Raymond Cho, a 19-year veteran of municipal politics, coasted back to city hall with 53.6 per cent of the vote.
Crowds chanted “Raymond Cho! Raymond Cho!” as poll results rolled in on the big screen at his campaign office on Sheppard Avenue East.
Cho thanked the Tamil and Filipino communities in his victory speech.
“There were three Tamil candidates and if it weren’t for the entire community supporting me, I couldn’t have won,” Cho said. “I will continue to work hard to make the community a safer and more beautiful place — this means more programs for youth and seniors.”
Neethan Shan took second place with 32 per cent of the vote. At his party, there were disappointed faces, frustrated frowns and even tears, but Shan retained some optimism.
“I’m not a quitter. My team is going to get stronger day by day, year by year and in four years, we will be back,” Shan said.
His campaign manager, Andrea Moffet, held the same view.
“Just because we couldn’t reach the goal at hand, doesn’t mean we can’t reach the goals we have for the issues of the city,” Moffet said.