Site 41 leaders trashed in election

By Laurie Watt Barrie Advance Oct 28, 2010
SIMCOE COUNTY- Three-term Simcoe County Warden Tony Guergis knew he would lose – as would many other senior county politicians – when Toronto elected Rob Ford.
Voters want change, he said.

“I knew I was in trouble when I saw Ford elected. When I saw Toronto, which usually votes strategically, not elect the (former) deputy premier during the reign of a Liberal majority…I knew incumbents would be in trouble,” said Guergis.
“Anyone who sounds like government is out. The last name, Guergis, definitely says government. That is the issue.”
Just four years ago, the Guergis family was a political force. Springwater’s Guergis gained power as he went onto become the county’s first three-term warden. Essa Mayor David Guergis had influence at the county, and their cousin, Christine Brayford (sister to MP Helena Guergis, herself ousted from the Conservative Party caucus) served on New Tecumseth council.
They became outsiders this week.
And at Simcoe County, the more senior, the more influential politicians suffered losses too.
Penetanguishene Mayor Anita Dubeau, the county’s Human Services Committee chairperson, and Severn’s Phil Sled, chairperson of the influential Performance Management Committee, were ousted, as was former Warden Bradford West Gwillimbury Deputy Mayor Dennis Roughley.
 “I knew I had a battle on my hands,” said Dubeau, a 19-year municipal politician. “It was Site 41. People are angry. Municipal politicians are on the front lines. Taxes are a big issue too. The downturn in the economy is a big issue.”
She added: “Councils who have had massive changes, like us in Penetanguishene, it will take them a while to get on their feet and understand municipal politics.”
Aware Simcoe – a citizens’ group that hosted a series of public meetings throughout the county – sees opportunity with county council changes.
“It’s very exciting,” said Aware interim chair Don Morgan. “I was happy to see some of the incumbents, who have not been open, have fallen to defeat. I was particularly pleased to see Rob Keffer in Bradford West Gwillimbury become deputy mayor. I was pleased to see changes in the ridings where the Guergis family was in office.”
Morgan said Site 41 haunted Dubeau, but Midland’s Mayor Jim Downer and Deputy Mayor Ruth Hackney fell to a desire for change.
Tiny Township Mayor Peggy Breckenridge lost to Site 41 activist Ray Millar, who learned about political process through the Community Monitoring Committee.
Breckenridge is still in shock.
“It was by 27 votes. I’ve done a lot of soul searching on that,” she said, gong on to blame Deputy Mayor George Lawrence and Millar for influencing the non-resident vote with their newsletters’ slates.
“Because over half our voters live elsewhere, they don’t know the candidates that are running and they use the slates. That’s been the tradition. They used ‘We’re the heroes of Site 41’ as their campaign focus. My focus was a vision for the future for both the county and the township. Site 41 is looking backward.”