the north grenville
TIMES www.ngtimes.ca
Vol. 2, No. 50
The Voice of North Grenville
Dec 17, 2014
David Gordon elected as United Counties’ Warden
by David Shanahan As he begins his second term as Mayor of North Grenville, David Gordon has had another honour, and greater workload, added to his resume. He has been elected Warden of the United Counties of Leeds & Grenville [UCLG] by his fellow counties councillors at the first meeting of the new council. The position, which he will hold until 2016, is neither an automatic, nor an honorary one, and is a recognition of the respect in which David
Gordon is held by his colleagues, and the importance of the Municipality of North Grenville in the economic and political life of the UCLG. The last time North Grenville had the Warden’s chair was in 2000, when Don Cameron, first Mayor of the municipality, held the job. In the past, of course, a number of mayors and reeves of South Gower, Kemptville and Oxford-on-Rideau had been elected to the role since the UCLG Council was first established in 1842. Recently retired NG Councillor, Ken
Finnerty, had the honour of holding the position of Warden in 1995, exactly forty years after his father, a unique achievement in UCLG history. The wonderfully euphonic Warden Gordon thanked his colleagues for their show of confidence in electing him to the office, and identified as priority issues some of the ones he had noted in his recent election campaign in North Grenville. These included the rising cost of policing for local communities, and the various provincial planning
policies that restricted the freedom of municipalities to control resource and other forms development. He also emphasised the distinction between what local communities might want, and what they actually needed, pointing out that budget cutbacks would dictate expenditures for the UCLG. David stated his belief that the most effective way in which the people of the UCLG could meet the challenges of the coming years was to co-operate with each other, drawing on their individual strengths and assets “to mitigate the impacts” of growing provincial debt, rising fuel costs, and provincial funding cutbacks on the region. He is also very aware of the extra demands on his time and energy that being Warden will entail. Being a member of the UCLG Council was demanding in itself, requiring regular trips to Brockville for council and committee meetings, but the added responsibilities as Warden will only add to that workload. He is confident, however, that the North Grenville Council will be able to compensate for any enforced absences, etc., and Deputy Mayor, Barb Tobin, certainly has the experience and capability to fill in when required. The election of Warden Gordon is a potential boon for North Grenville, and a guarantee that this community will not be ignored or taken for granted at the counties level over the coming two years.
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