Brian Junkin has been declared the winner of the by-election held on January 25th. Brian defeated Gail Thomassen and Audry Holden. The race was relatively close, with Brian receiving 731 votes and Thomassen finishing with 663 votes. Holden received 277 votes.

Congratulations to Brian. We look forward to working with him in the future.

For those of you who missed it, a debate between the three Ward 7 by-election candidates was held at the Bobcaygeon Legion last Thursday, January 7. Two of our local publications attended and have reported on the event. The articles are relatively short in length and depth, so they don’t provide a great deal of information that might help sway those of you who remain undecided. You can read the articles yourself by clicking on the following links:

Lindsay Post article

MyKawartha.com article

Don’t forget, you can contact the candidates directly if you’d like to ask them any questions. Their contact information is posted on the By-Election page.

There will be an all-candidates meeting on January 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the Bobcaygeon Legion. This will give everyone a chance to hear the candidates in  person. Although now format has been publicly announced yet, one can reasonably assume that there will be plenty of oppostunity to ask the candidates questions.

Remember, you can keep up to date on all things by-election right here on our By-Election page.

The latest newsletter provides important imformation about the upcoming by-election and the Official Plan. You can read it right now by clicking here. This is the last newsletter of the year, and we’re looking forward to another busy year in 2010. Happy Holidays!

The City is hosting meetings for public consultation on the Growth Plan Strategy and the Municipal Master Plan at two locations: The Coboconk Service Centre on December 9th and City Hall in Lindsay (Victoria Hall) on December 10th. There will be an open house starting at 4:00 p.m. at both locations, with the meeting starting at 7:00 p.m. You can read the details in the City’s Notice of Meeting.

The Growth Plan Strategy is ambitious: it provides a framework for growth in the City through to the year 2031. It deals directly with planned growth in the “urban” centres within the City: Lindsay, Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls and Omemee. The Plan will govern issues including infrastructure planning, transportation, waste management, urban form and natural heritage. While these issues clearly have an impact on the residents of the aforementioned urban areas, they will also affect those of us in the smaller communities (“hamlets”, to use the city planning jargon). Growth and waste management can have an impact on the local environment, including the quality of our lake water. And all of these issues are ultimately linked to our taxes.

If you are interested in these issues and have a chance to attend, please do so. These meetings are set up so that you can voice your concerns and opinions to protect your interests.

There are currently three candidates in the running for the Ward 7 by-election. They are Audrey Holden,  Brian Junkin, and Gail Thomassen. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 10, so we’ll let you know if anyone else throws their hat in the ring. 

Several members of the SPA board met with Brian and Gail to impress upon them the specific concerns of Sturgeon Point. Audry Holden will be coming to visit this coming week for a similar meeting.  

We’ve set up a By-Election page with links to the candidates’ information. We’ll keep this page updated with links to election-related news articles throughout the campaign.  You’ll also find a listing of important election dates.

Important: If you haven’t received a ballot in the mail by January 12 you need to contact the City By-Election Office.