Lisa Helps is the new mayor of Victoria, beating Dean Fortin by just 89 votes.
“Now the work begins,” said Lisa helps, shortly after her victory.
According to Helps, what put her over the edge was her dedication and connections with the citizens of Victoria.
“We came from behind. We don't have political affiliation, we have people,” said Helps. “It was people that helped me with this election, and it's people that will help me run the city.”
Helps said her first objective as mayor will be building a relationship with her council.
“If we can build a strong team at city hall, that's the first start. And really my commitment for the next four years is to work alongside and with the citizens and business owners in Victoria to make this our city.”
Helps announced her campaign for mayor on Jan. 1 of this year, and has been knocking on doors since July. Yet she said she has been setting her campaign in place for the last two years.
“That's what it really is, doing the upfront planning so that when you execute, it's pretty seamless.”The councillors joining Helps at city hall are: Ben Isitt, Charlayne Thornton-Joe, Marianne Alto, Jeremy Loveday, Pamela Madoff, Geoff Young, Margaret Lucas and Christopher Coleman.