Ward winners: Meet Saskatoon's new city council

Wednesday saw Saskatoon voters pick a new city council. Here are the results as reported by the City of Saskatoon. They are considered preliminary until confirmed. Wards too close to call will be updated once results are available.

Ward 1

Winner: Darren Hill

Incumbent Darren Hill wins re-election in Ward 1, holding on to a fourth consecutive term as city councillor.

Hill, who was first elected in 2006, is also the CEO of Junior Achievement of Saskatchewan and sits on the board of directors. He won with 4761 votes, good for 68 per cent of ballots cast.

Candidates for Ward 1 this election included Tyrell Alexander, Wes Cameron and Jeff Wortman.

Ward 2

Winner: Hilary Gough

Hilary Gough won a nail-biter in Ward 2, with preliminary results showing she beat out longtime incumbent Pat Lorje by just 137 votes after trailing for much of the night.

The new councillor works as the operations manager for Upstream, a national non-profit based in Saskatoon.

With 2437 votes, Gough won 40 per cent of the ballots cast to Lorje’s 38 per cent.

After @hilaryYXE claimed Ward 2, former Coun. @patlorje shared her thoughts on the historic female majority on #yxe council #ckom pic.twitter.com/GAAE4u5XF6

— 650 CKOM (@CKOMNews) October 27, 2016

Ward 3

Winner: Ann Iwanchuk

Incumbent Ann Iwanchuk has won re-election in Ward 3 over challenger Mark Mills.

Iwanchuk was first elected to council in an October 2011 by-election, beating out six other candidates. She went on to win the following year’s civic election in one of the closest votes in Saskatoon history. She won this latest race with 3850 votes, or 73 per cent of ballots cast.

The councillor is married to Andy Iwanchuk, the former NDP MLA for Saskatoon Fairview.

We check in with Ward 3 winner @Iwanchuk at #yxe city hall #ckom #yxevotes pic.twitter.com/2Ny9XCaW6h

— 650 CKOM (@CKOMNews) October 27, 2016

Ward 4

Winner: Troy Davies

Incumbent Troy Davies has won re-election in Ward 4 over opponent Tobi Loopkey.

Davies first won the seat in Saskatoon’s last civic election in a close contest with one other candidate. The Ward was open after long-time councillor Myles Heidt retired in 2012.

Davies carried 81 per cent of the vote with 5025 votes in his favour.

Ward 5

Winner: Randy Donauer

Incumbent Randy Donauer has won re-election in Ward 5 over candidate Paul Miazga.

Donauer first won his seat in a November 2010 by-election and will now serve his third term as a Saskatoon city councillor.

He won this year with 5202 votes in his favour, good for 64 per cent.

Ward 6

Winner: Cynthia Block

Cynthia Block is the new city councillor for Ward 6.

A former CTV News anchor, Block is now a local business owner, professional communicator and tireless community volunteer.

With 38 per cent of the vote, Block beat out Mike McKague, Mark Prebble, Howard Fullford, Ian Rambally, Josie Steeves and Troy Wruck for the council seat Charlie Clark vacated in order to run for mayor.

Ward 7

Winner: Mairin Loewen

Incumbent Mairin Loewen has won re-election in Ward 7 over challenger Monique Koskie with 8374 votes cast in her favour, good for 82 per cent of the vote.

Loewen will serve her third term on council since being elected in a February 2011 by-election. The seat was vacated by Bob Pringle, who went on to serve his appointment as Saskatchewan’s children advocate until November 2016.

At the time, Loewen became the youngest person ever elected to city council at the age of 27. She lost that title a year later when Ward 10 candidate Zach Jeffries con his council seat at the age of 26.

Ward 8

Winner: Sarina Gersher

The new city councillor for Ward 8 is Sarina Gersher. She got 4396 votes, or 65 per cent of the ballots cast.

Gersher works with the Meewasin Valley Authority as a GIS Analyst. She’s also a board member of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society and founding member of Bus Riders of Saskatoon.

She won the seat over opponent Evan Drisner.

Ward 8 had been without a council representative since April when Eric Olauson, elected to council in 2012, won his riding in the provincial election. Olauson, a member of the Saskatchewan Party, is the MLA for Saskatoon University.

Ward 9

Winner: Bev Dubois

Bev Dubois will return to city hall with a win as the new councillor for Ward 9.

Other candidates for the Ward included David Cook, Thomas Hrynuik, Jeff Jackson, Roxanne Kaminski, Aaron Kernaghan and Robin Mowat.

In 2012, Ward 10 incumbent Dubois sought re-election for a fourth term. She lost out to newcomer Zach Jeffries in a tight race.

The 2016 Ward 9 race was open after long-time incumbent Tiffany Paulsen announced her political retirement earlier in the year.

Paulsen was first elected to the seat in 2000 Saskatoon at the age of 27, making her youngest person ever elected to council at the time.

Dubois won the ward with 34 per cent of the vote.

“The No. 1 reason I ran for city council again is the passion”: New Ward 9 Coun. @BevDubois on her goals for this round in office #yxevotes pic.twitter.com/vMvY8TZQTh

— 650 CKOM (@CKOMNews) October 27, 2016