New mayors elected in some eastern Ontario municipalities

A number of long-serving eastern Ontario mayors were replaced in Monday night's municipal election.

In Arnprior, Coun. Lisa McGee defeated incumbent Walter Stack, promising a new tone and professionalism on town council.

Stack attracted criticism for a letter he sent to residents arguing systemic racism didn't exist in the town. McGee said the handling of that issue was a key issue when knocking on residents' doors.

"They were not very supportive of how the current council handled things as a whole, under the leadership of our former mayor, and they were looking for change," said McGee.

"We made national news — and not for the right reasons necessarily — and we all learned and we all grew from that experience."

McGee said she plans to continue the work of the town's new inclusivity and diversity committee.

Development and post-pandemic direction

In Carleton Place, Coun. Toby Randell defeated incumbent Doug Black. Randell says he has a more open communication style than his predecessor.

He said he wants to foster the small town feel of the community, which has attracted so many federal and military workers who either commute to Ottawa or work remotely.  

"We've grown so fast in the past six to seven years. We've invited so many people into the community. My message was to slow everything down to make sure our infrastructure is ready to handle this growth," Randell said.

He also hopes to invest in recreation and culture programs to bring the community together and attract tourism. 

Judy Brown, also a councillor, was successful in winning the mayoralty from incumbent John Fenik in Perth. She also sees preserving the small town community and economic development as key issues.

"We, as a council, want to keep the neighbourly nature of Perth and not just become a bedroom community," Brown said.

Brown said she sees telework as an economic development opportunity since the town has good connectivity.

Perth, Carleton Place and Arnprior all had online, telephone and in-person voting options, but Randell and McGee each expressed disappointment that — given the convenience of online voting — turnout didn't crack 50 per cent of eligible voters.

Other eastern Ontario results

• Nancy Peckford re-elected mayor in North Grenville.
• Tom Sidney elected mayor in Renfrew.
• Christa Lowry re-elected mayor of Mississippi Mills.
• Shawn Pankow re-elected mayor in Smiths Falls.  
• Gary Serviss elected mayor of Petawawa.
• Robert Lefebvre elected mayor of Hawkesbury.
• Justin Towndale elected mayor in Cornwall.
• Mario Zanth elected in Clarence-Rockland. He'd previously been selected to fill the role after the death of former mayor Guy Desjardins.