Election Fallout Contained In Frontenac County
The biggest change resulting from this week’s municipal election for Frontenac News readers will be in Tay Valley Township, where a group of candidates campaigned together, and won the election, on a platform of change, including an explicit position questioning senior staff in the township, including the chief administrator/clerk and the township planner.
Tay Valley is home to a small minority of the Frontenac News readership area, and we do not cover its council on a regular basis, but it is clear, even from a distance, that this election will be a watershed one, in that jurisdiction.
Closer to home, there is nothing as dramatic afoot in Frontenac County. The biggest change in direction is in Central Frontenac. There was a split on the previous council on a number of related issues, including the decision to purchase the Simonett building in Sharbot Lake, for a new township office. Susan Irwin, Bill Everett, and Lynn Klages all voted in favour of that purchase, as did Mayor Frances Smith and former Councilor Duncan McGregor. All three of them went down to defeat on Monday night.
There will also be a change in leadership among Central Frontenac staff, with the hiring of a clerk pending, as well as the retirement of Chief Administrative Officer Cathy MacMunn on April 30, 2027. It is unlikely that the new council will line up behind newly minted Mayor Nicki Gowdy, but she should be able to operate with a basic level of support from the new council. But with three brand new members (Meredith Peters, Ed Quinn and Chase Matson) , two second term councillors (Dan Meeks and Brent Cameron) and three long serving councillors (Cindy Kelsey, Bill MacDonald, and Phillip Smith) it will take some time for the character of this new council to develop.
North Frontenac will see more continuity, starting with Mayor Lichty and councillors Fowler and Huetl. Mike Hage has only served on council for six months, however, and there are three new council members coming on with varied backgrounds (Cyndy Bonello, Rob Lesperance and Katie Surra). Having two women on North Frontenac Council is a change in itself, since it has been a bastion for men over 50, for a long time.
Addington Highlands will see a change with Tony Fritsch leaving and Ken Hook becoming Reeve. Hook has served as reeve before, and has a lot of council experience. There will be two new members of the five-member council, however, which is a larger turnover than in recent elections. Former Reeve Hogg, Fritsch, Hook, and Helen Yanch have provided a lot of stability on Addington Highlands Council for 15-20 years, so even limited change will make for a different council going forward.
South Frontenac features 8 of 9 returning members of council, including Mayor Ron Vandewal in his fourth term of office. The only new member, Gord Boulton, will bring quite a different perspective to council.
All in all, there is more continuity than change coming in our readership area, certainly when compared to our neighbours to the south and east, with the outlier of sorts, being Central Frontenac.
