City of Victoria mayor Lisa Helps has been re-elected in the 2018 municipal elections.
While the numbers are still coming in, the Helps campaign has declared that Lisa Helps has defeated her opponents, Stephen Hammond, Bruce McGuigan, Mike Geoghegan, and four others.
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“What this election means is that we have a shared and collective vision of the future and that it takes courage to see the future, 20-30 years down the road. That is our responsibility,” Helps said in a speech following the announcement.
Whether positive or negative, almost every Victoria resident has an opinion about incumbent mayor, Lisa Helps.
She’s been critiqued and lauded (one more than the other) heartily for what many see as her main contribution to the city: bike lanes.
She also received significant backlash for her part in the council’s decision to remove the John A. McDonald statue in front City Hall, leading to her publishing an apology for failing to consult the public before making the decision.
Throughout her re-election campaign, she has been endorsed by three downtown businesses, and heavily criticized by several others.
In the 2014 municipal elections, Helps won by a narrow margin against incumbent mayor Dean Fortin.
Her campaign platform this year included childcare, transportation, and food affordability, sustainable economic development, reduction of greenhouse gases , and more public consultation
