There will be nine new faces around the Grey County council table for the next four year term, which is half of the 18 members of the upper-tier council.
Each of the nine member municipalities of the county will be sending one new member to county council when the new term begins, although two of the new faces have previous county council experience.
The mayors and deputy mayors of the nine Grey municipalities - Chatsworth, Georgian Bluffs, Grey Highlands, Hanover, Meaford, Owen Sound, Southgate, The Blue Mountains and West Grey - serve on county council.
Across Grey County there were some surprises in the election results. Current Grey County warden and Hanover deputy mayor Selwyn Hicks was defeated in his bid for reelection. This ensures that county council will elect a new warden at its inaugural meeting. In addition, former county warden Kevin Eccles is returning to the county table after he was elected West Grey mayor over incumbent Christine Robinson.
Grey Highlands mayor and former warden Paul McQueen was easily re-elected on Monday night. He said with change at county council comes opportunity.
“I think every term of council brings a change and new ideas and a change in focus at county council,” said McQueen. “Last time there were nine changes (at county council), it seems to be a recurring theme. We have a lot of items we have to deal with at the county. We’ll be picking a new warden, we’ll look at our committee structure and affordable housing is something we have to continue to look at.”
McQueen said the new council brings a ripe opportunity to bring back the Grey Gables long-term care project in Markdale. The current county council put the project on hold due to concerns about rising costs, despite receiving approval for 62 new LTC beds from the province.
“We need to review Grey Gables and re-assess and get those beds,” said McQueen, who wants a follow-up staff report on the matter. “We need the beds. The wait lists are huge. Look at what’s going on in our hospitals and the ALC (Alternative Level of Care) patients there who can’t move on.”
The Blue Mountains deputy mayor Peter Bordignon was acclaimed during the election and he said he is looking forward to the new dynamics at the county level.
“Fifty per cent turnover is large and it’s good to have 50 per cent continuity. I think the changeover will be good for the personalities at county council. It can bring some positive momentum forward for the whole county. We’ll have some different voices and different personalities and a new warden,” said Bordignon. “On a go-forward basis, the energy will be a bit different. I think some of the issues at Grey County were more personality-driven and that can change now.”
In Chatsworth, mayor Scott Mackey was re-elected and he will be joined at county council by Terry McKay, who served as deputy mayor from 2010-2014 and has been absent from council the past two terms.
In Georgian Bluffs, incumbent mayor Dwight Burley was defeated by incumbent deputy mayor Sue Carleton in a race that wasn’t close. Grant Pringle was acclaimed as the township’s new deputy mayor.
In Grey Highlands, Dane Nielsen, an incumbent councillor who won a three-way race for the deputy mayor’s chair. Incumbent Grey Highlands deputy mayor Aakash Desai did not seek reelection. Nielsen will join McQueen at the county council table.
The Town of Hanover featured the biggest surprise on election night. Incumbent Mayor Sue Paterson was easily reelected. However, Hicks was defeated in his bid for reelection by Warren Dickert, who was a member of council this past term.
In Meaford, two-term Mayor Barb Clumpus retired and incumbent councillor Ross Kentner was elected the community’s new mayor. Incumbent deputy mayor Shirley Keaveney was acclaimed and will return to the job.
In Owen Sound, incumbent mayor Ian Boddy was re-elected, but incumbent deputy mayor Brian O’Leary was defeated by Scott Greig, a member of Owen Sound city council.
In Southgate, deputy mayor Brian Milne returned to the mayor’s chair after incumbent mayor John Woodbury retired. Milne served as mayor of Southgate from 2010-2014. Barbara Dobreen was elected Southgate’s new deputy mayor.
In The Blue Mountains, Bordignon will be joined by new mayor Andrea Matrosovs, who was elected to the position after serving a term on council. Current mayor Alar Soever did not run in the 2022 election.
In West Grey, Eccles defeated Robinson, the current mayor, and Stephen Townsend, a member of council. Eccles lost to Robinson four years ago after serving as mayor for many years. He is also a three-time warden of Grey County. Incumbent deputy mayor Tom Hutchinson was easily reelected to his position.
