During a special ceremony held last Friday to administer the mayor and members of council with the oath of office, Mayor Bill Steinberg, who was re-elected with 61 per cent of mayoral votes, said he was honoured to have once again been given the support, confidence and trust of residents.

“Over the last four years we have accomplished a great deal,” he said. “Over the next four years, my goal is to do even better. We are starting this mandate in a stronger position financially and with a vastly improved infrastructure. I’m also very happy to be surrounded with an excellent team of councillors who are here with me today.”

Hampstead’s election, which was preceded by a very intense campaign, saw incumbents Abe Gonshor and Bonnie Feigenbaum returned to office. Two other incumbents, Michael Goldwax and Leon Elfassy, were previously acclaimed. There are two newcomers on the council: Jack Edery and Harvey Shaffer.

Steinberg welcomed the new councillors, saying “I’m sure we’re going to do very well together. Together we will continue to be fiscally responsible. We will work on the part of the infrastructure that we could not address over the past four years. Safety of residents, both on the road and in their homes, will be a priority. We have done well in terms of protecting our environment, but we can and will do better.

“There will be new initiatives in community services and there’s quite a few other things I’m not going to talk about today, but I urge you all to follow carefully what the council will be doing over the next few months and years,” he added. “We have a lot of exciting things that are going to be coming forward. Most of all, we will ensure that Hampstead remains a wonderful and a welcoming community for our residents and a great place to bring up our children.”