Karen Redman gets second term as Waterloo Regional Chair

Waterloo Region voters have decided to give Karen Redman a second kick at the can.

The Waterloo regional chair was unofficially re-elected for a second term on Monday, as she repelled challenges from Narine Dat Sookram and Brendon John Da Costa.

Redman was initially elected in 2018, replacing Ken Seiling, who retired after holding the position for decades.

Previously, Redman served on local school boards and city council before she was elected as MP for Kitchener Centre in 1997, a post in which she served until 2010.

She returned to municipal politics in 2014 when she was elected to regional council, a post she held for 4 years until being elected regional chair.

The second council she is set to lead will look vastly different than her first as a majority of councilors have chosen not to seek office again including three of four in Kitchener, both in Cambridge and 1 of 2 in Waterloo.

In addition, the council also includes the mayors of each municipality and Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky and Wilmot Mayor Doug Armstrong both stepped aside as well.

In Kitchener, Colleen James was the top vote-getter followed by incumbent Michael Harris, according to the unofficial results on the city’s website. They will be joined by Kari Williams and Robert Deutschmann as the region’s largest city elects four councilors.

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Up in Waterloo, Jim Erb has been re-elected while Chantal Huinink will also represent the city seat at council, according to the unofficial results.

Down in Cambridge, the residents selected longtime mayor Doug Craig and former city councilor Pam Wolf as their two council members, according to the city’s website.

The following are the unofficial winners of the Waterloo regional chair and councilor races.

Waterloo regional chair (x denotes incumbent) (Unofficial winners in bold)

Karen Redman x
Narine Dat Sookram
Brendon John Da Costa

Regional Councilor Cambridge (2 to be elected)

Tyler Calver
Doug Craig
Bobbi Stewart
Prakash Venkataraman
Crystal Whetham
Pam Wolf

Regional councillor Kitchener (four elected)

Heather Caron
Robert Deutschmann
Joe Gowing
Mac Graham
Michael Harris x
Mary Heinen Thorn
Tom Hillier
Colleen James
Soo Bok Lee
Duncan Maclean
Michael Parkinson
Iffat Sultana Riasat
Matt Rodrigues
Kari Williams

Regional councillor Waterloo (two to be elected)

James Ball
Jim Bolger
Jim Erb x
Mark Fisher
Gord Greavette
Chantal Huinink
Ryan Keating
Peter Neufeld
John Vieth
Cindy Watkin