2014 Municipal Elections

Jeff Green | Jul 17, 2014

Municipal races set for mayoralty; some ward contests as well

Mayoralty candidates have been making the rounds at lake association meetings this month, seeking elusive seasonal voters. Meanwhile, some potential candidates for council are waiting in the sidelines, perhaps waiting until the registration deadline of September 12 approaches.

Unlike what has transpired on one or two previous occasions, when incumbent mayors sometimes indicated they were not running, drawing members of council into the mayoralty race and then jumping in at the last minute, the races this time around seem to be set.

The most intriguing mayoralty election is set for Central Frontenac, featuring incumbent Janet Gutowski and long time councilor and pre-amalgamation reeve Frances Smith.

The campaign for the seasonal vote in Central Frontenac, which represents 50% of potential voters, is underway now.

Gutowski, who has been mayor for eight years and sat on Council for three years before that, has promoted economic development and closer ties with Frontenac County during her political career. She also founded and it still closely associated with the Frontenac Heritage Festival.

Frances Smith has been critical of Frontenac County over the past eight years or so, and has been one of the voices on Council seeking to keep taxes down.

In the ward elections, where two candidates will be elected, there will be a contested election in at least two wards. In Kennebec ward, incumbents Tom Dewey and Jeff Matson are seeking re-election, and former councilor and past candidate for mayor, Logan Murray, is running as well.

In Hinchinbooke ward, four candidates have come forward thus far, including incumbent Heather Fox as well as Brent Cameron, Kirby Bertrim and Sharon Shepherd.

There are two candidates for the Oso ward seats thus far, incumbent Wayne Millar, and Bob Olmstead, a former member of the North Frontenac Council.

Finally, in Olden ward, Justin Gray and Victor Heese have come forward.

There is one candidate for the Limestone District School Board rep for Central and North Frontenac, Steve Magee

In North Frontenac Township mayoral race, it is the case of an incumbent versus a long-time resident who has just retired.

Bud Clayton, who jumped into the 2010 election at the last minute and ended up being elected over council member Jim Beam, has been promoting long-term planning and a strategy for the township to survive some hard times in the coming years as the population ages more rapidly than in other parts of Eastern Ontario.

On the other hand, mayoral candidate Claudio Valentini, who is recently retired from teaching at Sharbot Lake High School and is the operator of Tomvale Airport and other small business ventures, thinks that North Frontenac can attract new businesses and residents if it works at it.

“We’ll create good, middle-class jobs by supporting homegrown businesses in promising areas like the arts, local food, clean energy and even local manufacturing. We’ll make it easier for people to build, relocate, set up businesses, tele-commute, improve themselves and make a living that doesn’t rely on going elsewhere every day,” he says on his election website.

Candidates for council have been slow to come forward, but at this point there will certainly be an election in Ward 2, the former Clarendon and Miller ward, where incumbent Garry Martin is seeking re-election, as are Ron Higgins and Vernon Hermer.

As of this week, there is one candidate in Barrie ward, incumbent Fred Perry, and no candidates in Ward 1, Palmerston-Canonto.

In South Frontenac there are three mayoralty candidates: John McEwen, Allan McPhail, and Ron Vandewal. McPhail and Vandewal are sitting councilors, both in Loughborough ward.

Ron Vandewal, a long-serving council member, has an interest in planning issues and is the current chair of the township's Committee of Adjustment. He has also been critical of the way Frontenac County is run.

Allan McPhail, who has been on Council for the last eight years, also takes an interest in planning as well as trails and environmental issues. He is the chair of the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority, and a member of the K&P Trail committee of Frontenac County.

John McEwen has never sat on council, but he has been involved in municipal affairs mainly as the result of his efforts to bring about changes to building regulations to require better protection for new houses against ground water infiltration into foundations.

There will be an election for the two Loughborough council seats that have been vacated by two of the aspiring mayors. Fran Willes, Stephen Bach, Mark Schjerning, Ross Sutherland and David Plumpton are all seeking council seats.

In Portland, the two incumbents, Bill Robinson and John McDougall are running, but no one has stepped forward to force a vote thus far.

In Bedford ward, incumbent Pat Barr is running, as is former township Chief Building Official Alan Revill.

There is only one candidate thus far in Storrington ward, incumbent Larry York.

Suzanne Ruttan is seeking re-election as South Frontenac representative to the Limestone District School Board

In Addington Highlands, long-time Reeve Henry Hogg is seeking a fifth term, and he is being challenged by newcomer Gerald Bray.

In Denbigh ward, there are no candidates thus far for the two seats, but in Kaladar ward incumbents Bill Cox and Helen Yanch are seeking re-election.