 | 31.00 |
| Sigmund Lee | 816 | 15.84 |
| Yehuda Goldberg | 536 | 10.41 |
| Tabinda Jatoi | 174 | 3.38 |

#### Ward 3

| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Castro Liu (X) | 5,299 | 84.92 |
| Juni Yeung | 941 | 15.08 |

#### Ward 4

| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Simon Cui | 2,498 | 32.34 |
| Raika Sheppard (X) | 2,235 | 28.93 |
| Rose A. Weinberg | 1,735 | 22.46 |
| Liana Falzone | 459 | 5.94 |
| Johnny So | 328 | 4.25 |
| Mahnaz Shahbazi | 247 | 3.20 |
| Harry H. Harakh | 223 | 2.89 |

#### Ward 5

| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Karen Cilevitz (X) | 1,525 | 23.34 |
| Tarun Saroya | 828 | 12.67 |
| Richard Rupp | 749 | 11.46 |
| Yuliya Benedziktavich | 673 | 10.30 |
| Anders Lindfors-Wheeler | 655 | 10.02 |
| Wil Husnutdinov | 595 | 9.11 |
| Vera Murano | 546 | 8.36 |
| Sarkis Assadourian | 467 | 7.15 |
| Shohreh Sabaghpour | 396 | 6.06 |
| Emmanuel Lazaris | 100 | 1.53 |

#### Ward 6

| Council candidate | Vote | % |
| Michael Shiu | 1,893 | 27.66 |
| Linda Zhang | 1,685 | 24.62 |
| Carol Chan | 1,254 | 18.32 |
| Sharon Chisholm | 819 | 11.96 |
| Kate Jiang | 695 | 10.15 |
| Julie Maxey | 269 | 3.93 |
| Yung Li | 230 | 3.36 |