North Frontenac Candidates for Mayor
Gerry Lichty
Gerry Lichty decided to run for mayor of North Frontenac in 2022, even though he had never sat on North Frontenac Council. He said that he had been talking to friends and neighbours about how disenchanted he was with the way then Mayor, Ron Higgins, had been conducting township business, He figured he had two options, to shut up about it or run for mayor himself.
He also said at the time that he came to the role “not as a politician, but as an engineer,” with experience working in municipal settings.
Four years later, he is the one being challenged by two new candidates who have also never run for council in North Frontenac, and he is now running as an experienced politician, at the township and the county level.
“I said all along that I saw my commitment as a two-term commitment. I think four years is not enough time to have an impact. It takes time to get acclimated at the beginning, to learn from the inside how things work in the township, the county, and the province, and policy development is a slow process. Based on what I've seen, it takes two terms, but eight years is more than enough time, so if I am elected it will be my last term, and I will leave on my own terms, but of course if I am voted out this time, that will change that timeline, which is okay.”
Gerry Lichty has been a full-time resident, in the Snow Road area, since 2014. He graduated in 1972 as a civil engineer, worked on bridge construction at first, and then pivoted to housing, working on public housing projects for the City of Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of Housing. He left his job with the province in the Mike Harris years, and took a job as a facilities manager for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Later in his career, he worked on energy management projects, and opened a consulting business, Northwind Management Consultants, in 2009.
He said that one of the initiatives that he would like to see through in his second term is the development of a short-term rental bylaw. A consultant has been hired to help develop a solution that is sensitive to the specific needs in North Frontenac. Also, the township is in the midst of discussions about an updated septic reinspection process.
“There are decisions to be made, all dependent on what Council wants to happen, about how we are going to manage that. I have not brought this forward before, but maybe we should set up a mandatory system for waterfront properties, and a voluntary system for non-waterfront properties,” he said.
He is encouraged by the work that the township has already done as far as asset management is concerned, and feels it is important to keep going, even though it requires baking in an annual tax increase of 3 per cent each year, for several years. This will enable the township to get to a point where there is enough money in the budget each year, to maintain the roads and bridges and buildings the township owns and operates, without raising taxes.
“Grants can play a big factor in that as well. They can get us there faster, or allow us to slow down the tax increases when we have to. We need to be always ready for those grant opportunities.”
He said that asset management may seem like an added burden, but it is also tied to growth, both in the tourism and housing development areas, because of the impact on road conditions.
“How do you attract visitors, how do you attract new residents, if you can't even maintain the roads you've got.”
In this past term, work has been done on some of the major arterial roads in the township, he said.
“We did South Lavant Road, a huge section of Ardoch Road and a large section of 509 towards Ompah, all within the context of asset management.”
Putting a system in place for the maintenance and improvement of gravel roads is also a priority, in his view.
He is the chair of the township's Housing Advisory Task Force and he said that the task force has “demonstrated that we cannot build affordable housing ourselves. We can work on it, creating the best possible conditions for someone else, a for profit or not for profit corporation, to come in and build. But we do not have the resources, and it would mean going to the taxpayer for more money.”
He said that he is not “a fan of strong mayor powers and I prefer to lead democratically, respecting the perspective of every one who is elected to council.”
Looking forward, the township is facing two Land Tribunal processes, and in each case the planning report supported the applicants’ proposal, but Council voted it down, which will make it more of a challenge for the township at the hearing, if the process gets that far.
Nonetheless, he said that he supports North Frontenac continuing its contract with the Frontenac County Planning department, for planning services.
“There are more positives than negatives in that relationship,” he said, “and while I think there is room for improvement, we can never ask them to step outside the rules, which are set by the province.”
He thinks the Alto project needs to be monitored closely because, “Alto officials made it clear to me that North Frontenac is not off the hook. They are looking at Kingston first right now, but if that does not work out, they can come back here.
Finally, he said that he has enjoyed the county role that the North Frontenac mayor plays, but will not be seeking to serve as county warden in the next term. (He served as warden from the fall of 2024 to the fall of 2025.)
Art Hannigan
Art Hannigan describes himself as an "efficiency guy," and he says that is what he would bring to the mayor's chair in North Frontenac.
Hannigan is originally from Cape Breton, where he started making knives at the age of ten. His family moved when he was a pre-teen, and he has been a full-time Ontario resident since 1984. He moved to Perth in 1992 and from then on, spent nearly every weekend camping in North Frontenac, which he said has always felt like home because it is the closest place he has found to where he came from. In 2013 he and his partner bought a place in Snow Road, and moved here permanently. Since then, he has followed township business closely, as a resident and a local business owner.
In the 1990s he opened a development finance company in Perth, which led to him owning and holding shares in what he called "a variety of businesses," including Storm Internet. He also worked as a consultant with International Business Associates, which he described as the "second largest business information and training company in North America." He said he ranked 16th of the company's 300 analysts. In that role he examined private businesses and municipalities in Canada and the United States, looking for weaknesses in how they operated and proposing ways to improve them. He said non-disclosure agreements he signed at the time prevent him from naming those clients.
Today he runs a small business in Snow Road, Artizan Knives, which he said he treats more as, "a hobby that I enjoy very much," than a full-time business.
He said he is running for mayor because, "over the last couple of years I have confirmed my suspicions that there is a lack of training, resulting in flawed decision-making among management staff in North Frontenac. Bad decisions that do not need to happen if the proper research is done and the proper expertise is in place. Those bad end up costing the taxpayers money."
The example he pointed to is the EV charging station installed at the township office in 2025, which was purchased with grant money. Because of a fixed rate charged to operate the station and low usage in a small, rural township, the station has become an unanticipated ongoing expense for the township.
"Nobody checked what those costs were going to be up front, which was a breakdown within the process. It is not the fault of the employee but of the process within the office, and it can be addressed with training, so people are prepared for the demands of their job."
He said there are other examples, but he did not want to name them because he has only been able to look at township operations from the outside.
"Until I see the numbers, I don't want to say anything more, because I like to be very careful. I don't like to make mistakes, and the way to avoid mistakes is to be informed, to do the research. Before I do anything, I will need to do a thorough study. That is how I have always done things."
He said that he agrees with the current Mayor Gerry Lichty that strong mayor powers were forced onto North Frontenac from the province and were not needed. He indicated he would not seek to use them, but said, “it would be irresponsible to say I would never use it, but only
if necessary and in a limited application.”
He said that the township does not own much land that is suitable for housing, and he would explore the possibility of leasing crown land for a housing project, which would save on landcosts.
He also said that the township needs to look both at new ways to generate revenue, and
should also go to other Frontenac County governments, the City of Kingston, and the province to address road maintenance costs.
“We have 7% of the population of Frontenac County and 25% of the roads to maintain.
Somebody has to step up and start looking at how we can get it fixed, we are losing too much money every year. It is my idea to get this changed. I'd go to the province and the feds, and try to hit every single program that is available.”
Back on the question of administrative capacity and training, which is the major thrust of his campaign, he said that Cory Klatt, the Chief Administrative Officer, is “an inexperienced CAO, he spent his entire career working for one municipality. I like Cory, he does need some executive training. My first job is to measure his effectiveness and at that point, it is a simple proposal. Training is the most important thing you can do. I can't expect that from everyemployee because the CAO is the only employee under direct supervision, but I would bring a proposal, through council, to direct the CAO to make the necessary training available to all management level staff at the township.”
The township hired a consultant in 2019 and in 2020 a service delivery review was completed.
Art Hannigan said that under the current mayor, “nobody can tell residents how much of the 2020 service delivery review has actually been done. The township still has no housing plan.
Residents still have to dig to find basic council decisions. I'm running because I think North Frontenac needs a mayor who finishes what has been started and reports the results publicly every year.”
Kelly Willis
Kelly Willis' decision toKelly Willis' decision to run for mayor of North Frontenac began to take shape as the result of the way she was treated by Council, and incumbent Mayor Gerry Lichty, when she found that the home that she returned to retire in with her husband, was encroaching on a township road allowance, and attempted to purchase it.
The encroachment was discovered when they were planning to build a garage on the property, but in the end, her neighbours did not support the sale, and it was ultimately rejected by Council, although the house can remain in place as a “legal nonconforming use”
“The way we were treated, with such a black and white decision, with no explanation from Council and the mayor, started me looking more closely at how Council operates,” she said.
That got her on the path of monitoring all council and committee meetings, and taking notes about the way Council makes decisions, and deals with residents.
“I'm dissatisfied with the way the township is treating people, and how it is not advocating for residents, or seeking grants that would benefit the residents,” she said.
She said that there was a real push to install speed cameras across the country using a granting programme, and North Frontenac could benefit from one in the vicinity of Clarendon Central Public School in Plevna, which is located on a turn, at the top of a hill.
But she does not know if the township ever applied for one.
In recent months, she has appeared before Council to ask that the many pieces of correspondence received by the township be made available to the public, as part of the council agenda at meetings.
“They include a list of correspondence, but only those that members of council decided to discuss, have a file attached. They could do that for all correspondence, not just those items they think are important. This is a bit of a symptom of how they keep things from residents.”
The items can be accessed from the township office but that requires a special request, which is an impediment, she said.
These concerns and her research has led her to run for office. She considered running for council in Ward 2, where she lives, but “I did not want to serve under the leadership of Mayor Lichty, who does not treat people well, in my experience and from what I have seen and read.”
She said that she did not like the way Lichty treated former Councillor Stephanie Regent, citing the way she was removed from council for non-attendance at meetings, at a time when her father was gravely ill.
“It seems to me they changed the rules, or applied the rules in a harsh manner, just to get her out,” she said.
She pointed out, however, that while she has had issues with Council, her interactions with township staff have been more cordial, and many have been professional in their response to questions.
She is also concerned that the township is missing out on opportunities for growth by not looking at vesting properties that have been up for sale for back taxes, including the 54 acre former Robertsville mine site.
“The site is located on Road 509, not far from Ardoch Road, across from an ambulance base. It is prime location for development as a campground and RV park or a housing development, if a municipal water system were put in there,” she said. “The mayor said the township should stay away because of contamination from the mine, but they should be concerned about cleaning that up anyway, for environmental reasons.”
Kelly Willis has ancestry in North Frontenac, and has spent time in the township when she was young, but her immediate family left the township for work, as many families are forced to do, she said. She completed a number of university degrees, including a teaching degree, and taught at Sharbot Lake High School in the early 1990s before she moved to Mississauga for her husband's work. She stayed home to raise a family for ten years, and then returned to teaching. She ended up working for 30 years as a teacher, before retiring to North Frontenac, in March of 2025.
She has developed a series of documents, outlining her vision for the township, and her activities, should she be elected.
They include a vision summary, a ten-year plan, and a first 100-day action plan.
The vision summary looks at five priorities: clean water and environmental stewardship, telecommunications and community connection, municipal economic development, fiscal responsibility, and community leadership. In her first one hundred days she would first conduct a community listening tour, review municipal operations and emergency services. She would request a series of nine status reports from Staff: looking at areas such as infrastructure, water sustainability, revenue opportunities, and an infrastructure funding strategy.
Near the end of the 100 days, she intends to present a public “State of North Frontenac” report, outlining what she will have learned over that time, what the immediate priorities for the township are, and recommendations for the next four years.
“My commitment is simple, “she says at the end of the document: “Listen First. Plan Carefully. Act Responsibly. Report Transparently
