For the first time in eight years, Mason Ainsworth will not be a member of Orillia's municipal government.
Despite an impassioned campaign and a two-term tenure on city council, Ainsworth came up short in the 2022 mayoral race.
Rival Don McIsaac handily won the race during the 2022 municipal election Monday evening, finishing more than 1,500 votes ahead of Ainsworth. John Maxwell finished a distant third.
Although he lost, Ainsworth gave a positive address to his supporters, who gathered at St. Louis Bar & Grill in West Ridge Monday evening.
“I want to thank all of our volunteers and their supporters. We had an amazing, positive campaign, which was phenomenal,” he said. “It’s an exciting time, and I’m excited for my next adventure, so we’ll see where that takes us.”
Ainsworth extended congratulations to Luke Leatherdale and Jeff Czetwerzuk, who were in attendance at his campaign party and successful in their Ward 2 and Ward 3 bids, respectively.
“We’ve got Luke Leatherdale in Ward 2 – super proud of you,” Ainsworth said. “Jeff, you made me so proud … Ward 3 is in good hands.”
Ainsworth extended congratulations to his fellow mayoral candidates as well.
“To John (Maxwell) and Don (McIsaac), I think they put in a good race, and congrats to Don on his victory,” he told OrilliaMatters. "I hope he does a good job over four years because I’ll definitely be watching.”
When asked how he felt about the campaign, Ainsworth said he was proud of himself and of the councillors voters selected Monday evening.
“I’m not sad. I’m not upset. Democracy speaks, and the people spoke. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me this time, and that’s OK,” he said. “I went from, I think, around 1,200 votes (in 2018) when I ran in Ward 3 to over 3,000 this time. As far as I’m concerned, tonight’s a victory for me.
“We’ve got some incredible candidates elected across the city. I think there’s people who are going to do a phenomenal job.”
Looking forward, Ainsworth does not have any specific plans as of yet, but said he plans to remain involved in the community.
“I’ve always been heavily involved in the community prior to being on city council, and that’s going to continue,” he said. “Additionally, just wanted to thank all the people that put their trust in me. It was not in vain, and I will make sure to make them proud in the future.”
