Councillors pledge: we will work together

By MORGAN IAN ADAMS Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin October 29 2010
The seven men who will officially take their council seats on Dec. 6 say they feel humbled by the trust put in them by the electorate.
Mike Edwards led the polls for council spots for the second election in a row, pulling in 4,925 votes, and said he was amazed by the high turnout; 8,657 people voted, a 50.9% turnout.
“It shows how many people took an interest, and people wanted to voice their opinion,” said Edwards.
He also pointed to the number of people who were running: 21 people filed for seven council seats, along with five people for mayor and two for deputy-mayor.
“I’m ecstatic, and very humbled — and I’m extremely honoured,” said Keith Hull, who placed fourth overall with 3,638 in his first election campaign. “I felt pretty good, that I had at least a shot at getting in.
“I’m surprised and pleased with where I finished.”
Ian Chadwick, elected for his third term on council, said the results and turnout were indicative of voter dissatisfaction with the current council. Of the seven council positions, he and Edwards were the only incumbents to be re-elected.
Incumbent councillor Tim McNabb finished 12th with 2,002 votes; the other two incumbents, Dave Labelle and Sonny Foley, finished in 14th and 15th, with 1,512 and 1,465 votes, respectively.
“The turnout represented the level of discontent that’s out there — and no one realized how deep it was,” said Chadwick. “The results were a repudiation of the last four years.
“The results didn’t really surprise me, and they were similar to what people were saying in the community.”
Chadwick said he was astounded by the results for Mayor-elect Sandra Cooper and Deputy-mayor-elect Rick Lloyd, who were both voted in by very wide margins.
 Lloyd captured 71.6% of support, or 5,836 votes, in the two-person race with Councillor Norman Sandberg. Cooper was elected with 67.5% support in a five-person race that included Councillor Kathy Jeffery; Jeffery finished third, behind political newcomer Mike Young.
Joe Gardhouse, who is back to the table after a one-term hiatus, said he was surprised by the degree at which it appeared incumbent representatives were tossed out by the electorate.
“I’m just thankful to have weathered the storm,” said Gardhouse, who was elected in 2000 and 2003 as a councillor; he resigned in 2005, and came back to run for deputy-mayor in 2006, narrowly losing to Cooper.
On Monday, he was re-elected to the final spot on council, with 2,738 votes.
Several councillors-elect indicated the honeymoon period may be short for this council, as there appears to be a desire in the community to see a cohesive council, rather than have one that is perceived to be beset by disunity.
“They’re saying, ‘you have a seat, now behave yourself, and you better work as a team,” said Gardhouse.
“There’s a clear message to the new council, and staff, to back to basics,” added Hull. “The nonsense that has happened the last four years needs to come to an end.
“There are some high expectations, and people are clearly looking for a new direction. We have to look to get off to a good start, and make some good decisions right away.”
Hull said the patio issue, and getting Admiral Collingwood Place moving ahead again, are two matters that council should deal with immediately.
“We can get those behind us, and get on with exploring other opportunities.”
Chadwick said with a change at the top, there will be a “change in attitude and a change in the way council interacts– and the way in which the head of council interacts with council.”
“There is the expectation of an awful lot of groups, that we have to talk about doing things differently,” said first-time candidate and former local broadcaster Dale West.
“We have to be ready to get to work in December.”
All the candidates interviewed also noted it appears to be good group of people elected to represent the community.
“My sense is that we will get together, set goals and objectives, and it should be a great team for four years,” said the town’s former fire chief Sandy Cunningham, who finished in the six seat with 3,090 votes. “We have two people (Lloyd and Cooper) with many years of experience in the mayor and deputy-mayor, and two people people with experience in (Chadwick and Edwards).”
“New people and new ideas — that’s always good,” said Edwards. “It will be interesting to see how everyone works together, and I think everyone will be coming to the table well-prepared.”