EDMONTON — After taking a strong early lead over his main rival, a tearful Mayor Stephen Mandel declared his re-election to a third term Monday “a victory for Edmonton and Edmonton’s future.”

Mandel, whose win was never in doubt on a night that saw several incumbent councillors facing tougher-than-expected races, told a cheering crowd of more than 200 people that Edmonton voted to be its own city after a tough, emotional election campaign.

“I think that’s vitally important, to seize control of our own agenda and put (our) collective interest above any single interest,” he said, in an apparent reference to the fight over the future of the City Centre Airport. “Finally, we will move forward.”

As of 11:15 p.m. Monday, Mandel had 105,996 votes and his closest rival David Dorward had 57,435 in 320 out of 324 stations reporting. This is the first time Mandel cracked 100,000 votes.

Mandel and Dorward had engaged in an election dogfight over the closure of the airport, with Mandel determined to stay the course on its closure and Dorward adamantly opposed.

In one of his most hard-hitting speeches since winning the mayor’s job in 2004, Mandel said voters chose to make Edmonton a sustainable, ambitious city that will work on expanding the LRT system, revitalizing downtown and looking toward goals such as hosting Expo 2017.

He repeatedly teared up as he told a cheering crowd of 200 people that the election outcome, which he called his best yet, was a vote for the city’s future.

“To have the results we have had, given the emotion of this campaign, I think is quite special,” said Mandel, flanked by his wife Lynn and their two adult children.

He explained in a later news conference that many people from outside the capital have tried to tell residents what to do.

“I think there’s an awful lot of interference in our business. For years, people felt Edmonton was their place to dictate to. This is Edmontonians’ city.”

Mandel also took a shot at the many critics who complained city council should have ordered a plebiscite on the fate of the City Centre Airport, after a petition by pro-airport group Envision Edmonton came in almost year later than legally required and without sufficient signatures to force a public vote.

“This election needs to be put behind all of us (so) the 13 of us (on council must) continue to make decisions. That’s why you’re elected ... you can’t always say, ‘let’s have a referendum.’”

While he vowed to work building bridges with his opponents, Mandel later said there are limits to what can be accommodated.

“The issue they were passionate about, the airport, is not going to change. Council made the decision on the airport, the citizens tonight made a decision about the airport. Now it’s time to move on.”

At the Dorward headquarters, there were boos and then silence — but little surprise — when a local TV station announced Mandel as the winner.

Dorward praised Mandel in his concession speech, calling the re-elected mayor “a great Edmontonian.”