Paradise residents have chosen long-time councillor Patrick Martin as their new mayor. (CBC)
Newfoundland and Labrador's third-largest municipality has elected a new mayor.
Paradise residents chose longtime councillor Patrick Martin in a close race that saw him win by 139 votes over Larry Vaters, according to the unofficial results late Thursday evening.
Martin takes over from Dan Bobbett, who led the town for 12 years, but stepped away from municipal politics to run as a Liberal candidate in the provincial election.
As Martin takes on the top job, he said some of the issues he wants to address are traffic congestion, water pressure concerns in the Elizabeth Park subdivision and illegal ATV use on town roads.
Martin was a town councillor for 12 years before seeking the mayor's seat.
He's also a truck driver and an advocate for children with autism.
Martin said he will remain accessible, present and honest as the town's new mayor — qualities he said he demonstrated throughout his tenure on council.
"I'm here for the people," Martin said.
"As the mayor, I will be no different than I was as a town councillor for the last 12 years. I'll be accessible, and I'll be here."
Traffic congestion top concern among Paradise residents
Martin said the main concern he heard from residents while he was campaigning was traffic congestion, particularly in the Topsail Road area.
It's the primary route in and out of the community, and it's connected to two provincial interchanges that cause significant delays during rush hour.
While he was campaigning, Martin said the town needed a strong advocate who would work with the province to upgrade its interchanges and roadways.
New mayor — and mostly fresh council — in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's
In nearby Portugal Cove-St. Philip's — a town of just over 8,400 people — residents also elected a new mayor on Thursday.
Longtime councillor Dave Bartlett will take over the top job from Carol McDonald, who chose not to run in the election.
Bartlett was up against two other candidates — former deputy mayor Madonna Stewart-Sharpe, and Johnny Hanlon, who also vied for mayor in 2021, but lost to McDonald.
Longtime councillor Dave Bartlett is mayor-elect for Portugal Cove-St. Philip's. (Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's website)
On a town council that's been rocked by infighting, Bartlett said he intends to lead by bringing respect and decorum to the council.
That council will be rounded out by six councillors: Kim Churchill, Keith Culleton, Erin Gallant, Wendy Squires-Ennis, Robert Stapleton and Gavin Will.
Everyone except Will and Bartlett are new to the council.
Many mayors acclaimed, re-elected
In the province's second-largest municipality, Conception Bay South, no one ran against Mayor Darrin Bent, so he was acclaimed.
Ditto for the province's fourth-largest municipality, Mount Pearl, where Mayor Dave Aker was acclaimed.
On Bell Island, the mayor of Wabana, Philip Tobin, was also acclaimed.
And in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove, no one voted at all because the entire town council was acclaimed.
No one voted in St. John's either — that election was rescheduled to Oct. 8 due to the postal workers' strike.
Meanwhile in Torbay, Craig Scott was re-elected as mayor, a position he's held for eight years.
He received 1,056 votes, while mayoral candidates Trina Appleby and Mary Thorne-Gosse received 663 and 783 votes respectively.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
[SRC] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/paradise-election-1.7650042
