New Wasaga Beach Mayor-Elect outlines priorities

The Mayor-Elect of Wasaga Beach says improving the town’s tourism industry will be one of his top priorities once he’s sworn into office.

Brian Smith, a longtime businessman, scored one of the biggest upsets in our region in yesterday’s election with 5,300 votes.

That’s more than double the number of votes received by current longtime Mayor Cal Patterson.

Patterson’s defeat comes after 23 years in municipal politics.

He spent the last 11 years as the town’s mayor and also served concurrently as Simcoe County’s Warden since 2010.

Smith says voters delivered a loud, clear message at the polls.

“The numbers tell us that voters in Wasaga Beach want a change,” he said. “They have given us a clear mandate … to move forward with our platform and what our campaign said.”

In Wasaga Beach, 46% of eligible voters turned out this year to vote.

That was a big improvement over the 2010 municipal election.

The town offered options to vote online, by phone, or in person at the Town Hall.