MBC Photo
Carleton Place has elected a carbon-copy of their outgoing council. Mayor Toby Randell and Deputy Mayor Andrew Tennant were both acclaimed, but the five incumbent councillors faced off against six challengers for seats around the Town Hall horseshoe.
Incumbents Jeff Atikinson, Sarah Cavanagh, Dena Comley, Mark Hinton and Linda Seccaspina won by receiving roughly between 2,100 and 2,500 votes each, while their closest competitor, Kory Earle garnered just over 1,000.
Voter turnout was 29.4% or 3,516 out of an eligible 11,947 voters. The turnout for the 2022 election was about 37%.
Randell said the results weren’t too surprising for him, as incumbent candidates reported that residents they met on the campaign trail, indicated they were generally satisfied with the way things were running at Town Hall.
One of the benefits to a complete re-election of council according to him, was that they could dive right into the annual budget in November and keep finances up to date and taxpayers informed as early as possible.
Randell said, speaking for himself and not council, that he would prefer to keep the first year of their mandate light, giving them time for the completion of the water and waste-water plants, along with planning for a new recreation facility with aquatic spaces. He wouldn’t predict a perfectly calm tenure as difficult world and area economics can always bring surprises.
But he was confident council, as a whole, would work in the right direction.
Newly elected municipal councils in Ontario officially take office on Sunday November 15th. Hear our complete conversation with Randell below.
Story by Brian Turner
