New Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) trustee-elect Anna Aceto-Guerin says the results of the election recount are a reminder that every vote matters. “I went through the process of counting and kind of was really shocked. The two votes. It could have gone either way,” Aceto-Guerin told CTV News on Wednesday. Aceto-Guerin has been declared the winner of the school board trustee recount that involved recounts Waterloo, Wellesley and Woolwich due to the scope of the position. The recounts were automatically triggered after the results of the Oct. 26 municipal election suggested Aceto-Guerin was tied with incumbent trustee Conrad Stanley. However, the tie only came to light when the official results were certified the following day. On election night, Stanley believed he had won because Woolwich reported 426 votes had been cast in his favour within the municipality. When the official votes were certified the next day, it showed Stanley’s vote count was actually 274 in Woolwich. There was a note that Stanley was one of three candidates whose results were incorrectly reported on election night. The township called it a “typing error.” The new total placed Stanley in an apparent tie with Aceto-Guerin, triggering the automatic recount. The recounts in Wellesley and Waterloo showed no change in the totals. However, in Woolwich’s recount on Tuesday, the township’s numbers changed to show one more vote for Aceto-Guerin and one less for Stanley, making Aceto-Guerin trustee-elect. Aceto-Guerin said she is confident in the Woolwich results, and she received a thorough explanation from the township clerk about what happened on election night. The reporting mistake was described as “human error.” Township responds Woolwich Township’s municipal clerk Jeff Smith said the municipality recognizes how important it is for voters to have confidence in the election process. “The official election results were reported correctly. The error occurred on election night when unofficial results were manually entered and posted to the Township’s website. A data entry mistake caused incorrect numbers to appear online. This was a reporting error, separate from the counting of ballots,” he explained in an emailed statement on Wednesday. He said the mistake was caught the next day, the candidates were contacted directly and the website was corrected. The recount then took place on Nov. 10, leading to Aceto-Guerin being named the winner. “We understand that in an election this close, every vote matters. The recount is an important part of the election process, providing an additional verification of the results,” Smith wrote. “We also recognize the calls for greater transparency. We are strengthening our procedures for verifying unofficial results before they are published. A report reviewing the election, including opportunities for improvement, will be released in December,” he said. What happens now? Stanley did not reply to CTV News’ inquiry as to whether he will challenge the recount results. He has 15 days to apply to the Superior Court for a judicial recount. For now, Aceto-Guerin is preparing to take on the role of trustee. Her husband, David Guerin, was part of the previous board, but he did not run for re-election there, instead opting to put his name forward as a candidate for Cambridge city council. “I’d love to continue his central or moderate voice,” Aceto-Guerin told CTV. She said that means focusing on governance. “How do we look at the growth that is happening in this area, because we have a lot of growth happening with schools, and there are shortages here for teachers, right? How do we manage that?” she said. “So, really working with the staff to make sure we have those adequate resources is really important to me, because that affects our students as well as the teachers.” The previous board of trustees’ term was at times rocky, with trustees polarized on some issues. Stanley was the trustee who put forward the proposal to ban most flags including the Pride flag from Catholic schools. The ensuing debate led to protests and counter-demonstrations. Ultimately, his motion lost in a 5 to 4 vote. With Aceto-Guerin’s election, the board of trustees will see two-thirds turnover, as three of nine incumbents will be returning. “Lots has happened in the last four years and it would be great to just reset,” Aceto-Guerin said. “I think there’s definitely some really great opportunities to do some amazing things in the region.” The inaugural meeting for the new board is on Monday, November 16. Aceto-Guerin said she will attend, but noted she can’t formally be sworn in until after the results are certified, which will happen 16 days after the recount, provided there hasn’t been an application to the court for a judicial recount.
