Full Breakdown
Niagara Mayoral Upsets Signal Voter Desire for Change
By Drooid · · How we work
Election Upsets Across the Region
Municipal elections in the Niagara region produced several unexpected defeats of long-standing incumbents. In Niagara Falls, four-term mayor Jim Diodati—who had pledged a final term—was unseated by city councillor Lori Lococo, who captured 51.45 % of the vote versus Diodati’s 41.73 % (unofficial results). Lococo’s margin exceeded 2,600 votes. In Fort Erie, incumbent mayor Wayne Redekop, in office for nine years, lost to regional councillor Tom Insinna, who earned 52.2 % against Redekop’s 40.9 % (unofficial results). Similar upsets occurred in Port Colborne, where city councillor Bea Kenny defeated four-term mayor Bill Steele with 3,430 votes to Steele’s 2,307 (unofficial results).
Key Races and Results
- Thorold: Regional councillor Tim Whalen won with 50.3 % over former mayor Henry D'Angela’s 49.76 % (a 40-vote margin).
- Welland: Regional councillor Pat Chiocchio edged city councillor Graham Speck by 55 votes (4,271 to 4,216).
- St. Catharines: Incumbent mayor Mat Siscoe secured re-election with 52.42 % versus 30.46 % for runner-up Ann-Marie Zammit (unofficial results).
- Niagara-on-the-Lake: Philanthropist Vaughn Goettler won the lord mayor’s seat with 55.1 % of the vote, beating councillor Erwin Wiens (31 %) and regional councillor Andrea Kaiser (13.9 %).
Candidates’ Priorities and Promises
Lococo emphasized fiscal restraint, stating the city faces “a spending problem” and pledging to control taxes and budgets. Insinna, a former RCMP officer, vowed to fight for the urgent-care centre at the former Douglas Memorial Hospital and to bring “fiscal discipline” to Fort Erie. Kenny highlighted her intent to keep Port Colborne’s urgent-care centre open and to lower wastewater rates.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem,” — Niagara Falls’
- “I won their trust knocking on doors.” — Bea Kenny, showing city councillor
- “This was probably the hardest, the dirtiest, the most smear-filled campaign,” — Union. Incumbent Mat Siscoe, catharines mayor
Implications for Niagara Governance
The wave of defeats suggests a regional appetite for new leadership and heightened focus on fiscal management and health-care services. New mayors have signaled commitments to tighter budgeting, preservation of urgent-care facilities, and more responsive council engagement, potentially reshaping municipal priorities ahead of the next budgeting cycle.