Vaughan's veteran MP, Maurizio Bevilacqua, swept into the city's mayoral race with the promise of change - and it turns out change is exactly what Vaughan wanted.
He won by a landslide 50 percentage points over beleaguered incumbent Linda Jackson.
He pledged to set a "different tone" for politics in a city trying to shrug its reputation as "the city above the law."
Vaughan council will also look vastly different.
Former mayor Michael Di Biase made it back to city hall with a successful bid as regional councillor. Deb Schulte is a new face, a local engineer who won with her advocacy against expansion of the urban boundary. Veteran regional councillor Joyce Frustaglio, one of Ms. Jackson's strongest opponents, was ousted.
A new leader also took the helm in Oshawa: former councillor John Henry, winning by 18 percentage points over incumbent John Gray.
Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti held fast to his position with a giant 88.7 per cent win, handily beating his two competitors.
The Vaughan race ramped up in September, when Mr. Bevilacqua abandoned his 22-year career in federal politics to run.
Ms. Jackson failed to win back public trust after a raucous four years in office. She is still on the hook for Election Act charges that relate to improper expense filings.
Oshawa voters endured a very different election season than what they're used to, having chosen from a list of more than 50 candidates to fill 11 positions on council. The switch from wards to an at-large voting system was approved 64.9 per cent during the last election.
High property taxes dominated the agenda in Oshawa. Mr. Gray, the incumbent, was criticized for heading up a divisive council and lauded for shepherding motor city north through a biting recession that slashed thousands of auto-sector jobs.
Voters in Markham watched a much lower-key mayoral race take shape, with only two candidates - and familiar ones, at that - running against incumbent Mr. Scarpitti. Both Partap Dua and Stephen Kotyck ran unsuccessfully against him in 2006.
Special to The Globe and Mail