Frontenac County Council Inauguration

Jeff Green | Dec 07, 2022

With an emphasis on the new, Frontenac County Council members took the oath of office last week at a meeting that was held outside of Frontenac County.

Of the eight members who were sworn in, 6 are new to county politics. Half of those are second term politicians in their local townships, Ray Leonard from South Frontenac, Nicki Gowdy from Central Frontenac, and Fred Fowler from North Frontenac. The other three, including the Mayor of North Frontenac Gerry Lichty and the Mayor of Frontenac Islands Judy Greenwood-Speers, as well Frontenac Islands Deputy Mayor Bill Saunders, are brand new to municipal politics

The meeting was held in Kingston, at the Frontenac County Courthouse. Kingston and the Islands Member of Parliament, whose riding includes the township of Frontenac Islands, was slated to attend the meeting, but was not able to, and sent his regrets.

Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark, the senior government member for eastern Ontario, provided a recorded video greeting.

Minster Clark reiterated the provinces commitment to promoting new housing. He made reference to the initiative that Frontenac County is undertaking to establish a not-for profit corporation to mitigate costs for developers and offer management services for communal water systems to serve new housing developments, as “an excellent example of the local innovations we need”.

He said “we will continue working with you to ensure that communities within Frontenac County realise their full potential.”

MP Scott Reid, who represents South, Central and North Frontenac in Ottawa, also provided a recorded message. He said that local government is the “most difficult form of government, and offered his support and commitment to be accessible to any member of Frontenac County Council. He also expressed confidence that Frontenac County will not be sliced into different federal and provincial ridings, once the final report of the commission on electoral boundaries submits its final report later this month.

After taking their oaths of office, the new council had two matters to address, the election of a warden and deputy warden for 2023.

As expected, the two returning members of council will fill those roles. South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal was the only nominee for warden, and Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith was the only nominee for deputy warden. Smith will likely be the warden in 2024, if past practice is followed.

But under new rules that were put in place last summer, the positions of warden and deputy warden are now open to all 8 members of council. Until now, only the mayors from the four townships were eligible, with Mayor taking a one year term in each position over the 4-year term of council.

In his brief remarks, Warden Vandewal said that with so many new councillors “there will be lots to learn and lots to get used to. I always look forward, optimistically, that we will work hard together and we will do whats best for our municipalities and the county ... I want to congratulate everyone whose been elected, and it will hopefully be a good experience and we will just try to do the best job that we can.”