Eight newcomers elected to London City Council

London City Council will look very different for the next four years, as eight fresh faces will take a seat around the horseshoe following Monday’s municipal election.

On Tuesday, Hadleigh McAlister spent the day picking up election signs following his victory in Ward 1.

“I was overjoyed,” he says. “It was really a great moment to be surrounded by my friends and family, and it was such a special moment to share with them.”

McAlister defeated incumbent councillor Michael Van Holst whose perceived opinions during the COVID-19 pandemic resonated with some voters.

London city Councillor Michael Van Holst. (Source: City of London)

“I think that van Holst ran a very personal campaign. He took issues that were of great importance to him, but they might not have spoken quite as widely to Londoners,” says Andrea Lawler, associate professor of political science at Kings University College.

Van Holst was not the only incumbent to lose however, as both appointed incumbents John Fyfe-Millar and Mariam Hamou were defeated by small margins.

“I didn't anticipate that that kind of backlash would make a difference,” says Martin Horak, associate professor of political science at Western University. “But anecdotally, I've heard from quite a number of people who said that they didn't really like the fact that there were appointed councillors who are running again.”

Fyfe-Millar was defeated by just 34 votes by David Ferriera in Ward 13, while Sam Trosow was victorious over Mariam Hamou in Ward 6 by just under 300 votes.

John Fyfe-Millar was the runner up in Ward 13 in the 2018 municipal election. (Brent Lale / CTV News)

“Ward 6 is a great ward, and there's a lot a lot of diversity of opinion in Ward 6, and a lot of diversity of economic situations and life situations. But I'm very happy to be representing Ward 6 now,” says incoming councillor Sam Trosow.

Meanwhile, the outgoing councillor vows to continue the work after she leaves office.

“I don't have to have an elected position to do the work,” explains Mariam Hamou. “I think the work is gonna get done by me anyway. It was a real fun ride while it lasted.”

There are eight new councillors for the upcoming term — a majority. They have differing opinions, and levels of experience with municipal governments.

Miriam Hamou, as seen on August 29, 2022, is London, Ont.'s Ward 6 City councillor (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Horak says that due to the different levels of experience among the incoming council, there might be at first some growing pains.

“[There are] some new councillors who've already been quite active in the local political scene, even though they haven't been on council, but there's others who are complete outsiders,” he explains. “And so it'll probably take a little while to get those folks up to speed.”

That work begins Nov. 15 when the new council will begin a four-year term, with issues like housing affordability and transportation being top of mind for voters.