11:45 p.m. UPDATE
Lisa Helps has been re-elected as the mayor of Victoria. She won with 42 per cent of the vote (12,642) as Stephen Hammond finished second (8,717) and Michael Geoghegan third (4,335).
Sitting on council for the next four years will be Ben Isitt, Jeremy Loveday, Laurel Collins, Geoff Young, Sarah Potts, Charlayne Thornton-Joe, Sharmarke Dubow and Marianne Alto.
Three of the councillor candidates running as part of the Together Victoria organization were voted in, while none of the New Council candidates were elected.
10:22 p.m. UPDATE:
Although the election results have not been deemed official, Lisa Helps is calling the election and has given a victory speech ahead of her expected next four years in office.
10:00 p.m. UPDATE:
With the majority of polls now reported, incumbent mayor Lisa Helps holds a strong lead for re-election in Victoria.
Crowd reacts as @lisahelps speaks to early lead. #yyjvotes #yyjpoli Amalgamation question leaning towards yes. pic.twitter.com/iaBjdoYauC
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) October 21, 2018
9:00 p.m. UPDATE:
Campaign workers, volunteers and supporters continue to wait as poll numbers roll out in Victoria.
At incumbent major Lisa Helps’ campaign party, people were in high spirits as spontaneous dancing broke out earlier in the evening.
Jovial atmosphere at @lisahelps election party in @CityOfVictoria where spontaneous dancing has broken out. #yyj #yyjvotes#yyjpoli pic.twitter.com/SwFSO01qBJ
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) October 21, 2018
Speaking to media shortly after the polls closed, Helps said she believes Victorians will support the values they care about, including an inclusive community, sustainability on the planet and reconciliation with First Nations.
“I think that’s what the ballot question has come down to - do we want to move forward and continue making progress together or do we want to move backwards and undo the things that have been done? And I think what we’ll see tonight is a step forward and Victorians supporting that.”
Across the city at Michael Geohegan’s campaign office, supporters were cautiously optimistic.
“I’ve run other campaigns but have to say this one was quite dynamic in terms of the challenges we faced with a new culture of attack ads and such, and finding more creative ways to reach out populous,” said Cynthia Carlsen, campaign manager for Michael Geoghegan.
“We wanted to run a positive campaign. We felt we needed to focus on the current issues at hand in Victoria and the shortcomings that needed to be addressed with and that was Mike’s focus.”
Michael Geoghegan and crew anxiously await the final ballot count— with the help of beer and pizza 🍕 🍻 #yyjvote @rhymeswreagan pic.twitter.com/H6KcHDGzcO
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) October 21, 2018
Original:
The civic election polls are now closed in Victoria.
Reporters Arnold Lim and Nicole Crescenzi are out across the community bringing you full live coverage on our website, Facebook and Twitter.
Nine people seek the mayor’s seat for the City of Victoria this election with 29 candidates running for the office of councillor.
The mayoral candidates are Saul Andersen, Michael Geoghegan, Stephen Hammond, Lisa Helps, David Johnston, Bruce McGuigan, Rymo (Ryan Moen), Alexander Schmid, Krzysztof (Chris) Zmuda. Rob Duncan withdrew from the race.
The Incumbent has arrived. @lisahelps talks about being the incumbent this time and the controversial topics of this years election. #yyj #yyjvoted #yyjpoli pic.twitter.com/8W2o4KPL38
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) October 21, 2018
Mayoral candidate @rhymeswreagan is feeling “cautiously optimistic “ after voting polls closed #yyjvote #bcelxn2018 pic.twitter.com/iL29pJdA3f
— Victoria News (@VictoriaNews) October 21, 2018
SAANICH: Haynes dumps Atwell
ESQUIMALT: Desjardins clinches another win
LANGFORD: New face on council
VIEW ROYAL: Screech joined by Kowalewich, Rogers, Mattson and Lemon
VICTORIA: Helps retains mayor’s seat
METCHOSIN: Ranns returns as mayor
COLWOOD: Gets a new mayor
That’s it! Polls are closed 🚫 @SaxePointDC says thanks for exercising your civic duty ✔️ pic.twitter.com/YafPckCVI7
— Kristyn Anthony (@kristyn_anthony) October 21, 2018