Labour’s Susan Elsmore was elected to Cardiff Council last night as the party held its third Canton seat.
Speaking after her victory was confirmed at City Hall, she said she wishes to focus on transport, the environment and education.
“I am going to make sure all of my attention and focus is clearly on the voice of the people of Canton,” she said after the count at City Hall.
“The support we’ve had from residents has been amazing and there were interesting parts to the campaign with the opposition throwing issues into the mix.”
Earlier in the week, Labour councillors accused Plaid Cymru of “spreading misinformation” about Cowbridge Road East and park locking during the campaign.
Coun Elsmore, a lawyer by trade, has lived in Canton for 27 years and works for the Care Council for Wales.
She will join fellow Labour councillors Ramesh Patel and Richard Cook in representing the Canton ward.
“We will combine our skills together and by doing that we’ll get the best results for our constituents,” said Coun Patel.
It took just under an hour for the 2,892 ballot papers, a turnout of 24.3 per cent, to be counted when they arrived at City Hall shortly after 10pm yesterday.
Plaid’s Elin Tudur came second, with 972 votes, and Pam Richards of the Conservatives third, with 381. Ms Tudur previously stood in Canton at the 2008 council election, finishing fourth.
Altogether, six candidates stood for the vacant Canton seat. Jake Griffiths of the Greens finished fourth with 148 votes and Steffan Bateman of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition fifth with 101. Matt Hemsley of the Lib Dems came last with 80 votes.
The by-election was called after Labour’s Cerys Furlong vacated her seat on the council in December, citing the difficulty of balancing her full time job, as director of NIACE Dysgu Cymru, and family with council work.
