Photo supplied by Dawn Arnold campaign
While the events that lead up to the municipal election showed signs of a competitive battle for the next Mayor of Moncton, the final results tell a much different story.
Mayor-elect Dawn Arnold has been unofficially elected in Moncton, defeating opponent Erik Gingles by nearly 3000 votes.
It has been a long path to re-election for Arnold, who served an extended mandate due to the pandemic, followed by an additional delay for the release of election results.
The unforeseen circumstances made it “challenging” for Arnold, however with the election results revealed she said she “couldn’t be happier.”
In an interview after the win, Arnold said she is feeling “ecstatic” to be back at the helm of the Hub City.
While the results may be recent, the mayor-elect is wasting no time getting acquainted with the new Moncton City Council.
Arnold believes she is a much different person compared to 2016 when she was first elected.
“I’ve learned how important it is to set the tone at the beginning of a mandate,” said Arnold, who expects to hit the ground running when council affairs resume “I put a lot of work into a really robust orientation session.”
Moncton will feature five new City Councillors.
“What people often forget is a mayor only has one vote, but there are ten other people, so there are 11 people who will be working together to figure out what’s best for all Monctonians.”
Council will take over the daunting challenge of balancing a growing city that’s experiencing socioeconomic issues.
Prior to the election, Arnold’s platform referenced many large economical achievements Moncton had reached over her time as mayor.
“We want to keep that momentum going and keep growing while at the same time looking out for the most vulnerable in our community.”
Elsewhere, female candidates were unofficially elected in Saint John and Fredericton with Donna Reardon and Kate Rogers becoming mayor-elect in their respective municipalities.
Mayor-elect Dawn Arnold says that after strong relationships with Don Darling and Mike Obrien, she’s excited about this new opportunity noting she “Can’t wait to get to know them a little better.”
