Rob Burton wins fifth term as Oakville mayor in tight race
Published October 24, 2022 at 9:49 pm
Make that five terms now at the helm in Oakville for Rob Burton.
The long-time Oakville mayor will once again take his seat at the head of council after defeating two other candidates in the 2022 municipal election on Monday (Oct. 24).
In one of the closest mayorial races in Oakville history, and for the second-straight election, Burton held off challenger Julia Hanna.
With 45 of 45 polls reporting, the unofficial Oakville election results had Burton winning by just 886 votes, collecting 49.24 per cent of vote to edge out Hanna.
Burton finished with 19,949 votes to Hanna’s 19,063. Hanna had 47.06 per cent of the vote.
First-time mayorial candidate Jack Kukolic was a distant third in the voting, finishing with just 1,498 votes for 3.70 per cent.
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Just 28.30 per cent of Oakville residents went to the polls, with 41,021 ballots cast.
Burton first stepped into his current role back in 2006 when he defeated incumbent and long-time Oakville mayor Ann Mulvale.
The former journalist and YTV founder led the charge to save Glen Abbey Golf Course in his most recent term and promised to continue to protect features that make the town “special,” such as stable neighbourhood streets, the growing tree canopy and greenspace and lakefront public access.
Burton has also promised more liveability, including benefits such as a 2,000-acre eco-park, waterside pub in each harbour, new recreation centre and cricket pitch in the north part of town, a new arts centre, library and parking downtown and new streetscapes and parking in both Bronte and Kerr villages.
This marked Hanna’s second run at the mayor’s position. In 2018, she finished just a little more than three thousands votes shy of the 22,918 (49.64 per cent) cast for Burton.
The restaurant owner and former chamber of commerce chamber chair ran for what she called a thriving Oakville “with opportunity for all.”
Hanna said she would oppose the proposed updates to the land use policies that would enable 59 story skyscraper developments, saying they would “significantly alter our town.”
Other priorities includes dealing with the housing crisis and making investments in roads and congestion relieving infrastructure.
Kukolic, a full-time second-year student in Sheridan College’s Bachelor of Film and Television program who also operates his own photography and videography business, took part in his first election.
The 19-year-old ran on improving the local transit system and helping Oakville sustain its environment.
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