Ward 7 chooses Jeewen Gill

Residents in Windsor's Ward 7 have chosen a familiar candidate to represent them on City Council.

Shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, with all 13 polls reporting, real estate broker Jeewen Gill came away as the unofficial winner of the Ward 7 by-election.

Gill collected a total of 1,015 votes cast, or 19.7 per cent, according to the totals from the city of Windsor. Businessman Angelo Marignani came in second with 879 votes, or 17 per cent.

Neighbourhood advocate Greg Lemay ended up third with 781 votes, or 15.1 per cent.

The complete, unofficial vote count is as follows. The totals must still be certified by the city of Windsor clerk.

• Jeewen Gill - 1,015 - 19.7 per cent
• Angelo Marignani - 879 - 17.0 per cent
• Greg Lemay - 781 - 15.1 per cent
• Barbara Holland - 426 - 8.3 per cent
• Michael Malott - 404- 7.8 per cent
• Igor Dzaic - 396 - 7.7 per cent
• Michelle Gajewski - 378 - 7.3 per cent
• Therese Papineau - 311 - 6.0 per cent
• Farah El-Hajj - 266 - 5.2 per cent
• Albert Saba - 189 - 3.7 per cent
• Howard Weeks - 78  - 1.5 per cent
• Ernie Lamont - 33 - 0.6 per cent

Gill, once the results are certified, will then serve the remainder of the term that expires in October 2022. The seat had been vacant since last October, when Irek Kusmierczyk resigned to become the MP for Windsor-Tecumseh.

Mayor Drew Dilkens welcomed Gill to council via Twitter Monday night.

https://twitter.com/drewdilkens/status/1313300647136169985

The councillor-elect is not a newcomer to local or provincial elections. Gill had previously run as the federal Liberal candidate for Windsor-Tecumseh in 2015 and lost the Liberal nomination to Kusmierczyk in 2019. He had also run as a Liberal in the 2013 provincial election for Windsor-Tecumseh, losing to Percy Hatfield of the NDP.

Monday's election was the climax of one of the longest municipal campaigns in Windsor history. An election to fill Kusmierczyk's seat was originally set for April 27, but due to a state of emergency brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the election was rescheduled for October.

Voter turnout Monday was announced at 27.75 per cent, an increase from 21.78 per cent for the last by-election in Ward 7, which was in 2013.

Advance voting began last week at the WFCU Centre, with polls closing Monday night. In accordance with pandemic-control guidelines, curbside voting was offered at the complex Monday.