It’s official: Robbie Brydon is Halton District School Board’s new Ward 1 and 2 trustee after this week’s by-election.
Brydon won by a hefty margin with 1404 people checking the box beside his name, for a total of 64.3% of the votes; Celina Close was his closest competitor with 383 votes. Brydon’s campaign website notes that as a father of two young children, he wants to ensure that all children “have the resources they need to grow and thrive,” and he believes that his experience as an economic and social policy researcher and in policy governance will serve him well in the trustee role.
With eight candidates to choose from, 2,193 voters exercised their civic right to vote. These voters represented only 6.07% of people who were eligible to vote in this trustee by-election.
Perhaps unsurprisingly in this day and age, the vast majority of the votes (1226 in total) were cast via the internet; only 294 people voted in person at the May 24 advance polls, while 676 people voted in person on May 29. However, this stands in contrast to the 2022 municipal elections, which saw more people cast their ballots in person.
The by-election came as a result of the Feb. 2023 resignation of Matthew Diodati, who cited health challenges and family circumstances as the reason for his resignation only four months after the election.
