Ch-ch-ch-changes come fast and furious in the blood sport of politics.

Witness Niagara region where several mayors and council veterans were unceremoniously handed their retirement papers Monday night.

In Niagara-on-the-Lake, the suspense lasted less than 40 minutes.

When the initial results for the Oct. 26 municipal election were posted on a large viewing screen at the NOTL Community Centre at about 8:38 p.m., a brief, audible gasp erupted.

It’s unclear whether it was positive or negative but most of those on hand seemed to be favouring Vaughn Goettler and the initial numbers gave him a few-hundred-vote lead in the race for lord mayor.

The outgoing deputy lord mayor, Coun. Erwin Wiens, was in second spot and regional Coun. Andrea Kaiser was behind him in third.

Goettler never looked back. He built an insurmountable lead and his election heralds a new era, a sea change, in NOTL politics.

And it seems apparent that many of NOTL’s newer, politically engaged residents, got their wish: A changing of the guard.

While a lot of those people live in historic Old Town (including yours truly), the incoming lord mayor garnered support right across the municipality from residents new and old.

People embraced Goettler and his populist platform, which included going slower on growth and tourism, greater transparency and heritage preservation.

Does this mean the newer voices, many of them well-off retirees who chose to move to NOTL, now hold the balance of power that once was the purview of longtime residents and those from the agricultural community?

It certainly looks that way, for now. However, NOTL voters are notoriously fickle, as no mayoral incumbents have been re-elected in recent years.

Looking ahead, the new council has no obvious voice for the farming community. That’s a voice council will have to find.

Over the final two weeks of the campaign, both the Goettler and Wiens camps were talking about a razor-thin, tight race to the finish line.

Except, really, it wasn’t close.

Back at the community centre, by the time the 11th of 11 polls was projected on the big screen at 9:14 p.m., many in the crowd of about 60 residents constantly staring at their smartphones had already done the math: it was a Goettler victory in a landslide. In the end, he won 55 per cent of the 9,262 votes registered.

Minutes after those numbers went up, the auditorium was emptying out as the contented crowd acknowledged the voters had overwhelmingly opted for change.

The electorate also defeated two incumbent councillors (Maria Mavridis and Adriana Cater Vizzari) and gave council a blood transfusion in the form of Weston Miller and Steve McGuinness, the latter who ran an aggressive, take-no-prisoners campaign. Now he’ll be accountable as one of the councillors running the town.

As well, an elated Gary Burroughs topped the polls and will be the new deputy lord mayor. He’ll be an experienced and valuable right-hand for Goettler.

Incumbents Sandra O’Connor (now the lone woman on council), Andrew Niven and Tim Balasiuk round out the roster.

The real work is about to begin, though the new council won’t be sworn in until Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, the winners must not forget they need to make good on all those promises they made. Change must happen and this council needs to show signs quickly how it will be different. That’s the message from voters.

It is really unfortunate that earlier this year, under pressure from Premier Doug Ford, NOTL reduced its councillor numbers to six from eight.

It was a needless, populist move designed to appease Ford, who was musing about amalgamating Niagara’s smaller municipalities under the umbrella of two or three larger ones.

Amalgamation remains a threat and it is a fight Goettler et al. must prepare for.

Personally, I had reservations about Goettler, a philanthropist and hugely successful CEO. His lack of public sector experience was a concern. Ensuring, among other things, that potholes are filled, basements don’t flood and tax dollars are used wisely is not the same as running a mega-corp.

But none of that matters now. The people have spoken and, if you believe in democracy, they’re never wrong (except in the case of that Trump guy in Canada’s 11th province).

Here’s hoping that Goettler and his new council can live up to all their pledges and lead us into the new era that voters loudly showed they want.

That change starts now.