For the second municipal election in a row, all four incumbent city councillors in the east end have been elected to another term in office, as has incumbent mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

Sutcliffe emerged from a crowded field that included 13 challengers to secure 44.64 per cent of the vote. His nearest opponent was Jeff Leiper who received 33.9 per of the vote.

Of the 24 members of city council, 22 were running for re-election. All but one of them succeeded including all four east end councillors. The only incumbent who lost was Allan Hubley in Kanata South.

Here in the east end, Tim Tierney was re-elected in Beacon Hill-Cyrville with 63.1 per cent of the vote. Laura Dudas was returned in Orléans West-Innes with 65.5 per cent of the vote. And Catherine Kitts was re-elected in Orléans South-Navan with 90.17 per cent of the vote, which was the largest margin of victory among the city’s 24 wards.

But the race that drew the most attention in the east end was in Orléans East-Cumberland where incumbent Matt Luloff held off six challengers to win a third straight term in office with just 36.4 per cent of the vote.

Bob Bell came a surprising second with 24.75 per cent of the vote, and Barbara Daniela Gandolfo placed third with 14.81 per cent of the vote. Among the other challengers Yvette Ashiri got 9.84 per cent, Sherif Rizk received 5.85 per cent, Mazhar Choudhry got 4.46 per cent, and Tammie Trellert received 3.87 per cent.

It was after 9 p.m. before Luloff was finally declared the winner. When the announcement was made on the CBC Ottawa telecast, about 25 or 30 supporters who had gathered at the Corner Bar and Grill broke out in applause.

An extremely humble Luloff then addressed the crowd, thanking them for their support and thanking the voters for placing the confidence in him to serve for another term.

“I want to say how grateful I am for the renewed trust the community has shown in me,” said Luloff, while acknowledging his 2024 impaired driving charge as a “giant mistake” that he’s made a concerted effort to make up for life that has allowed me to better deliver on the promises I made during the last election. It’s allowed me to be a better husband, a better father and a better councillor.”

During his remarks, Luloff also renewed his commitment to make Orléans a place that has housing options for everyone – from young people looking to buy their first home, to empty nesters who are looking to downsize while remaining in the community they’ve called home for years. He also pledged to push for greater access to health care services in Orléans, including access to mental health services.

Finally, he had a message for those people who didn’t vote for him this time around including the 60 per cent of eligible voters who elected to stay home.

“I will spend the next four years working hard to earn your trust. And you know what? If you ever need a pothole filled, or you see something wrong with a pathway, or you just want to talk about an issue you’re facing, I’m not going to go look at the voters list, I will help you any time. Because this is not just a job, it’s about service to the community,” Luloff said.

Fellow city council incumbent Laura Dudas also thanked her supporters after she was announced the winner in Orléans West-Innes.

“I am deeply grateful to my family, my campaign team, and the many volunteers and supporters who stood by me throughout this campaign. Your hard work, encouragement, and belief in our shared vision made this possible,” said Dudas.

Perhaps the biggest story on election night was not who won, but on the number of people who stayed home. City wide it was the lowest voter turnout in 23 years at 36 per cent. Voter turnout in both Orléans West-Innes and Orléans East-Cumberland bucked the trend with 40 per cent turning out to vote. Meanwhile, 35 per cent of eligible voters did so in Beacon Hill-Cyrville and only 30 per cent cast a ballot in Orléans South Navan.

Elsewhere, two new trustees were elected to the Ottawa District School Board which is still under provincial supervision. They are Rick Bédard in Zone 8 representing both Orléans East-Cumberland and Orléans South-Navan, and Cathy Varrette in Zone 12 representing Beacon Hill-Cyrville and Orléans West Innes.

Both incumbent trustees with the Ottawa Catholic School Board – Brian Coburn in Zone 3 and Joanne MacEwan in Zone 5 – were acclaimed.