The wave of Progressive Conservative blue hit the lakeshore as David Piccini won the riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South.
Piccini toppled longtime Liberal incumbent Lou Rinaldi, who held the seat in the former Northumberland-Quinte West riding from 2007-2011 and regained it in 2014.
Piccini, a resident of Port Hope, made it a swift and impressive victory.
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Piccini got 26,602 votes, or 45.5 per cent of the votes cast, well ahead of NDP Jana Papuckoski (14,354 votes, 24.5 per cent) and Rinaldi (14,028, 24.0 per cent).
“Great things are accomplished by people who work together — that’s how I intend to represent you at Queen’s Park in Toronto,” Piccini told supporters at the Dalewood Golf Club north of Cobourg.
“Tonight the people of Northumberland-Peterborough South sent a clear message: A PC majority government. We choose a positive vision for Ontario; we choose a government that will work for you the people.”
Rounding out the results were the Green Party’s Jeff Wheeldon (2,668 votes, 4.6 per cent), followed by Libertarian John O’Keefe (412 votes, 0.7 per cent), Derek Sharp of the Trillium Party (272 votes, 0.5 per cent) and Stop Climate Change candidate Paul Cragg (177 votes, 0.3 per cent).
Piccini is no stranger to politics. He has worked as an international market analyst and policy adviser and previously served as executive assistant to federal Conservative Trade Minister Ed Fast.
In 2015, he was the federal Conservatives’ candidate for Ottawa Vanier. He finished third behind 20-year Liberal MP Mauril Belanger
Rinaldi reportedly called Piccini to congratulate him. Rinaldi was unavailable for comment.
More to come.
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