Orillia chooses change

Council will look a lot different next term
By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE PACKET & TIMES October 26 2010
“They wanted change and they’re going to get change.”
Those words from defeated mayoral candidate Ralph Cipolla summarized the municipal election in Orillia.
It happened at both the mayoral and councillor levels. Cipolla and fellow incumbent councillor Tim Lauer lost their bids for the top job to Angelo Orsi, a local businessman.
“I feel awesome. It’s just wonderful,” Orsi said after the votes were tallied. “I’m so humbled to be the voice of the people. Change is what people wanted and the will of the people was heard tonight.”
He couldn’t have done it without his campaign team, he said, but it’s not like help was in hard to come by, either.
“It just came like magic. People who wanted change, wanted to make a difference, just flocked towards me. It was just like magic. It was effortless,” he said. “It was the will of the people. It had nothing to do with me. It had to do a lot with what the people wanted. I just repres ente d that fresh choice of change.”
Now, the developer has some building of a different kind to do.
Orsi said his first order of business, as mayor-elect, would be to visit city hall and meet as many staff members as he could.
Once the chain of office is around his neck, it’s down to business on setting out the city’s vision.
“The first thing I’d do is…basically sit down with the new council, set up a strategic plan, where we want to go in the next 20 years, and then drive our strategic plan going forward,” he said. “We do need a complete new one to set the course for what people want.”
Only two incumbents — Ward 3 councillors Michael Fogarty and Paul Spears — were returned to the council table.
It wasn’t an easy campaign for incumbents, Cipolla explained.
“I think I had a few Achilles heels, being an incumbent, but we ran a good campaign,” he said. “The campaign was clean. It was great. Not sure I’d do anything different except… like I said, being an incumbent, you carry some baggage.”
Lauer had similar thoughts.
Lauer, who didn’t step into the council chambers to watch the votes being tallied on the big screen, was reflective in his campaign headquarters a couple of blocks away on West Street.
“I think it’s simply out with the old and in with the new,” said the 13-year councillor.
Orsi ran a slick campaign that clearly resonated with voters who were in the mood for something fresh, Lauer said.
“I think Angelo had a real well-organized team behind him. He was hitting a chord. The public was looking for something new and he was it,” he said.
Lauer said distinguishing his record from the general trend was a continual challenge he faced while door knocking.
For instance, the Ward 4 councillor was on more than one occasion described as a lone wolf for taking a more critical approach to the city’s troubled multi-use recreation facility project.
“It was a continual job to point out to people that we were on the right side of the wrong decisions,” Lauer said.
Cipolla congratulated his opponents on well-run campaigns, but still showed reservation for the change Orillians ordered.
“This city needed somebody with experience. So I’m just wondering how it’s going to be managed. A mayor has a lot to learn before he goes to the next step. I just hope, for staff’s sake, nobody suffers, because there was some connotations about staff,” he said. “We have a really good staff here… and I wouldn’t want to see it any different.”
Cipolla said he would remain an advocate for the city.
“I wish all the candidates the best of luck. I still have a passion for Orillia. Orillia’s my home, will always be my home, and I’ll keep fighting for Orillia,” he said. “Right now, I just want to spend a whole bunch of time with my wife and my family.”
Lauer, who performed well during candidates’ meetings, ran on a platform that called for a two-year moratorium on industrial development charges in order to encourage economic development.
He also urged patience on the West Street South brownfield, which has been slated as the site of the MURF. Lauer hoped to act on a long-shelved ambition to revamp the waterfront, continue to revitalize downtown and move forward on more affordable housing.
Lauer recruited a campaign team that he hoped would be non-partisan and appeal to a broad swath of Orillians: Anderson Charters was a key player in luring Lakehead University to town; Karen Graham ran under the Liberal banner against MP Bruce Stanton in 2006; and Rod Williams has been a key player in the Conservative campaigns of Stanton and MPP Garfield Dunlop.
Lauer said he also counted on solid support from his family.
“I had a great team,” he said.
The 2006-10 council might not be appreciated at the moment, Lauer suggested, but he said this group’s accomplishments would eventually sink in.
The construction of a new library is in progress, the official plan has been redrawn, the West Orillia Sports Complex is a reality and Scout Valley will be protected for 100 years, he noted.
“A number of years down the road they’re going to realize what this council actually did.”
Later Monday night, at Ora Kitchens — one of Orsi’s companies — Orsi celebrated with his family and an elated group of supporters.
“We have a lot of work to do ahead of us. I have my blueprint for success: fiscal responsibility, community consultation — that means you — and job creation,” he said, adding with a laugh, “And the rest will follow.”
Among the crowd of supporters was former city councillor George Morano. He said the team did some polling ahead of the election, and the result was “very close to what we had” polled.
Lucille Desjardins, who lives in and runs a daycare in the West Ridge, also helped Orsi with his campaign.
“Give me an O!” she shouted during the celebration, prompting supporters to echo the four letters that make up the name of their new mayor.
“(Orsi is) the right man for the job, and I’m very happy that we have a new mayor that’s going to bring change,” Desjardins said. “That’s what I’ve been promoting throughout this whole campaign. It’s wonderful.”