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Dowdall pulls off upset over Guergis in Essa

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In Essa
Oct 27th, 2010
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By MARG. BRUINEMAN BARRIE EXAMINER Otcober 26 2010
Essa Township’s deputy mayor Terry Dowdall has upset longtime mayor David Guergis.
“I’m a lot more fun,” said a pumped Dowdall. “And I’m a down-to-earth person.”
Dowdell sat surrounded by supporters at the Baxter Orange Hall, watching the results slowly come in. And in every poll, the owner of the Baxter General Store was declared the winner over the incum-bent, often at a rate of two-to-one.
“I think they want a positive approach,” he said. “What they want is somebody who’s speaking to them.”
Clearly, voters spoke out with their votes.
When the numbers all finally came in, Dowdall had captured 3,064 votes, more than doubling Guergis’ 1,475.
Near duplicate numbers gave Sandie MacDonald the win over Shawn Bubel for the position of deputy mayor for the township.
Guergis has spent 16 years on council, the last seven as mayor.
Dowdall has served as deputy mayor in Essa Township for the past seven years and was on council for three years prior to that.
Dowdall runs the Baxter Gene ra l Store with his wife. And they’ve raised their two daughters in the same building, above the store.
He said working and living in the township makes him accessible to the residents and allows him to know the issues of the township intimately.
He said residents clearly liked his promise to engage the residents more in council’s approach. And he said he wanted to maintain low tax rates but move forward with progressive programs.
Guergis took great pride in the township’s tax rate, which he claimed were among the lowest in Simcoe County. And he claimed success in the develop-m e nt of a fully-functioning ambulance station and a new high school is under construction.
Guergis was not available for comment after his loss Monday.

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