Kingston re-elects Bryan Paterson as mayor for 3rd term

A familiar face has been re-elected mayor of Kingston, Ont.

Bryan Paterson, who is also an assistant economics professor at Royal Military College, was first elected mayor in 2014 and has managed to hold onto the position since.

In the weeks before voters cast their ballots, he said he planned to focus on boosting the city's housing supply.

Paterson pointed to the more than 3,500 new housing starts approved during his last three years as mayor, which is roughly double the yearly amount approved during his first term.

As for affordable housing, Paterson said "there's a huge need for it, but it's expensive and it's difficult."

His platform included creating a new affordable housing fund that would draw directly from revenue generated by city growth. It also suggested using growth revenue to keep property taxes low and looking for ways to attract more family doctors.

"What I offer is experienced leadership, a track record of bringing people together and an ability to get things done," his campaign website read.

Paterson also touted his work to invest in the city's waterfront, green spaces and transit, along with a "new collaborative approach" around the council table.

Three other people were vying for the mayor's seat, each of whom said they're tenants who have experienced the squeeze of the rental market.

Among them were recent Queen's University graduate Skyler McArthur-O'Blenes, who said he wanted to make the local government more engaging, and Tina Fraser, who pledged to reclaim Kingston from "out-of-towners" and developers, according to her website.

Ivan Stoiljkovic, a city bus driver and tenant advocate, also ran as part of a group called the People's Platform for Kingston. He said the city needs to move past simply increasing the housing supply and instead create publicly owned rental units where people pay based on their income.

One Kingston city councillor was acclaimed: Gary Oosterhof in District 1, Countryside.

Half of the positions on council were up for grabs after six of twelve councillors chose not to run again.

Here's a look at the rest of the council results:

District 2, Loyalist-Cataraqui: Paul Chaves, defeating Jacqui Collier by just 35 votes.

District 3, Collins-Bayridge: Lisa Osanic.

District 4, Lakeside: Wendy Stephen.

District 5, Portsmouth: Don Amos.

District 6, Trillium: Jimmy Hassan.

District 7, Kingscourt-Rideau: Brandon Tozzo.

District 8, Meadowbrook-Strathcona: Jeff McLaren.

District 9, Williamsville: Vincent Cinanni.

District 10, Sydenham: Conny Glenn.

District 11, King's Town: Gregory Ridge.

District 12, Pittsburgh: Ryan Nelson Boehme.