A newly-elected councillor in St. John’s says he doesn’t have all the answers, but he will be going to City Hall with an open mind and says he brings a small-business acumen to city council.

The city imposed a double-digit tax increase in its 2024 budget, something which concerns Tom Davis, who handily won yesterday’s byelection in Ward 4 over three other candidates.

Davis is also concerned about snowclearing, and doesn’t think the city is as prepared as it should be.

He would like to craft a snowclearing policy that gets the city open as quickly as possible. He also points to many other issues including affordability and housing.

Low Voter Turnout

Voter participation in the byelection to fill the vacancy on St. John’s city council was below 20 percent.

The byelection in Ward 4 was called following the resignation of Ian Froude in December.

Four people came forward to fill the vacancy with Tom Davis emerging the victor—garnering 1,211 of the 2,790 votes cast.

The total number of eligible voters in the ward is 14,651, with voter participation at just 19.27 per cent.