Shawn Crossman is Moncton, N.B.'s mayor-elect after Brian Murphy concedes

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Shawn Crossman is Moncton's mayor-elect after the city's former mayor Brian Murphy conceded. 

The three-term councillor has represented the city's east end since 2012. That's an area his father also represented while serving on city council. 

Crossman is a self-employed entrepreneur.

Readers may recall he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2018. That's a blood cancer that develops in plasma cells. He's been in full remission. 

He's campaigned on tackling public safety concerns, saying property crime is getting out of control. 

Several municipalities elected a new mayor. 

In Tantramar, Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, the current deputy mayor who was the mayor of Dorchester before amalgamation, won by about 600 votes. With Sackville being the larger town that formed the new municipality of Tantramar, having a mayor from Dorchester may give the village more representation on council. Outgoing mayor Andrew Black chose not to run again for mayor but ran for a council seat and lost.

And in Shediac, Patricia Bourque-Chevarie, a long-time councillor, won after previous mayor Roger Caissie didn’t run again. She is the first woman to serve as mayor of Shediac, which has seen large population growth in recent years.

In the province’s northern cities, two incumbent mayors held onto their seats. Eric Marquis won in Edmundston, and Kim Chamberlain in Bathurst.

In Campbellton, Michel Soucy, a former mayor of Atholville, beat Luc Couturier, who had served as acting mayor since the resignation of Jean-Guy Levesque in the fall.

The race has not yet been called by Elections N.B. In Miramichi’s five-way race for mayor, but Veronique Arseneault leads Shawn Power by over 1,200 votes with most votes counted.

The crowd is buzzing with optimism at the Steve Hicks watch party as results show him with about 53 per cent of the vote with just one tabulator left to count. His supporters are waiting for him to arrive any minute now.

Back in Moncton, “Oh my,” Crossman says as he refreshes the results on a phone again. “I expected this to be over a long time ago.”

He seems concerned why it hasn’t been finalized yet.

Saint John’s Donna Reardon has secured her second term as mayor, defeating Blaine Harris and Barry Ogden.

Reardon, who has served two terms as councillor before winning the mayor’s seat in 2021, presided over some of the most high-profile council decisions in recent history. She has been on council since 2012.

Her win also means that Ogden, the outgoing Ward 2 councillor, is no longer on council. 

Ogden stopped by Reardon’s watch party to congratulate her around 9 p.m, as Reardon was leading by about 1,000 votes.

Back at the legion in Moncton’s Sunny Brae neighbourhood, mayoral candidate Shawn Crossman stands by his daughter looking at results on a phone.

“We’re ahead,” he says.  

A supporter nearby tells him to remember to breathe. 

Most media have moved from Brian Murphy’s event to Crossman’s location. 

Incumbent Donna Reardon says the night has been nerve-racking,  but “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Reardon has led since results started coming in and is starting to pull away. She sits at 6,149 votes, with Barry Ogden at 5,264 and Blaine Harris at 4,200.

The mayoral races in Moncton and Saint John remain close. In Moncton, it’s a battle between Murphy and Crossman, with Crossman barely leading, although it has flip-flopped back and forth.

And in Saint John, it’s close between Reardon and Ogden, with Reardon gaining a slightly larger lead as the night goes on.

In Fredericton, Hicks remains in the lead over Atwin by about 1,800.

But many votes still remain to be counted across the province, and none of these three races have been decided yet.

At least 40 supporters of Fredericton mayoral candidate Steve Hicks are gathered at a downtown restaurant watching as the results trickle in. Hicks is expected to join the party once the race has been called.

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