Residents in Wellington North were kept in suspense a little longer than most due to line-ups at the polls in Arthur on Monday night.
For election results click here.
Voting stations were set up in Mount Forest and Arthur, but the tabulator from Arthur did not arrive at the council chamber in Kenilworth until nearly 10pm, putting pressure on township election officials.
In the mayoral race, current Ward 4 councillor Andy Lennox took the top spot with 2,199 votes, defeating incumbent Ray Tout, who finished with 1,161 votes.
Tout said he is proud of the work he has accomplished in the last four years and congratulated his opponent.
“Andy ran a good campaign, he did a great job and the sun rises tomorrow,” he said. “I feel confident about what I’ve done for Wellington North and what council has done under my leadership.
“I feel proud of what we’ve done and certainly have no regrets at all.”
Going forward, Lennox says he looks forward to working with council and staff to come up with solutions to the challenges that face the community – such as wastewater capacity in Arthur and shrinking provincial support for infrastructure.
“I look forward to working with the team of council members that the voters selected, to find common ground and together try to go forward to build on our strengths as a community,” he said.
In Ward 1, Dan Yake will continue his 20-year council stint, as he finished with 556 votes, while Shawn McLeod received 294.
“I’m thankful and honoured to be re-elected,” Yake said.
“I hope that we continue to move forward in regards to keeping taxes in line and I hope that we start to make some progress on the Arthur wastewater treatment plant, which is a major issue. I’d also like to see us start to spend some of our reserves on [road rehabilitation].”
Sherry Burke was re-elected in Ward 2 with 527 votes, while candidates Bob Mason and Brett McHugh received 375 and 49 respectively.
In Ward 3, Mark Goetz held on to his seat, scraping out a win with 184 votes, while Jens Dam had 148 and Ross Chaulk 83.
Goetz said he would like to thank Wellington North for the continued support.
“I will take the experience and knowledge that I have gained over the past four years and continue to bring people together to unite the Township of Wellington North,” he said. “I look forward to being part of the team that will work hard to tackle the challenges that we face coming into a new term of office.”
Steve McCabe swept up the votes in Ward 4, with a comfortable 844, while John Matusinec finished with 263.
McCabe says he visited every house in the ward and that alone gave him a sense of accomplishment, regardless of how the election turned out.
“I planned to hit every door in Ward 4 and after a dog bite to the hand and some long days, I accomplished my goal,” he said. “My plan going forward will be to attend every council meeting, learn the ropes in the quickest time possible and listen to the people. I want to work to make sure that Arthur has the ability to reach its potential and make the whole township more attractive to families and businesses.”
Overall 3,402 ballots were cast out of 8,896 registered voters – a voter-turnout of 38.4 per cent. Of those, 1,646 votes came from Mount Forest and 1,328 were cast in Arthur.
Numbers were down from the previous municipal election, which saw approximately 3,700 ballots cast and a 47% voter turnout.
– With files from Mike Robinson
