Tito-Dante Marimpietri, a councillor for nearly 20 years, was elected mayor of Oshawa on October 26, 2026, with 38 per cent of the vote, beating eight other candidates including councillors Jim Lee at 22 per cent and Derek Giberson at 16 per cent. Turnout was 27 per cent, up from 18 per cent in 2022. He is inaugurated November 16.
Marimpietri said his priorities include restoring Oshawa as an economic powerhouse and a livable community, an age-friendly environment, modernizing infrastructure with help from other levels of government, and back-to-basics services that are effective, predictable and reflective of community needs.
On restoring order, he said he wants property-standards enforcement to move from complaint-based to daily inspections, a downtown maintenance standard for vacant buildings and graffiti, and Durham Regional Police Service action against criminal acts, saying open drug use is not acceptable.
On homelessness and regional services, Marimpietri said Oshawa is overburdened and that he aims to relocate or defund services at the regional level, while noting it cannot be done unilaterally. He said he wants funding and infrastructure so other municipalities share the services, and that people in need need action rather than talk. On policing, he said he wants more police presence, with enforcement against those preying on people in need, such as drug dealing, and care for those in need.
On affordable housing, Marimpietri said he wants to push denser housing formats downtown rather than in established neighbourhoods, not fund housing from the Oshawa tax base, and seek construction-industry partners and other levels of government. He also said he wants city hall made more welcoming and accessible to the public.
Behind the story
Sources & publication details
- Byline
- Daily Durham News
- Published
- Nov 12, 2026, 8:34 a.m.
- Source
- www.durhamregion.com
