Chatham-Kent has a new mayor.
First time mayoral candidate Darrin Canniff received 19,316 votes to claim the mayor's seat.
Incumbent Randy Hope failed to secure a fourth term finishing a distant third with 4,722 votes.
Canniff says voters wanted change.
"Overall, Chatham-Kent wanted a change. They delivered a solid mandate for us to move forward and make some really good things happen here. There's so much more potential here and we can take it, as a team, moving to that next level."
He says there's a long list of issues he wants to tackle.
"There's a lot of things. We want jobs. We need more people. We need more skilled people. We need infrastructure. There's a lot of different issues and it's a matter of approach and leadership. That's what people are looking for. We need to move forward with that and come up with new ideas."
Canniff says he's looking forward to getting to work with his new council.
"I'm excited about the group. We're getting a lot of fresh ideas coming to the table. We've got some incumbents coming back and rookies coming in. So it'll be a good balance of experience. I think, well I don't think, I know that collectively we can make a big difference in Chatham-Kent."
As for Chatham council, incumbents Michael Bondy, Brock McGregor and Doug Sulman will be joined by former councillor Marjorie Crew and newcomers Karen Kirkwood-Whyte and Amy Finn.
Voter turnout was slightly up from the 2014 election from 42.1% to 45.4%.
Unofficial Results
MAYOR:
Darrin Canniff (ELECTED) Votes: 17,125
Alysson Storey Votes: 9255
Randy Hope Votes: 4722
Harold Atkinson Votes: 675
Robert Salvatore Powers Votes: 351
Allan Robert "Al" Traylor Votes: 170
CITY COUNCIL:
Majorie Crew (ELECTED) Votes: 7589
Michael Bondy (ELECTED) Votes: 7552
Brock McGregor (ELECTED)Votes: 7267
Doug Sulman (ELECTED)Votes: 6565
Karen Kirkwood-Whyte (ELECTED) Votes: 5893
Amy Finn (ELECTED) Votes: 5753
Larry Vellinga Votes: 5698
Don Duoco Votes: 5449
Don Leonard Votes: 4576
Kirk Hooker Votes: 3301
Penelope Duchesne Votes: 2960
Chris June Votes: 2687
Ryan Jackson Votes: 1432
Gordon Thomas Votes: 1127
Les Banks Votes: 740
James Thompson Votes: 668
Drew Simpson Votes: 564