WATERLOO REGION — An expense scandal and key retirements added up to turnover at the top Monday as local voters had their say in the municipal election.

Five of the eight municipal governments in Waterloo Region — the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, and the townships of Woolwich, Wellesley and North Dumfries — now have new mayors.

The results weren't as dramatic as they seemed at first blush, however, since four incumbents had dropped out of the running before a single speech or robocall had been made.

The fates of three of the four incumbent leaders, meanwhile, suggested that voters were actually a pretty contented lot as they comfortably hung on to their chairs and chains of office.

Chief among them is Regional Chair Ken Seiling, who extended his 29-year run and earned the chance to see his legacy project through by surviving a scare from political rookie and anti-LRT rival Jay Aissa.

"We're going to move ahead and we're going to have a good strong council," said Seiling, seeming confident in the wake of the aggressive challenge.

"I've always had faith in the people of this region. People in this region expect a certain style of politics."

The owner of a fencing company who launched an unsuccessful legal challenge to the huge transit project earlier this year, Aissa was gracious in defeat.

"The people have spoken, loudly and clearly, and by voting for Mr. Seiling, they have chosen to continue with the LRT, and they have said that they trust Mr. Seiling to handle the region's debt load," he said in a concession speech.

"Although I clearly disagree with Mr. Seiling's approach, I respect what the people have said."

Also re-elected to the top jobs in their municipalities were Doug Craig in Cambridge, who easily outdistanced his rivals in a crowded mayoral field, and Les Armstrong in Wilmot, who held off former councillor Terry Broda.

The newcomers include veteran councillor Berry Vrbanovic as mayor of Kitchener and Dave Jaworsky, a political newcomer and former business executive elected as his counterpart in Waterloo.

"I will work hard to represent each and every citizen in our very blessed city of Kitchener and I will strive each day to be deserving of the trust you have placed in me," Vrbanovic said.

Jaworsky credited his win over three rivals to a tech-savvy campaign that embraced social media to reach younger voters.

"I've been on Twitter for five years," he said. "Some other people found it a new way of getting messages out, but I was comfortable with it.

"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work with my colleagues on council and in neighbouring municipalities."

Wide open mayoral races in the townships saw the election of two-term councillor Joe Nowak in Wellesley and current council member Sue Foxton in North Dumfries.

The only place voters really showed their teeth was in Woolwich, where Todd Cowan sought re-election as mayor with a dark cloud hanging over his head.

An ongoing investigation is probing whether Cowan double-billed travel and related expenses totaling about $3,000 to the township, Waterloo Region and the Grand River Conservation Authority.

With that scandal as the backdrop, Cowan finished a distant fourth in a four-candidate race dominated by Sandy Shantz, a former school board trustee and township councillor who racked up an impressive vote total.

"It was a great experience," Shantz said, describing the campaign as "very civil" despite the controversy.

Cowan was predictably subdued in defeat.

"It's been a great four years," he said. "It's quite a change for all of council."