Dorothy McCabe elected as new mayor of Waterloo, says she 'can't wait to get started'

Dorothy McCabe has been elected as the new mayor of Waterloo, according to unofficial election results.

 "It really has been a whirlwind. To be honest, it hasn't fully sunk in," she told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo late Monday night after the results were in. "I'm just ecstatic and can't wait to get started."

It was a close race in the city as McCabe captured 43.5 per cent of the vote, followed by Shannon Weber with 42 per cent of the vote. There was no incumbent in this seat.

"A win is a win, so I'm ecstatic that the numbers worked in my favour," McCabe said when asked about the close race.

McCabe said she was more concerned about the low voter turnout. About 27 per cent of eligible voters turned out to vote this year in Waterloo ⁠— a decline from 2018, when 34 per cent of people voted.

"I worry that people don't feel that they should vote in these municipal elections. I mean, municipal government is the closest to the people. We impact people's lives everyday from the moment you look at your alarm clock and the electricity that's powering it to … turning on your tap to make your first cup of coffee," she said.

McCabe said one of the first issues she hopes to address is affordable housing.

"I want to work with our new council and work with staff and see if we can keep a chunk of land in Waterloo public land that we own and see if we can secure that for the long-term to build a new affordable housing development," she said.

During the campaign, McCabe said her top three reasons for running for mayor were:

• Lead Waterloo toward the future.
• Creating a greener, more sustainable city.
• Hear and understand diverse perspectives to work toward collective action.

3 new councillors elected

The councillors elected Monday were:

• Ward 1: Incumbent Sandra Hanmer.
• Ward 2: Incumbent Royce Bodaly.
• Ward 3: Hans Roach.
• Ward 4: Incumbent Diane Freeman.
• Ward 5: Incumbent Jen Vasic.
• Ward 6: Mary Lou Roe.
• Ward 7: Julie Wright.