Logan Murray starting early Off the Mark

Jeff Green | Feb 18, 2010

Saying that the current council does not “deal with any of the issues that are necessary and important”, Logan Murray has begun his campaign for mayor of Central Frontenac.

A flyer outlining his background and future plans was sent out in the mail last week, and Murray said he plans to get out campaigning in the coming weeks and to hold public meetings later in the spring and summer.

Municipal elections are scheduled for October 25, and while would-be politicians tend to make use of summer events to meet and greet potential voters, campaigns rarely heat up until after Labour Day.

But Murray, who put in his nomination on January 2, said he “plans to communicate with people more” during the campaign and after, if he is elected.

This is his second run for mayor of Central Frontenac. He tried to be the first mayor of Central Frontenac in 1997, and has served one term as councilor from Kennebec ward (2004 – 2006). He ran again for Council in 2006, but was defeated by a handful of votes.

Rather than running for council again, Murray said he is running for mayor because he found he had little influence on council decisions when he sat on council.

“Basically I've always been ignored on council. I got a roads committee going for a short time during the last term, but then it was killed by the mayor and some of the other councilors.”

Roads have always been a prime concern for Murray. “I've always been against the position of Public Works Manager. What we really need is a working roads superintendent, with a roads committee to give political direction ... I've always said that the best way to promote economic development in this township is to put people in houses, and the biggest impediment to doing that is bad roads. People need to know they can get out to work,” he said.

Murray is also critical of the way the township has handled the school closure issue. He thinks that the township should be pushing hard for all of the schools to remain open, and argues that the school buildings should be turned into multi-use facilities.

“The schools should be used for recreational purposes, as outreach medical clinics, and more, but the township needs to take the lead to make this happen because the province and the school board aren't going to,” he said.

Other concerns he expresses are about public access to council, which he says was promised but not delivered by the incumbent, Mayor Janet Gutowski, who intends to run again. He is also incensed that council has moved all its meetings to Sharbot Lake, eliminating the practice of rotating meetings between Sharbot Lake and Mountain Grove.

“I found it unbelievably insulting that they moved all the meetings to Sharbot Lake without making any announcement. I think it's because people came to meetings in Mountain Grove and they don't come out to the meetings in Sharbot Lake,” he said.

Murray would also like to see the influence of Frontenac County curtailed, and gas tax rebates that the county has received transferred to the local municipalities for road and bridge maintenance.