Municipal Election 2018

Welcome to the Stratford Election Home Page

The next Municipal and School Board Election will be held on Monday, October 24, 2022.

Form EL32 City of Stratford Declaration of Election Candidates

Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (s. 55(4) a)

I, Joan Thomson, Clerk of the City of Stratford declare the following Candidates elected as a result of the October 22, 2018 Municipal Election held in Stratford.

City of Stratford Council

MAYOR - 1 to be elected

CANDIDATES	Votes
Dan MATHIESON - Elected	7837 (68.9%)
Tom DRAKE	2174 (19.1%)
Andrew FRASER	1358 (11.9%)

VOTER SUMMARY

Total	11658
Abstain	289 (2.5%)

COUNCILLOR - 10 to be elected

CANDIDATES	Votes
Martin RITSMA - Elected	7290 (8.3%)
Bonnie HENDERSON - Elected	6820 (7.7%)
Danielle INGRAM - Elected	6438 (7.3%)
Kathy VASSILAKOS - Elected	6309 (7.1%)
Tom CLIFFORD - Elected	5281 (6.0%)
Brad BEATTY - Elected	5093 (5.8%)
Cody SEBBEN - Elected	4974 (5.6%)
Graham BUNTING - Elected	4520 (5.1%)
Jo-Dee BURBACH - Elected	4317 (4.9%)
Dave GAFFNEY - Elected	4302 (4.9%)

Frank MARK	4205 (4.8%)
Shannon DYKE	3965 (4.5%)
Katia MAXWELL	3711 (4.2%)
Gezaghn WORDOFA	3577 (4.0%)
Kevin SILVER	3362 (3.8%)
Rebecca REEVE	2597 (2.9%)
Dan WETTLAUFER	2233 (2.5%)
Dan GRAVER	1888 (2.1%)
Don ROBINSON	1838 (2.1%)
Carla COLES	1600 (1.8%)
Ken WOOD	1585 (1.8%)
Greg EVANS	1469 (1.7%)
Marcus NIEBLER	982 (1.1%)

VOTER SUMMARY

Total	11658
Abstain	87 (0.7%)

Avon Maitland District School Board Trustee- 2 to be elected

CANDIDATES	Votes
Herbert KLASSEN - Elected	4134 (39.2%)
Laura BISUTTI - Elected	3654 (34.6%)
Malorie LEONETTI	2762 (26.2%)

VOTER SUMMARY

Total	9803
Abstain	3327 (33.9%)

DECLINED BALLOTS: 21

Dated: October 23, 2018

PDF - 2018 Official Stratford Municipal Election Results

Candidate Financial Statements - Form 4

The City is required to make Candidate's Financial Statements available for viewing by the public on a website or in another electronic format in accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

Those candidates who do not file a financial statement by the legislative deadline, Friday, March 29, 2019 at 2:00 p.m., are in default of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and are not eligible to run for office until after the 2022 municipal election. These candidates will be shown below with the word “Default” next to their name

Click on the candidate's name below to view a pdf version of his/her financial statement.

MAYOR

Drake, Tom
Fraser, Andrew
Mathieson, Dan

Drake, Tom

Fraser, Andrew

Mathieson, Dan

COUNCILLORS

Beatty, Brad	Ingram, Danielle	Wettlaufer, Dan
Bunting, Graham	Mark, Frank	Wood, Ken
Burbach, Jo-dee	Maxwell, Katia	Wordofa, Gezahgn
Clifford, Tom	Niebler, Marcus
Coles, Carla	Reeve, Rebecca
Dyke, Shannon	Ritsma, Martin
Evans, Greg - Default	Robinson, Don
Gaffney, Dave	Sebben, Cody
Graver, Dan	Silver, Kevin
Henderson, Bonnie	Vassilakos, Kathy

AVON MAITLAND DISTRICT SCHOOL TRUSTEES

Bisutti, Laura
Klassen, Herbert
Leonetti, Malorie - Default

Bisutti, Laura

Klassen, Herbert

Leonetti, Malorie - Default

HURON PERTH CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL TRUSTEES

Doherty, Tina

Doherty, Tina

Third Party Advertisers

Below is a list of all individuals, corporations or trade unions that registered with the City Clerk as a Third Party Advertiser in the 2018 Municipal Election:

Financial Statements

Those registered third party advertisers who do not file a financial statement by the legislative deadline, Friday, March 29, 2019 at 2:00 p.m., are in default of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and are not eligible to register as a third party advertiser in the municipality until after the 2022 election. These registered third party advertisers will be shown below with the word “Default” next to their name

Click on the Registered Third Party's name below to view a pdf version of their financial statement.

Registered Third Party Advertisers

Bard's on Marketplace Inc. - Default

Campaign Life Coalition

Joint Compliance Audit Committee [JCAC]

A Joint Compliance Audit Committee has been established by the municipalities of North Perth, Perth East, Perth South, St. Marys, Stratford and West Perth pursuant to the requirements of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 as amended.

For further information on the roles and responsibilities of the Compliance Audit Committee, please review the Terms of Reference.

General Questions about the Compliance Audit Committee

What is a Compliance Audit Committee?

Pursuant to Sections 88.33 to 88.37 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, Council must establish a Compliance Audit Committee. The Committee will receive and make decisions on applications for compliance audits of candidates’ and Third Party Advertisers, 2018 municipal election campaign finances and any by-elections during Council’s term pursuant to the Act.

What are the functions of the Compliance Audit Committee?

The powers and functions of the Committee are set out in sections 88.33, 88.34, 88.35, 88.36 and 88.37 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. The Committee will perform the functions relating to the compliance audit application process as outlined in the Act. These functions include:

Within 30 days receipt of a compliance audit application by an elector, consider the application and decide whether it should be granted or rejected;
Appoint a licensed auditor, if the application is granted;
Receive the auditor’s report;
Within 30 days receipt of the auditor’s report, consider the report;
If the report concludes that the candidate appears to have contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances and the Committee finds that there were no reasonable grounds for the application, Council may recover the audit costs from the applicant.
If the report concludes that the candidate does not appear to have contravened a provision of the Act relating to election campaign finances and the Committee finds that there were no reasonable grounds for the application, Council may recover the audit costs from the applicant.
Consider the Clerk’s report on whether any candidate or Third Party Advertiser exceeded the campaign limits.

What is the composition of the Compliance Audit Committee?

The Committee will be composed of five (5) members. Membership will be drawn from the following groups:

Accounting and audit – accountants or auditors with experience in preparing or auditing the financial statements of municipal candidates;
Legal;
Professionals who in the course of their duties are required to adhere to codes or standards of their profession which may be enforced by disciplinary tribunals; and/or
Other individuals with knowledge of the campaign financing rules of the Municipal Election Act, 1996.

Who is ineligible to apply to be a member of the Compliance Audit Committee?

Municipal employees, members of Council and any candidates in the 2018 municipal election or in any by-election during the term
of Council for any member municipality are ineligible to be appointed as a member of the Committee pursuant to subsection 88.37 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

When does the Committee’s term of office begin and end?

The term of office is from December 1, 2018 to November 14, 2022 to deal with applications from the 2018 and any by-elections during Council’s term.

What is the time commitment required of a Compliance Audit Committee member?

This depends on the number of applications received and the complexity of the issues raised in the application.

General Questions about the Compliance Audit Process

What is a Compliance Audit?

An elector, who is entitled to vote in an election and believes on reasonable grounds that a candidate or Third Party Advertiser has contravened a provision of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 relating to election campaign finances, may apply for a compliance audit of the candidate’s or Third Party Advertiser’s campaign finances.

Application for an Election Compliance Audit Request

To file an application for an election compliance audit request of a candidate's or a Registered Third Party’s election campaign finances, an eligible elector is required to complete the City of Stratford Application for Election Compliance Audit form and provide reasons for belief and any supporting documentation.

Where does an elector send their application?

An application for mayor or councillor candidate and Registered Third Party must be filed with the City Clerk at:

City Clerk's Office,
City Hall, Ground Floor
1 Wellington Street
Stratford, Ontario N5A 6W1

What is the deadline to submit an application?

The Act provides that the application for the October 22, 2018 Election must be made within 90 days after the latest of the following dates:

The filing date under section 88.30 - Friday March 29, 2019 by 2:00 pm
The date the candidate or registered third party filed a financial statement, if the statement was filed within 30 days after the applicable filing date under section 88.30.
The candidate’s or registered third party’s supplementary filing date, if any, under section 88.30 - Friday September 27, 2019 by 4:30 pm
The date on which the candidate’s or registered third party’s extension, if any, under subsection 88.23 (6) or 88.27(3) expires.

How long will it take before the application is heard?

Within 30 days after receiving the application, the Compliance Audit Committee will consider the application and decide whether to grant it or reject it.

What happens if the Committee grants the application?

If the Committee grants the application, they will appoint an auditor to promptly start the audit of the candidate’s or Third Party Advertiser’s election campaign finances to determine if the candidate or Third Party Advertiser complied with the provisions of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996.

Can Committee decisions be appealed?

Yes. The decision of the Committee may be appealed to the Ontario Court of Justice within 15 days after the decision is made and the court may make any decision the Committee could have made.

What happens once the auditor completes the audit?

Once the auditor has completed the audit, the auditor will provide a report to the Committee, the Clerk, the candidate and the applicant. The Committee will consider the report within 30 days of receiving it and determine whether legal proceedings should be commenced against the candidates.

Who pays for the auditor?

The municipality pays for the auditor’s costs; however, if the report indicates that there was no apparent contravention and the Committee finds that there were no reasonable grounds for the application, the Council is entitled to recover the auditor’s costs from the applicant.