TBM mayor to run for Grey County warden’s job

The Blue Mountains Mayor Andrea Matrosovs has confirmed she will be running to become the next warden of Grey County.

At The Blue Mountains council meeting on Oct. 21, Matrosovs told CollingwoodToday that she has been nominated to run for the warden’s job.

“I have been nominated for warden by Barb Dobreen and Kevin Eccles,” Matrosovs said. “I’m humbled by the offer and do plan to stand for the nomination.”

Current warden Brian Milne is completing his second one-year term in the position and recent county tradition is that warden’s don’t seek a third consecutive term.

“I had so many words of encouragement to ask me to run for warden,” Matrosovs said in an interview after her council meeting.

Matrosovs made the news of her nomination for the warden’s job public at the electHer Now event held at the L.E. Shore Library in Thornbury on Oct. 20. electHer Now is an organization that encourages women to participate in local government and politics.

Should she be successful in the warden’s election, Matrosovs would become the third female warden in Grey County history joining Lois Urstadt, who served as warden in 1982 and Arlene Wright who served as warden in 2010 and 2011. She would also become the third warden from The Blue Mountains (since municipal restructuring) following Rod Knott, who served as warden in 2001 and Duncan McKinlay, who served two one-year terms in 2012 and 2013.

Matrosovs is in her first term as mayor of The Blue Mountains and her second term on council having served a term as a councillor prior to being elected mayor in 2022. 

County council will choose a new warden who will serve for a one-year term at a special meeting on Dec. 3, 2024 at 5 p.m. Nominations for the job close on Nov. 26 at noon.

Candidates interested in running for the warden’s job are nominated ahead of time by their colleagues on council and will formally declare at the Dec. 3 meeting whether they will let their name stand for the position.

It is county tradition that candidates who do plan to seek the job will notify their colleagues and the public of their intentions ahead of the meeting at which the election for warden is held.

If there is more than one candidate for the warden’s job, county councillors will vote in a secret ballot to determine who is elected to the job.