Brian Bigger re-elected mayor of Greater Sudbury

Brian Bigger has been re-elected mayor of Greater Sudbury.

The incumbent mayor won with 28.32 per cent of the vote, leading his nearest competitor by almost 5,000 votes.

"It's been a bit of a wait here and it's been a long campaign, but it's finally over and we did it. We absolutely did it," Bigger said in a speech following the win on Tuesday.

Throughout the campaign, Bigger focused on the city's successes during his tenure. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of keeping that momentum going.

"We would focus on what has been accomplished over the last four years and how now is not the time to stop, or stall, or sputter," he said.

"I'm proud of all the work that we did and tonight it's obvious the people of Sudbury are also proud of everything that's been accomplished."

'We split the vote'

The race for runner-up was tight.

Patricia Mills took close to 18.8 per cent of ballots, while Dan Melanson and Cody Cacciotti received 16.73 and 15.56 per cent, respectively.

A disappointed Mills congratulated Bigger for the win, but pointed out how many people voted against him, as well.

"When you add up all the results, people did vote for change. But there were so many [candidates], we split the vote. That was the fear going in here," said Mills.

"It's unfortunate that the incumbent won with less than 30 per cent of the vote, but we have to respect that's our democracy not only accept that, but I really strongly believe we have to unite our city, so we have to work together. No matter who won, we have to support uniting our city."

Bigger promises to investigate online voting issues

The results of the municipal election came a day later than expected, after the city decided to extend the voting period due to issues with the elections service provider,Dominion Voting Systems. The company blamed an internet provider for the system slowdown.

Bigger told reportersthe city will investigate how the system "broke down."

"It's not acceptable. In today's day and age, there are ways to safeguard against faults like this," he said.

"Although Dominion is a well-known company [...] it's not acceptable. This is something that's so crucial for our citizens. I absolutely have met with staff this morning and want to get a full understanding of what happened to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Official results will be released by the city once they have been certified by the City Clerk.

Unofficial Results:

• Brian Bigger - 14,684 votes, 28.32 per cent
• Patricia Mills - 9,746 votes, 18.8 per cent
• Dan Melanson - 8,673 votes, 16.73 per cent
• Cody Cacciotti - 8,066 votes, 15.56 per cent
• Troy Crowder - 4,297 votes 8.25 per cent
• Jeff Huska - 2,746, 5.3 per cent
• Bill Crumplin - 2,158 votes, 4.16 per cent
• Bill Sanders - 792 votes, 1.53 per cent
• Ron Leclair - 534 votes, 1.03 per cent
• Rodney Newton - 102 votes, 0.20 per cent
• David Popescu - 72 votes, 0.14 per cent