Wilton has definitive win in Centre Wellington

CENTRE WELLINGTON – She’s the second female mayor in Centre Wellington in just her second run at local government.

And if you give her a second, Bronwynne Wilton says she’ll be up and running in no time.

Wilton easily won the five-way mayoral race in Centre Wellington on Oct. 26 with 4,731 votes.

Her nearest competition was Neil Dunsmore, who garnered 2,736 votes. Kelly Linton followed with 2,252 votes, incumbent Shawn Watters with 1,912 and Stephen Kitras with 953.

Wilton and her team of volunteers were at the Breadalbane Inn in Fergus awaiting results after the polls closed on Oct. 26, and it was a jubilant crowd when she was declared the winner.

While she didn’t have a crystal ball, “I had a good feeling about the election,” she told the Advertiser.

She added she learned a lot from the door-to-door campaign and that’s helping her set her agenda for the next four years. 

Ready to 'start doing'

Wilton said her priorities are developing a strategic plan with senior staff and council, managing tourism – especially in Elora – and getting more recreation facilities and programs for residents in this growing community.

A multi-use recreation facility (MURF) is already planned in the near future, Wilton said, “and at the door people would light up when I said it was coming.”

Currently the Ward 5 councillor, she said a lot of planning was done by the current council and there are reports and master plans waiting to be acted upon.

“I’m ready to stop planning and start doing,” she said.

Wilton thanked Watters for his four years of leadership and the aforementioned planning work.

“I really respect Shawn and what he’s done for the community,” she said.

“I’m also proud that I ran a positive campaign, to show people we can do politics differently.”

Second place

For Dunsmore, coming in second “is like kissing your sister,” he said with a chuckle.

“I ran a good campaign, I had a great team, and I don’t know what more I could have done,” he said.

"I’m shocked at the margin of victory. That speaks volumes about Bronwynne."

Dunsmore added, “I’m proud of my people, I’m proud of myself. It’s hard to put your name forward and open yourself to criticism.”

Councillor results

There were a few upsets in the ward races for councillor positions.

Sophie Hogan toppled the table in Ward 1, garnering 1,216 votes and taking the seat from incumbent Lisa MacDonald, who received 775 votes. Erika Montero finished third with 696 votes.

In Ward 2, Darcy Saunders won the seat with 1,114 votes. Incumbent Kim Jefferson received 635.

Barb Lustgarten Evoy remains the Ward 3 councillor after securing 1,417 votes. Her challengers were Bob Foster (765 votes), Shivam Taneja (396) and David DeWitt (303).

She’s happy the contest is over and noted, "It’s exciting to see so many candidates stepping up in service to the community."

She said increased voter turnout – from 39.1% in 2022 to 44.1% in 2026 – speaks to the importance of the issues facing council and their impact on the community.

“People want to be heard. That’s what I heard,” she said.

In Ward 4, Jennifer Adams hung on to her seat with 1,152 votes, defeating challenger Maddie Smith (953).

With Wilton not running in Ward 5, Julie Charbonneau swept that race with 1,348 votes, compared to 459 for Matt Lebeau 144 for Elnor Walsh.

“I think the candidates did a good job of encouraging people to vote,” Charbonneau said, also noting the higher voter turnout in Centre Wellington.

“We were a hotbed of contentious issues in Ward 5 with 446 homes (a housing proposal near Belwood) and an AI data centre proposal. I think people are aware of the issues we’re facing and that’s what brought them out.”

Ward 6 was also an open field with current councillor Denis Craddock choosing not to run again.

That left the door open for Richard Pinder, who won the seat with 430 votes. Pamela Brown-Wass garnered 316 and Matt Bunch got 219.

“I’m feeling fantastic,” Pinder said on Oct. 27. “Now the work begins."