St. Thomas, Ont., voters decided to go with a council veteran over a newcomer in the 2026 municipal election. Jeff Kohler, who has spent 22 years at city hall as a former mayor, alderman and councillor, received nearly 70 per cent of the vote to win. “Our message of local, capable, proven leadership definitely resonated out there,” said Kohler at his victory party. “We’re going to start off right away with fiscal responsibility. We need to make sure we put forward some responsible budgets where we’re not impacting the people of today to benefit the people of tomorrow and without cutting services. So that’s going to be a challenge for us. But that’s what we’re looking forward to.” Kohler, who is succeeding two-term mayor Joe Preston, will also be leading a new council. Three incumbents, Earl Taylor, Joan Rymal and Jim Herbert, were ousted by three newcomers, Mike Brisson, Joe Docherty Jr. and Kyle Yates, while former mayor Heather Jackson was elected councillor. Gary Clarke, Rose Gibson, Steve Wookey and Lori Baldwin-Sands were also re-elected. “I’m looking forward to working with the new council that’s been elected. I’m glad that many of the current members were elected, because I’m going to need their help to move things forward and sometimes new is good. At the same token, I appreciate the work that councillor Rymal, councillor Herbert and councillor Taylor did to get us to where we are today. They certainly were key members. As Mayor Preston said, it takes a team to make this happen and we were a great team.” Kohler said some of the new members will quickly realize their campaign promises won’t all happen due to financial restraints. “At the end of the day, our commitment is going to be to maintain the momentum that they have without cutting services and without impacting the rate they are today with high-impact tax increases,” said Kohler. As St. Thomas enters one of the most crucial eras in the city’s history, Kohler will be the one to lead the way. “We are experiencing growth that we haven’t seen for generations,” he said. “That experience of leading through where we can’t say yes to everything, but what makes it happen? Our transit plan is coming forward. How are we going to improve that? How do we grow that in a responsible way, but not add to the tax impact on taxpayers right now? It’s tough for people, especially seniors on fixed incomes, and we don’t want to add to that pressure.” St. Thomas Mayor St. Thomas Council Eight to be elected Bayham Mayor Central Elgin Mayor Dutton Dunwich Mayor West Elgin Mayor Aylmer Mayor Malahide Mayor Southwold
