Centre Wellington has new mayor; Linton defeats Ross-Zuj by 2,300 votes

Centre Wellington Township has a new mayor.

On Monday night, Kelly Linton defeated incumbent Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj by roughly 2,300 votes. Linton garnered 5,598 votes (63%) while Ross-Zuj managed 3,279 (37%).

To see the election results click here.

The new council is a combination of current and new councillors.

New councillors include Don Fisher and Stephen Kitras, while returning councillors are Kirk McElwain (acclaimed), Mary Lloyd (acclaimed), Fred Morris (acclaimed) and Steven VanLeeuwen.

In an interview with the Wellington Advertiser, Linton said he was pleased with the campaign.

Although there had been earlier issues with election signs, Linton noted that after an article on the topic appeared in the Advertiser, the problem died away.

“I think our team pulled together a real solid campaign,” he said. “I think right from day one we had a strategy and stuck to it.”

He was also happy with both his team and that of Ross-Zuj in terms of the level of civility and integrity.

“We didn’t stoop into negative discussions. We really stuck to the issues. I’m proud that both of us did that,” Linton said.

He added, “We had a ton of volunteers – and well over 50 hardcore volunteer supporters. We never could have done it without that team.” He noted he and his wife/campaign manager Michelle were blown away with the level of support.

“I did hear throughout the campaign comments that it is time for change,” said Linton.

He believed that desire will need to be fulfilled in the coming term.

Linton said both businesses and residents want a better connection with their local government.

As to the coming term, Linton said his focus is on the creation of a new strategic plan – “that is job number one.”

He explained the plan has to establish clear priorities and provide real direction to the administration on how to make decisions and prioritize how to spend taxpayers’ money.

“The current strategic plan just isn’t good enough, from my perspective,” he said.

In addition to the current council meetings, Linton wants to work with the council and explore the potential of possibly holding four strategic council sessions throughout the year.

During those meetings, instead of looking at operational issues, Linton said he wanted to be able to track current initiatives as to whether they are meeting the township’s strategic priorities.

“Right now we get a little bit bogged down in the operational side.”

Though the operations are really important, Linton said “we need to pull ourselves up from time to time to see if we are getting the results we are trying to achieve.”

Linton also said there is a need to ramp up the expectations for both the mayor and members of council to connect with businesses and citizens.

During the campaign Linton committed to establishing four town hall sessions and committed to establishing a Facebook page.

“I really think we need more of an open door policy as to how we make decisions and interact with people.”

The last item Linton spoke of was the continuing need to restructure the township’s economic development committee.

“I think we need a stronger representation from the business community on that team.

He also feels the committee needed more of a mandate to make recommendations for actions, whether they are short, medium or long term.

“In the next four years, I’d really like to see us to build on the work we have done, but see it characterized by what we do, rather than what we talk about.”

As of press time, Ross-Zuj had yet to respond to telephone messages and emails.

On election night, one could not describe the council chambers as being a packed house,  though it did host local candidates, their supporters and local residents.

Don Fisher

Successful Ward 1 candidate Don Fisher was one of the few local candidates at the municipal building early on election night. As to his campaign, Fisher said he had little to compare it to.

“It is the first time I’ve ever done it, but it was a fascinating experience.”

Fisher said the lesson he learned was more of an understanding of how the mail-in vote affects the campaign.

“Everything was front-end loaded and you desperately had to get out and get things done before the voting packages were sent to the public,” he said, adding in many cases people had already voted by Thanksgiving.

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