WINDSOR -- Windsor’s Ward 7 has a new city councillor, Jeewen Gill has been elected to fill the east end seat.
Gill collected 1,015 votes in Monday’s byelection.
"I feel very proud and excited. I will represent them, all the diverse communities here,” Gill said of his victory. “I’m going to stand with all the residents of Ward 7. All the issues they bring to me, I will try to serve to find a solution for them to make it a happier, healthier lifestyle for them."
Gill defeated 11 candidates vying for the for the position: Greg Lemay (781), Farah El-Hajj (266), Michelle Gajewski (378) Igor Dzaic (396), Barb Holland (426), Ernie Lamont (33), Michael Malott (404), Angelo Marignani (879), Howard Weeks (78), Thérèse Papineau (311) and Albert Saba (189).
There were 5,159 ballots cast in the byelection, with a 27.75 per cent voter turnout.
A full list of the unofficial results for Windsor’s Ward 7 city councillor is available here.
“We did a lot of hard work in the last six weeks, my team was working very hard, day and night and that is the result of hard work,” Gill said, noting the team would be celebrating Monday night.
The results are unofficial as of Monday night, the City of Windsor will relay the official results once they become available.
The Ward 7 councillor position had been vacant for nearly a year after Liberal candidate Irek Kusmierczyk was elected the MP for Windsor-Tecumseh in the federal election on Oct. 21, 2019.
The byelection was originally slated for April, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The past several months has challenged our City significantly, but I have seen first-hand the tremendous resilience of our community,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a statement congratulating Gill. “I’m pleased that the Ward 7 by-election has now concluded successfully and I’m looking forward to working with Jeewen on the important and vital issues that face our Community: from local pandemic response, to preparing the 2021 municipal budget to delivering on the need for a new, modern hospital.”
During his campaign, Gill advocated for issues facing seniors, improving parks and recreation centres, and infrastructure to enhance road systems and safety.
“Thank you all the voters who put in trust for me,” Gill said. “I will work for them, I will listen to them and I will fight for them.”
- With files from CTV Windsor's Rich Garton
