And the winner is...

Six weeks ago, you may as well have called off the municipal election. In this union town, home of the "Big 3" in Canada, Bill Marra had received a hearty and very public endorsement from the powerful CAW union, as well as several other unions. In addition, Marra had the support of the large and influential Italian community.

Tonight, Bill went down in defeat to Eddie Francis, the 29-year-old lawyer, award winning entrepreneur, and darling of the masses. In a vote that wasn't even close, Eddie stunned the confident Marra camp. Gracious in defeat, Marra conceded quite early after the polls closed. Gracious in victory, Francis congratulated Marra on his campaign, and indicated that Marra's dedication to the city would still be welcomed.

In my own ward, an underdog candidate with a low budget, whose election signs were almost all removed by unknown vandals, had the last laugh as she defeated one of the incumbent city councillors to get a seat on city council.

Congratulations everyone!