Fletcher fends off West in Ward 30

[attach]2606[/attach]It was a close race but in the end incumbent Paula Fletcher was able to fend off a challenge from broadcaster Liz West in Ward 30.

For much of the night the contest was a virtual dead heat with the lead going back and forth between the two candidates before Fletcher pulled away for good winning by 259 votes.

Pleased with her own win, Fletcher said she was also thrilled that neighbouring Ward 29 had elected Mary Fragedakis.

“We swept her in there,” she said of her new council mate. “There’s a new kid in town.”

Fletcher says that her first priority when she returns to city hall is to help set priorities for roadwork to ensure that everything is coordinated and that projects get moving.

[attach]2607[/attach]For West, while she came close to knocking off Fletcher, she told her supporters she felt she let voters in her ward down.

“It was so close,” West told the 50 people gathered at her campaign party. “A huge part of the community really wanted change.”

Early in the evening her supporters cheered and applauded when they heard Rob Ford had taken the mayor’s seat. They did the same when they heard news reports that incumbents Adrian Heaps and Sandra Bussin had been defeated.