Jan Liggett to become next mayor of Cambridge

Two term city councillor Jan Liggett will become Cambridge's next mayor.

Jan Liggett defeated incumbent Kathryn McGarry in a close race.

Liggett ended up with over 12,000 votes (46.22 per cent), while over 11,000 (42.08 per cent) voted for McGarry.

Liggett expressed gratitude as she was surrounded by her campaign team and loyal supporters on Monday.

“It feels surreal, very surreal,” Liggett said.

“When I had the car accident everything changed because I couldn’t campaign. It took everyone in this room. Their belief in me is what kept me going.”

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Liggett, who was involved in a pedestrian/vehicle car collision, but she knew she had a good campaign and strong team behind her.

“It’s been stressful,” she said.

“My campaign email had been hacked, then my accident. You start out thinking you have a great campaign based on the feedback you’re getting. Then something happens and you have to start all over again.”

Liggett has a long list of issues she wants to address as the city’s new mayor, but she's taking it one thing at a time.

“The first person I want to meet is the chief of Six Nations because I think that is a very important part of our role as leaders of the municipalities,” she said.

“There’s a lot of people in the community that have been left out of our planning going forward, so I want to bring them into the fold and make sure they’re taken care of. I’ve already been asked to sit with provincial representatives.”

All the election results for the city can be found here.

Voter turnout was close to 29 per cent.

— With files from CambridgeToday