Saying goodbye

By NATHAN TAYLOR AND TEVIAH MORO, THE PACKET & TIMES October 27 2010
As the polls started coming in Monday night at city hall, Mayor Ron Stevens had a weird feeling, unlike any other election in the past decade.
He felt odd watching others slug it out for the top job.
“It’s quite a change for me, I’ll tell you,” said Stevens, who did not run again in Orillia.
The Sunshine City’s mayor for 10 years, Stevens said mayor-elect Angelo Orsi has his work cut out for him. The political rookie is heading up city hall without any experience in the council chambers, he pointed out.
“He’s got a tough job ahead of him. There’s no question about it,” Stevens said.He suggested Orsi should rely on staff to help him learn the ropes.
Concerns about potential conflicts of interest will likely dog the Charter Construction boss at the beginning of his mandate.
“That’s going to be very hard. He’s a wide-open target for those people who didn’t support him in this election,” Stevens said. “For the first while, he’s going to be walking a tightrope.”
Although dodging conflicts will be like walking through a “minefield,” Orsi can do it, Stevens said.
Stevens ran in his home township of Severn, ousting incumbent Karen Marriott by a mere 47 votes.
“It was a close vote, but I was still very happy with it,” Stevens said. “It’s been 10 years since I was there. To get elected is a great honour.”
Stevens began his political career in Severn in 1978.
Like Orillia, the appetite for change in Severn was evident in the results.
“The people of Severn Township elected a new mayor who is as green as grass,” Stevens said of mayor-elect Mike Burkett.
Stevens wasn’t taking a shot at his boss-to-be, and he said Burkett is obviously enthusiastic about the job.
“We’re going to have to work with him… and help him every way we can,” Stevens said of those on council who have more political experience.
As the results were being revealed Monday night, Stevens was at Orillia council chambers. He was taken aback by some of the results.
“The unfortunate thing is we lost some members of council who take with them lot of experie n c e,” he said, specifically naming Joe Fecht and Wayne Gardy, both of whom were removed from their Ward 1 seats.
Stevens referred to Gardy as “probably the hardest-working councillor I’ve ever seen.”
Stevens realized change was in the air, but he questioned what type of change candidates were promoting.
“If they mean change is where the public has to give input on everything the city does, that’s not necessarily a good thing,” he said in response to many candidates’ campaign calls for more community consultation. “That will just hamper the process. At the end of the day, council has to make a decision.”
Stevens said he was “grateful” for being able to serve 10 years as Orillia’s mayor.
He and Orsi met Tuesday, and Stevens said he offered to assist his successor where he could.