'Edmonton is ready': Record-high 8 women elected to city council
Edmontonians want women at the decision-making table. That’s the conclusion after a historic election that saw for the first time a person of colour elected Alberta’s capital city mayor and racialized women earn seats on its council made up of a majority of women.
“I think there’s been a lot of discussion in the past two or three years about about the need for diversity on council, the need for diversity in our elected representation,” re-elected Coun. Sarah Hamilton told CTV News Edmonton as poll results came in Monday night.
In 12 wards, eight women were elected -- the most in Edmonton’s history.
It’s a stark difference to 2017, when Hamilton was elected as one of two female councillors.
“It says to me that message is getting through. I think what we’re going to see on council now is not just a diversity of representation of gender and of race, but of life experience,” she said.
Successful Ward O-day’min candidate Anne Stevenson, elected Monday with 26.71 per cent of the vote, echoed the sentiment.
“It’s an incredible result and I think really speaks to the pent-up demand that there’s been for this sort of diversity for city council.”
PATH PAVED BY ESSLINGER
Of the eight women councillors elected Monday, Hamilton is the only one to have served before. Some upset incumbents: Karen Principe ousted Jon Dziadyk in Ward tastawiyiniwak, Jo-Anne Wright beat Moe Banga in Ward Sspomitapi, and Erin Rutherford won in a close race over Bev Esslinger.
Esslinger was first elected in 2013 -- then the only female councillor -- and sat beside Hamilton as Edmonton’s second female councillor for the last four years.
“Eight years later there’s eight women on city council and as much as I would love to be with them, to feel that, I’m just very proud that we have that many that stepped up and will continue the work,” Esslinger told CTV News Edmonton.
Outgoing mayor Don Iveson thanked Esslinger for her service and leadership the next day.
“I think a lot of the women who got elected yesterday would credit Bev for her leadership, trying to create conditions for more women to join council. And so that must be bittersweet,” he commented.
Rutherford won the northwest ward Anirniq by less than 300 votes.
“I’ve worked with (Esslinger) before in my previous roles in different capacities in administration. She knows very much that I respect her and I know that she cared deeply about this community over the last eight years,” Rutherford told CTV News Edmonton.
“I know for a fact that this is something that I plan on building on what she started, not tearing down.”
‘EDMONTON IS READY FOR A DIVERSE COUNCIL’
Two of the new councillors will share the title of being the first racialized women to serve: Keren Tang and Jennifer Rice.
Tang’s victory in Ward Karhiio was called early in the night; according to unofficial results Tuesday, she had received 39.72 per cent of the vote.
Rice wasn’t declared councillor elect until Tuesday afternoon following a tight race with Rhiannon Hoyle, who she’d end up leading by dozens of votes.
“In the history of 100 years, 31 female councillors, 238 men,” Tang said in an interview. “And now, this time around, we finally have some of our first women of colour councillors. And that’s incredibly exciting. It sends a strong message that Edmonton is ready. Edmonton is ready for a diverse council to make meaningful decisions.”
She pointed to the numbers of female and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of colour) candidates who put their name forward in the municipal election.
“I keep saying this: If we want women, if we want women of colour elected, we need more strong women of colour running.. I really hope that they keep going.”
YWCA Edmonton was part of the push to propel women in leadership roles.
"These are artifacts that aren't in any museums but tell the story of female leadership in our city," said Katherine O'Neill, CEO of YWCA Edmonton.
"The pandemic has disproportionately affected women, particularly women of colour. To have a decision-making body of a majority of women, to roll up their sleeves and have the best post-COVID recovery plan is the best case scenario."
SOHI ‘EXCITED’
The last time a majority of Edmonton’s council was made up of women was 1989, when Jan Reimer was elected the city’s first female mayor.
In total, just 31 women have been chosen by the city to sit as councillors.
“Some people think that diversity is some wishy-washy thing, that it’s a feel-good thing. It is not. Diversity is so fundamental for making good decisions,” mayor-elect and the city’s first BIPOC mayor, Amarjeet Sohi, said Tuesday.
“I am excited to have eight strong women on council.”
“It’s about time,” re-elected Coun. Andrew Knack commented.
“I mean, truly, it is embarrassing that it’s taken this long in our city’s history to reach that mark.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Touria Izri
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Democrat who ran on abortion rights flips seat in deeply conservative Alabama
Marilyn Lands, who campaigned on abortion rights in deeply conservative Alabama, won a special election to the Alabama Legislature, in a victory that Democrats say illustrates voter backlash to extreme reproductive restrictions imposed by Republicans.