Tag: Municipal Election

Tourism – Municipal Candidates’ Positions

John Draper

The second “leading question” asked of all candidates in the upcoming election was “Tourists – Are they good for Cobourg?”  Many of the Policies and decisions made by Cobourg’s Council encourage visitors to Cobourg.  There are Town staff whose job it is to cater to Tourists; the Town has a web site that provides information for Tourists yet not all Downtown merchants and citizens see a benefit. Although the DBIA organizes many events downtown, it could be argued that these are intended to attract residents to Downtown and not necessarily visitors.  Tourists spend money in Cobourg but they also cost for more policing, garbage collection and they create crowds.  Is it worth it?  Should Tourists be encouraged?  Each Candidate gives their… Read complete articleTourism – Municipal Candidates’ Positions

West Harbour – Candidates give their positions

John Draper

On August 31, all candidates in the upcoming Municipal election were asked seven leading questions on hot topics – this is the first in a series of posts giving their answers (see link below for other questions and more about the candidates).  Candidates were asked to keep their responses short; if they did not, their submitted text has been abbreviated. The first question on the list asked about the West Harbour. The recent Waterfront study made recommendations about the harbour including expansion of the Marina into the West Harbour.  The issue has been the subject of a lot of discussion in the Town (as judged by comments on this blog) and by Councillors.  The position of those running for election varies… Read complete articleWest Harbour – Candidates give their positions

Meet the Municipal Candidates

John Draper

The Northumberland Central Chamber of Commerce has picked up the ball and will be holding an all-candidate meeting at the Best Western on October 10.  The format will be similar to the one used in 2014 and once again will be called Speed Campaigning (see photo below of Larry Sherwin’s table in 2014).  The idea is that all candidates (including for English Public School Board Trustee) will sit at tables and citizens will have five minutes to ask them direct questions before the candidate rotates to another table.  With 9 candidates for Council, 2 for deputy Mayor and 4 for English Public School Board Trustee, that means at least 15 tables.  Attendance is limited to 125 people and they want… Read complete articleMeet the Municipal Candidates

All Candidates’ Debate cancelled

John Draper

Up until now, there had been only one All-Candidates meeting/debate scheduled and that was by a joint effort of the CTA and Northumberland 89.7 on October 10 – but now it has been cancelled.  The radio station issued a statement that there was a disagreement on format but the CTA (Cobourg Taxpayers Association) said that the problem was that some Candidates did not want to participate if it was organized by the CTA.  It seems that the venue has been reserved and paid for and it is hoped that another organization will take over and hold the much needed forum for Candidates to air their platforms. Although the Mayor has been acclaimed, there are still important contests for Deputy Mayor… Read complete articleAll Candidates’ Debate cancelled

Some Surprises in Nominations for Cobourg Council

John Draper

Nominations for the next term of Council have now closed and it looks like John Henderson will be acclaimed Mayor since no-one has filed to run against him.  Randy Curtis had filed to run as a Councillor but at the last minute, he changed his nomination so that now he will be running for Deputy Mayor against Suzanne Séguin. There are nine candidates running for the five Council positions.  Of the current councillors, only Aaron Burchat and Brian Darling will be running again.  This will be the first time for Suzanne and Aaron to be elected since they were both appointed when there were vacancies on the Council.  School Board Trustees will also be up for election with four candidates… Read complete articleSome Surprises in Nominations for Cobourg Council

Brian Darling to seek re-election

John Draper

At the last election, Brian received the largest number of votes and with 7 days to go before the filing deadline he has now filed his nomination papers to seek re-election as a Councillor.  He is mostly running on the record of the current council and points to a number of achievements.  However, he says that “we are going to have some tough decisions in the near future with infrastructure improvements.  The East Pier, the Centre Pier and the Monks Cove retaining wall are just a few of the many projects that will have to be addressed.”  He also says he will “strive to maintain fiscal responsibility and keep tax increases as low as possible” and “make decisions that are… Read complete articleBrian Darling to seek re-election

Suzanne Séguin running for Deputy Mayor

John Draper

This morning, Cobourg councillor Suzanne Séguin filed her nomination papers as a candidate for Deputy Mayor. There was no public event but she issued a Press Release outlining her campaign commitments and her credentials.  In January 2017, Suzanne was selected to replace Councillor Larry Sherwin who resigned in December 2016 (see post in links below).  In mid 2014, she moved to Cobourg from Prescott where she had served as Mayor and was immediately involved in many Cobourg community organizations.  In addition, Suzanne and her husband Gerry Brown operate Lighthouse Press which recently published a well-received book about Cobourg by Rob Mikel.  As a Councillor, she has been busy on several committees and has made her presence felt with some dissent… Read complete articleSuzanne Séguin running for Deputy Mayor

Lame Duck Council expected on July 27

John Draper

Cobourg’s Council has a total of seven members and Provincial legislation says that if on nomination day (July 27), fewer than 75% are running for re-election, then it is in a “lame duck” position and restrictions apply as to what it can do.  So far, Gil Brocanier, Debra McCarthy and Forrest Rowden have declared they are not running so there will be a “lame duck” council on July 27.   At the next Council meeting on July 23, it is planned to pass a by-law to delegate the missing authority to CAO Stephen Peacock.  The issue has not previously been as big a concern but the period from Nomination day to election of a new council is longer this time than… Read complete articleLame Duck Council expected on July 27