PETERBOROUGH VOTED. WELL, 40% OF IT DID

New mayor. New faces. Same old problems. Welcome to City Hall, Class of 2026.

Peterborough has spoken. Or at least the 40.27% who could be bothered to vote have. The other 59.73% apparently decided that complaining about City Hall on Facebook for the next four years was a perfectly acceptable substitute for participating in democracy.

And so, after months of campaign signs, handshakes, promises and enough political optimism to power a small subdivision, Peterborough has a new mayor, five new councillors and a fresh opportunity to discover just how expensive good intentions can become.

Michael Eamon is our new mayor, collecting 10,867 votes, or 36.5% of the votes cast in the mayoral race. Neil Morton finished second with 7,372, while veteran councillor Keith Riel placed third with 5,990.

That’s democracy, folks. You don’t need a majority. You just need more votes than the other six people who want your job.

Of course, it’s worth remembering that Eamon’s 10,867 votes represent roughly 14.6% of Peterborough’s 74,603 registered electors. Not a criticism of the winner. That’s how our electoral system works. But it does raise an uncomfortable question about just how much of the city is actually participating in choosing the people who spend its money.

THE OLD GUARD MEETS THE NEW BLOOD

There were some interesting shakeups around the council table.

In Otonabee Ward, Lesley Parnell survived, but fellow incumbent Kevin Duguay lost his seat to Chris Potter by just 24 votes. Twenty-four. That’s fewer people than you’ll find arguing about bike lanes under a typical Peterborough Facebook post.

In Monaghan Ward, Matt Crowley collected an impressive 5,301 votes, while newcomer AJ Shearer claimed the second seat. In Town Ward, Alex Bierk and Joy Lachica both survived the electoral chopping block, proving that incumbency isn’t necessarily a political death sentence.

Ashburnham voters opted for two new representatives, Ashley Bonner and Jason Stabler, leaving incumbent Gary Baldwin on the outside looking in. Meanwhile, Northcrest returned Andrew Beamer and welcomed Charmaine Magumbe.

The final tally? Five returning councillors and five newcomers. An even split between institutional memory and people who have yet to experience the unique pleasure of sitting through a municipal budget meeting that seems to last longer than a Canadian winter.

NOW COMES THE EXPENSIVE PART

Campaigns are wonderful things. Everybody wants affordable housing, safer streets, better roads, responsible spending, economic development and a downtown where people actually want to spend an evening.

Then somebody opens the books.

Peterborough’s next council inherits some familiar headaches: infrastructure costs, property taxes, homelessness, downtown safety, development pressures and the never-ending question of what this city can realistically afford.

And, of course, there’s the arena.

Big-ticket capital projects have a remarkable ability to transform from exciting civic investments into arguments about who approved what, when, and how much the taxpayer is expected to cough up.

Then there are the bike lanes, which have somehow become one of Peterborough’s most reliable sources of political entertainment. You’d think the city was debating international borders rather than road markings.

Meanwhile, ordinary residents are still looking at their tax bills, wondering why everything costs more and asking whether anyone at City Hall remembers that municipal money comes from actual human beings with mortgages, rent payments and grocery bills.

Eamon campaigned on making job creation a priority, including expanding employment lands and attracting development. That’s a measurable ambition, and one worth watching. The real test will be whether the city can translate economic development talk into actual employment opportunities rather than another collection of consultants’ reports and glossy presentations.

THE 60% WHO STAYED HOME

Perhaps the most revealing election result isn’t who won. It’s who didn’t show up.

Nearly six out of ten registered electors did not cast a ballot.

Maybe they’re satisfied. Maybe they’re frustrated. Maybe they don’t believe the municipal government makes much difference. Or maybe they simply had better things to do on a Monday.

We shouldn’t pretend to know their reasons. But the result is the same: a minority of eligible voters made decisions that will affect everybody.

Municipal politics arguably has a more immediate impact on daily life than most of the political theatre coming out of Ottawa or Queen’s Park. Your streets, your parks, your property taxes, your local services and the shape of your neighbourhood are all affected by decisions made a relatively short drive from your front door.

Yet somehow, getting people excited about municipal government remains about as easy as selling tickets to a four-hour zoning seminar.

CONGRATULATIONS. NOW GET TO WORK.

The campaign is over. The signs will eventually disappear. The victory parties are finished, and the losing candidates can begin the traditional process of quietly removing the word “mayor” from their social media biographies.

For those elected, the hard part starts now.

Peterborough doesn’t need another four years of grand announcements followed by uncomfortable financial explanations. It needs transparent decisions, honest accounting and elected officials prepared to tell residents what things actually cost.

The new council doesn’t have to agree on everything. In fact, disagreement is healthy. What matters is whether those disagreements produce better decisions or simply more expensive delays.

We will be watching the spending, the votes, the reversals and the promises that somehow become less memorable once election night is in the rear-view mirror.

To Michael Eamon and the new council: congratulations. You’ve earned the opportunity to lead.

Now comes the part where the campaign promises meet the calculator.

And to the nearly 60% who stayed home: don’t worry. You’ll still get the tax bill.