Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland has won a second term, and the numbers he’s inheriting are the same ones voters were handed four days before they went to the polls.

Cleveland secured 4,524 votes, or 46%, while Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty, who ran against him, took 3,850, or 39%. Max LeMarchant finished third with 1,432.

Turnout was 51%, significantly higher than the 34% average turnout across all municipalities.

Councillor Adam Bureau, who resigned as chair of the Cobourg Police Services Board the day before the election, won deputy mayor with 4,726 votes. Joel Scott led the five councillors elected with 5,050 votes.

Interestingly, not every Ontario town got a vote. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario counts 19 municipalities where the entire council was acclaimed, meaning no one ran against them, down from 32 in 2022.

In Cobourg, the last term was defined by what people could see from the sidewalk: open drug use, the Brookside encampment and the opening of a highly contentious, revamped and expanded shelter operation.

In 2024, Northumberland County, the upper-tier municipality responsible for social services, moved forward with a low-barrier shelter at 310 Division Street in Cobourg, operated by Transition House. The model drew sharp criticism from residents, who raised neighbourhood safety concerns with alarming video footage, increases in crime in the vicinity and what appeared to be a lack of county oversight.

In June 2025, roughly 450 residents packed a town hall Cleveland called. The county voted the next day to make the shelter higher-barrier. In July, the mayor told me he had believed a larger shelter was the answer, and acknowledged that voting in favour of it at the county level was a mistake.

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By June 2026, harm reduction language that had been written into the draft ten-year parks master plan was again met with public outcry. Council then voted unanimously on June 24 to strip it. MPP David Piccini backed the move, writing on July 10 that “encampments are not a solution to homelessness.”

Most recently, there is the local police file. Chief Paul VandeGraaf announced in December 2025 that he would retire in June. The board followed with an unprecedented 20.5% budget request.

In October, under new police chief Chris Leather, the board’s finances were referred to Ontario’s Inspectorate of Policing and moved toward a forensic audit, with a potential $2 million overrun on the table. That public release came out just days ahead of a special council meeting called by Cleveland to bring financial discrepancies into public view.

During the meeting, it was revealed that Beatty and Bureau had circulated amendments to Cleveland’s original motions to every member of council except the mayor. The discovery prompted Cleveland to file an Ombudsman complaint alleging collusion between Beatty and Bureau, who have served as co-chair and chair of the Police Services Board, respectively, since 2022.

Then, just days ahead of voting on October 22, the Town posted a consolidated financial report.

Its audited “unfinanced capital,” spending with no financing in place, stood at just under $10 million in 2022, $11.6 million in 2023 and $12.57 million in 2024. The Town’s own November 2024 report said the 2022 balance alone was the equivalent of a one-year 32% tax-rate hike.

When asked for a payoff schedule, the Town said council has never approved one.

The figures trace back to at least 2012, with audit flags from 2017. Also of concern: the 2023 audit didn’t begin until June 2025, and the 2024 statements only reached the audit committee on October 6, a mere 20 days before the vote.

Add a $20.5 million reserve shortfall: the 2025 plan projects a 15% annual levy, or under 7% if an unnamed $25 million asset is sold.

The Town says it now has new debt and reserve policies, separate accounts for restricted funds and a new auditor, which is a start, not a fix.

With a new mandate, Cleveland has four years to follow through on his promises of a financially stronger town, safer neighbourhoods and greater accountability.

The test is whether his council can turn policies into measurable results, address years of unresolved financial concerns and restore public confidence in responsible governance.