Maguire will not seek re-election in North Frontenac

Jeff Green | Apr 01, 2010

In the midst of a North Frontenac Council meeting last week Mayor Ron Maguire said that his second term would be his last.

“It is my intention not to run for re-election,” Maguire said, “for the simple reason that I want to try something new. I have had several careers in the past, and I like to change things up now and then.

Maguire’s 7 year stint as North Frontenac Mayor was marked by an increasingly difficult relationship between the township and Frontenac County, and by administrative changes within the township

After serving as county warden in 2007, Maguire began hammering away at perceived disparities in influence and benefits between the southern and northern portions of Frontenac county.

H has charged that County staff and members of County Council “come at issues with an urban mind set” and has twice voted against adoption of the County budget.

Divisions between the township and the county culminated in a letter Maguire wrote to Premier Mcguinty last fall in which North Frontenac requested leave to include a referendum for secession from Frontenac County on their 2010 election ballot.

In that letter, Maguire referenced his “growing fears about a 'north-south' split in the County, and listed North Frontenac’s grievances, which included: “long term care facilities, transportation and access to services, broadband, ambulance, subdivision planning and control, operational planning, county sustainability, minimal or token aboriginal consultation, governance, 'urban' arrogance, lack of appreciation and respect for rural matters.”

In response to the letter the province urged the township and the county to work out their differences and indicated a referendum would not be accepted.

In anyevent. relations between North Frontenac and the County have improved in recent months.

County governance and the ambulance service review have been resolved in the way North Frontenac had hoped, and Maguire voted in favour of the 2010 Frontenac County budget, which included a money transfer from the County to the townships.

One of the highlights of Maguire's tenure as North Frontenac Mayor has been the development of a consistent budgeting approach by the township.

Although his goal of multi-year budgeting has never been achieved, departmental budgeting was accomplished during his first term, and the North Frontenac budget is now completed months earlier than had been the practice

In terms of administration, North Frontenac has shown itself to be ahead of local municipalities in other areas..

Long term planning concerning waste management and an annual commitment to pave portions of downloaded highways 506/509 will also be legacies of the Maguire era.

Observers may recall that Maguire announced his intention not to run once before, in late August of 2006.

However, just hours before the nomination deadline of September 29, 2006, Maguire changed his mind again and submitted his nomination.

He ended up defeating challengers Bud Clayton and Betty Hunter to secure his second term He had won the post by acclimation in 2003 after losing to Stan Johnston in 2000.