Political newcomer Michael Eamon has been elected as the next mayor of Peterborough.
When the first results came in at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday night (October 26) from three of seven voting tabulators, Eamon had a significant lead of 2,879 votes over fellow political newcomer Neil Morton, with 9,253 votes to Morton’s 6,374. Veteran councillor Keith Riel was third at 4,916 votes.
With all seven voting tabulators reporting at around 10:15 p.m., Eamon’s lead over Morton had increased to 3,495 votes, with 10,867 to Morton’s 7,372. Riel’s vote count only increased to 5,590.
Rebecca Schillemat came in fourth with 2,526 votes, followed by Jacob Méthot at 1,112, Brian Lumsden at 1,106, and Rob Hailman at 800.
Eamon grew up in Brockville and moved to Peterborough in 2005. A high school valedictorian who earned scholarships to study history, he met his wife Jennine at Queen’s University and first became acquainted with the Peterborough region through visits to her family reunions. The couple raised two sons in Peterborough, who attended Prince of Wales Public School and Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute.
Eamon’s professional experience has largely been in administration and management with the federal government in Ottawa and at Trent University, where he has served as principal of Trent University’s Catharine Parr Traill College for the past 12 years. He holds four history degrees, along with certificates in project management, project planning and control, procurement, change management, and cultural resource management. His additional training includes non-violent interventions, workplace violence and harassment, and customer service.
Following his victory, Eamon issued the following statement:
“As Peterborough’s mayor-elect, I want to commend the other candidates who ran for mayor. It was a long six-month campaign. Rob, Jacob, Neil, Brian, Keith and Rebecca — you all ran good, strong campaigns. You brought many good ideas to the table. And you made it abundantly clear how much you care for this community. I hope you will continue to use your skills for the betterment of our city.”
“In particular, I would also like to thank Coun. Keith Riel for his 16 years of service to the City of Peterborough.”
“I would also like to offer my congratulations to all the candidates who were elected to Peterborough’s city council. Enjoy your well-earned victories. We have a lot of work ahead of us. I’m looking forward to working with each and every one of you.”
“I look forward to meeting with you in the coming weeks to learn about your priorities so we can hit the ground running after the inauguration,” Eamon continued.
“And to everyone who ran — Thank you! We can’t have a democracy without caring, committed people who come forward every four years to offer their skills and their service to make the city better.”
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