Rob Howard was elected with 19,676 votes. Alexa Loo of Richmond Strong had 18,796 votes, while Kash Heed received 11,111

It’s official: Richmond’s new mayor is Rob Howard.

“The work begins tomorrow,” he said on Saturday night following the vote count.

Howard grew emotional as he accepted the results.

“I am deeply honoured that the people of Richmond have placed their trust in me,” he said. “I promise to work every day to maintain that trust.”

Howard was elected with 19,676 votes. Alexa Loo of Richmond Strong had 18,796 votes, while Kash Heed received 11,111 votes.

Howard called it a night of mixed emotions — none of the five council candidates on his Richmond Forward team were elected.

“To the newly elected members of council, regardless of affiliation, I extend my hand in co-operation,” he said.

Howard pledged his commitment to responsible spending, safer streets and “a more vibrant Richmond.”

Howard’s slim lead in Richmond fluctuated with every new voting place reporting, but held throughout the evening.

Supporters at Lavash Seafood Grill on Steveston’s waterfront exploded into cheers before the final results were in, but Howard maintained a sensible guarded optimism even as his team celebrated.

“I knew it would be close,” he said.

Loo called to concede, and shortly afterward came to shake Howard’s hand.

“It was the closest race in B.C., so congratulations to Rob,” she said.

Loo said she appreciated all the support from Richmond voters, and is looking forward to going on vacation.

Heed was not available for comment.

Howard said endorsements from outgoing mayor Malcolm Brodie, who was on-site as returns came in, and former mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt, gave his team a bump.

“They made a big difference,” he said.

Brodie declined to comment, saying only that, “This is Rob’s night.”

Councillors elected were Gary Law, Carol Day, Michael Wolfe, Sheldon Starrett, Laura Gillanders, Kenny Chiu, Kevin Lai and Andy Hobbs.

Richmond Forward council candidates Romeo Bicego, Howard Jampolsky, Melissa Zhang, Eric Yung and Shelley Leonhardt were not elected.

School trustees elected are: Ken Hamaguchi, Heather Larson, Rod Belleza, Danny Chang, Dean Billings, Alice Wong and Donna Sargent.

Richmond voters were still trickling into polling stations just minutes before they closed on Saturday night, after a record 17,464 people voted in the five advance voting days earlier this month, nearly double the advance voters in the past municipal election. The turnout in Richmond’s last election was just 16 per cent, the lowest of all Metro regions in 2022.

Howard was a Richmond councillor from 2001 to 2008, and was elected as MLA for Richmond Centre in 2009 with the B.C. Liberals.

As voting unfolded, Heed campaign director Kal Mahal was tracking his candidate’s voters, in a kind of straw poll as he had shared his cellphone number with decided Heed voters, and asked them to share photographs of their marked ballots. But the mood remained quiet at Heed’s viewing party when early results showed the race was focused on Howard and Loo.

The race was tight from the start, with Howard, Heed and Loo separated by as little as one per cent between them in the week leading up to the election, according to a Leger poll.

During the campaign, Richmond candidates outlined plans on handling divisive issues such as supervised consumption sites, cost of living, public safety, private property rights and affordable housing in a district that saw homelessness almost double between 2020 and 2025.

Howard and Richmond Forward ran on a family-values campaign that included a ban on supervised injection sites in Richmond and safety audits within 800 metres of schools, a freeze on public development permit application fees, defined service targets, a review of city spending, and fast-tracked seniors housing.

Howard laid out a vision for an expanded arts, culture and entertainment district at the City Centre Waterfront, as well as the development of a trade and exhibition centre for Richmond.

Under the Richmond Strong banner, Loo put safety first, promising to create a community team to respond to public disorder, problem spots and encampments. She promised more fiscal accountability and transparency, including a line-by-line review of municipal spending.

Loo promised faster turnaround on business licensing and building approvals, with infrastructure growth tied to development. She also promised to beef up dike and flood protection, and affordable housing for seniors.

Heed ran as an independent, declaring his opposition to supervised consumption sites and a commitment to law and order. He also promised to cut “red tape” in the development permitting process by reducing wait-times, a predictable property tax strategy with major capital projects subject to referendums and the development of strategic investment opportunities to boost Richmond’s economy.

He also planned to ensure greater transparency in council decision-making and term limits for councillors.