Elections 2026 - It was a GOOD night - The Seeker Newsmagazine Cornwall

Disclosure: The Seeker carried paid advertising for Sarah Good’s and Justin Towndale’s mayoral campaigns.

Some of you woke up happy this morning.

Some of you woke up utterly disappointed.

Both are understandable. I remember when I was a kid, on the day after a vote, my dad would always ask people, “Did you win your election?” It was probably just a subtle way of him asking who the person voted for to see if they stood on the same side, I’m sure, but I remember the proud face he’d make when his candidate won. We all want to “win”.

But to us, here at the Seeker, every person who ran is a winner. Every single one.

Back in August I was worried. I wrote about sixteen names for eight chairs and practically begged for more people to step up. And you did. By the time nominations closed, thirty people were in. Four for mayor, twenty-six for council.

Thirty! And people keep telling me nobody wants the job anymore!

These folks went through the experience of a lifetime. They put their names, their faces and their families out there, and they took part in our democratic process. Evenings, weekends, agenda packages, debates, questionnaires. I know how much that takes. Some lessons were learned through it all, friendships were made, and that is a win it itself.

So to every candidate, thank you. Truly. Stay visible. Stay involved. And please run again.

Congratulations Sarah

Unofficial election-night tallies show 11,575 votes cast for mayor. In 2022 the whole election saw 10,166 ballots. This was also the first year you could vote online, and you had two full weeks to do it from your couch. We don’t have the official turnout yet. But more people showed up, and that’s also a win.

Sarah Good is Cornwall’s mayor-elect, according to the City’s unofficial results. Congratulations, Sarah!

Saying Sarah won by a landslide would practically be an understatement. Election-night tallies had her at 7,545 votes, or 65.2 per cent. Incumbent Justin Towndale had 2,141, Art Levert 1,588 and Nicole Spahich 301.

Our school board trustees

Congratulations as well to the trustees who will represent Cornwall:

English Public (Upper Canada District School Board): Katherine Vrastak
English Catholic (Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario): Karen Torrie-Racine and Krysta Ryan
French Public (Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario): Mathieu Tondreau, acclaimed
French Catholic (Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien): Pierre Morin, acclaimed

So what does it mean for Cornwall?

Honestly, we’re divided on this one.

On one hand, a lot of the old council is still in place.

Dean Hollingsworth, Todd Bennett, Denis Sabourin and Elaine MacDonald are all going back for another term.

Some of the new names aren’t really new to City Hall, or Cornwall either. By their own accounts, Joël Côté sat on council from 2003 to 2006, and Todd Lalonde worked for the City of Cornwall until he retired as Supervisor of Parks and Landscaping. Lalonde also chaired the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario at one point. And our new mayor sat on the last council. John Cameron has 30 years of public-facing service. He was Principal of St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School, Superintendent of Education, and ultimately Director of Education for the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO).

That leaves only one new name: Jason Riley.

Does this speak to how people choose what they know over what they don’t? Security over change?

Maybe. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. There are fewer seats at the table now, and the people in them know where the files are kept.

The door is open

Sarah promised an open-door policy at city hall. It was actually the first thing in her platform. She talked about customer-service standards for city departments, giving people earlier notice when something is about to change, and town halls where you can talk to council and the mayor face to face.

We’re confident she will listen.

She’s also the first mayor Cornwall has elected since the province gave the city strong mayor powers in 2025. Back in April she said she’d be careful with those powers. We’ll hold her to it.

The City Clerk is certifying the results today, and the detailed numbers will go up at cornwall.ca/elections. The new council takes office November 15.

So Cornwall, the door’s open. Are you going to walk through it?