Vanden Hoek slips quietly out of warden’s chair

Editorial by Jeff Green

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As Frontenac Islands Mayor Jim Vanden Hoek took his leave after serving his second, and almost certainly final, term as Frontenac County Warden, there was little left of the ambitious plan to enhance the county’s role that he expressed at the beginning of the year.

In one of his final acts as warden, he brought back a motion that had been tabled repeatedly throughout the year. It was one that he had promoted at the county table, at township council meetings he attended during the year, at joint county council meetings, and privately to mayors Gutowski, Davison and Maguire.

The motion was to put $50,000 aside each year as part of the county budget to build up seed money for a project in the future, which Vanden Hoek hoped would give Frontenac the kind of profile that other counties, such as Prince Edward and Lanark enjoy, and Frontenac County lacks.

“I am bringing this motion back to see if anyone will second it,” Vanden Hoek said, as he pulled the paper off the table and waved it gently in the direction of the rest of the council. His actions were greeted with silence, and he let the paper drop.

Other aspects of Vanden Hoek’s program will live on however, in a governance review for the county, and perhaps in the Integrated Sustainability Plan, both of which could have the effect of enhancing the role of the county.

As he took on the warden’s mantle this year, Vanden Hoek said, “The success of our individual communities is directly tied to the successes of the region and when one succeeds we all do … I believe we can create stronger communities and more opportunities, and that we need to spend more time collectively preparing for some of the challenges we face.”

Although he has had mixed results in promoting his vision, partly because North Frontenac Township in particular has been making noises about leaving the county instead of making it stronger, the impact of what he has been promoting may be felt in years to come.

At the very least, it must be said Jim Vanden Hoek has been promoting a coherent political vision based on his eight years’ experience as a head of council in Frontenac Islands and a member of Frontenac County Council. It is a vision that is untainted by any thought for personal or political gain, since he made it clear that he has no further political ambitions. It is a vision that has come from thinking through municipal issues over a period of time.

His fellow county councillors, whose combined municipal experience barely exceeds his, might take counsel from the old warrior over the next two years, as they consider what road to take Frontenac County down.