OTTAWA — You wanted change, you got it. A massive, sweeping change.

In the biggest turnover to be seen on council since amalgamation, a new mayor and 10 new councillors are to be sworn in on Dec. 1.

Voters angered by a council often perceived as dysfunctional over the past four years made good on their threats and kicked out the mayor and six incumbent councillors in decisions that collectively slash decades of experience and remove some of the most vocal parts of council’s left and right wings alike.

In a night when council races were at times unpredictable and astonishing — political warhorses Alex Cullen (Bay), Glenn Brooks (Rideau-Goulbourn) and Georges Bédard (Rideau-Vanier) went down to defeat — the mayor’s race turned out to be one of the easiest to call.

Polls showed for weeks that Jim Watson would coast to victory, and he did just that, with Larry O’Brien finishing a distant second. Clive Doucet and Andy Haydon finished third and fourth.

“It appears that the public has voted for change and they have voted for change in a very big way,” Watson said.

Voters, he said, chose “a vision of Ottawa that is anchored in reaching consensus and common ground. One that values differences of opinion and a diversity of voices and ideas. “Tonight, Ottawa has embraced a new way of doing business at City Hall.”

How the new operation will play out — alliances that will form, strengths that will emerge, disagreements that will arise — is now quite unclear, although the new council appears to be younger and perhaps more fiscally conservative than the old one.

And with so much turnover, it’s likely to take the new council some time to get up to speed.

Even those who called for change probably couldn’t have predicted how drastically Monday’s shift would turn out, although the number of candidates who flocked to sign up when nominations opened in January appears to have signalled the city’s strong and wide discontent.

A record number of candidates contested council seats: 20 people ran for mayor and 110 for council seats. Early indications are that voter turnout was no record, however, suggesting 44 per cent of eligible voters voted; in 2006, 54 per cent cast ballots.

The success achieved by some of the hopefuls has left familiar names to ponder their political futures. Christine Leadman (Kitchissippi), Michel Bellemare (Beacon Hill-Cyrville) and Rob Jellett (Cumberland) were swept aside by challengers.

Add to that the departures of Cullen, Brooks, Bédard and four retiring councillors with decades of experience among them, and council will lose much of its institutional memory and experience.

It’s practically the opposite of what happened in 2006, when new mayor Larry O’Brien came to City Hall and faced an experienced and often unfriendly council of veterans. Watson, an old political hand who’s just been away for a while, will likely get a chance to mould council in his image.

It also appears council’s left wing may be quieter after the departures of Cullen, Bédard and Leadman.