Brampton and Mississauga will have new mayors next term, as Linda Jeffrey and Bonnie Crombie have been declared winners in those respective Greater Toronto Area cities.
Jeffrey was a former federal Conservative for the Brampton area who declared her intention to run for mayor as the incumbent, Susan Fennell, was mired in spending controversies.
Fennell was shown to have overspent on travel by a forensic audit released earlier this year. It found that Fennell and her staff had broken spending rules more than 200 times and owed money back to the city.
During the campaign, however, Fennell announced an arbitrator had reduced the amount of money the mayor owed back, and Fennell said it "cleared" her name.
Bonnie Crombie on Election Day with longtime mayor Hazel McCallion. (Bonnie Crombie/Twitter)
Voters declared otherwise the Oct. 27 civic election, with Fennell coming in third behind winner Jeffrey and second-place candidate John Sanderson.
Bonnie Crombie takes over from longtime mayor Hazel McCallion in Mississauga.
Crombie was in a close and sometimes bitter race with opponent Steve Mahoney. McCallion may have tipped the scales as election day drew near by endorsing former councillor Crombie.
Crombie ended up winning with a wide, near-60-per-cent margin of victory.
