Municipal Election - Focus on Central Frontenac
This week marks the start of our election candidate profiles in advance of the October 26 voting date.
With five townships being included in our readership area, we will be running profiles of candidates from each of them in the coming weeks, before the start of online/telephone voting, on October 19.
Starting off with a bang, we took on Central Frontenac, the township with the most candidates, in the first week.
There are four wards in Central Frontenac, and there is a contested election in each of them this time around, as well as for mayor.
The only acclamation in Central Frontenac is Karen McGregor, who will be returning to her role as the Limestone District School Board (LDSB) representative for Central and North Frontenac, and Addington Highlands. McGregor is the current chair of the LDSB.
There are a total of 16 candidates being profiled in this week's paper, including 2 mayoralty candidates, 3 candidates each for the two Ward 1 (Kennebec) and Ward 3 (Hinchinbrooke) council positions, and 4 candidates each for the two Ward 2 (Olden) and Ward 3 (Oso) council positions.
The candidates were all interviewed by phone over the past weekend, and the resulting articles were shared with them before publication to ensure they concur that the contents reflected what they said in the interview and what they stand for as candidates.
The interviews were conversational in tone, allowing the candidates to talk about their priorities, and were not based on a fixed set of questions to each candidate. That is why the candidates do not all talk about the same set of issues in their profiles.
I am grateful to the candidates for making themselves available for an interview, even one who was returning from Saskatchewan (via Winnipeg) this weekend, and another who got married over the weekend.
There is a potential for substantial change in the makeup of Central Frontenac Council in this election, and a potential for continuity, depending on how the vote plays out.
The only member of the current council who is not running for re-election is Mayor Frances Smith, who signaled she would not seek re-election, well over a year ago. Frances is currently recovering from back surgery, and we wish her well.
Because there is a vacancy at the top, and two current members of council (Susan Irwin from Ward 3, and Nicki Gowdy from Ward 4) are running for mayor, there will be at least two new council members after the results are announced, on October 26.
One thing I noticed during the interviews is that, without exception, the candidates are keenly aware of the township's financial standing and high tax rate. Unlike in previous elections, there was no talk of new projects or services, only concern over paying the bills and maintaining the services that are already being offered.
Divisions on council have surfaced more frequently in the past four years than in the previous two terms of Fran Smith's tenure as mayor, and these divisions were clear in the interviews. While every candidate, without exception, is fully committed to improving Central Frontenac. there are some candidates who think the council and staff are doing a reasonably good job navigating all of the challenges faced by this cash poor municipality, and others who think that there are serious flaws in the way the township operates, that need to be addressed.
And the fact that Chief Administrator Cathy MacMunn has announced that she will be retiring no later than the end of 2027, means that the new council will be tasked with replacing their only direct employee, early in the new term.
The two candidates for mayor are both well known in the township. Susan Irwin sees herself as a facilitator, and is quick to credit township staff for the work they do. She supported the purchase of the Simonett building for the township office, which she saw as the most inexpensive way to provide adequate office space for township staff.
Nicki Gowdy has been critical of staff at times, and opposed the purchase of the Simonett building, essentially because it was done in haste, and without prior studies in place.
Both of them say they are not intending to use strong mayor powers, as much as they can avoid them, which could be relevant early on when replacing Cathy MacMunn, because under strong mayor powers the mayor can hire a CAO without consulting Staff or Council if they choose to.
Click on the links below for candidate profles, or navigate the site to the Central Frontenac subdiirectory (Click here)
