Fewer than half of the eligible voters turned out in Somerset Ward in the recent civic election.
According to the official figures released by the City of Ottawa Thursday, 9,860, or 43 per cent, of Somerset's eligible voters cast their ballots on Monday. This is down from 50 per cent in 2006.
Despite the sweeping changes across council, which left notables such as Christine Leadman, Georges Bedard and Michel Bellemare out of a job, Somerset incumbent Diane Holmes had no trouble securing her chair on council.
Holmes, an elected member of municipal office since 1983, swept the polls by mostly overwhelming margins, grabbing 6,282 votes, or 66.5 per cent of the total. Don Fex was runner-up with 2,024 votes, or just over 22 per cent.
Mayor-elect Jim Watson was one poll short of a sweep in Somerset, grabbing 5,164 votes for just over 52 per cent of the total. The advance poll at Somerset Manor preferred Larry O’Brien, who earned a somewhat insignificant 30-18 victory there.
In Capital Ward, the incentive to elect a suitable replacement for defeated mayoral candidate, Clive Doucet, saw 13,218 cast their ballot, a more respectable 52 per cent of eligible voters. However, this number is still down from the 57 per cent who voted in 2006.
Doucet recieved his highest numbers in Capital, as 4,430, or 33.5 per cent, voted for their departed councillor, while 6,543, or 49.5 per cent, voted for Watson.
Citywide, 269,547, or 44 per cent of eligible voters, cast their ballots in this election. This is an improvement from the mere 33 per cent in 2003, but a far cry from the 54 per cent who voted in 2006.