WELLINGTON COUNTY — Five county councillors have put their hats in the ring to be the County of Wellington's new warden.
Announcing their intentions at a county council meeting Thursday morning, the five candidates include county councillor's Chris White, Shawn Watters, Diane Ballantyne, Gregg Davidson and Mary Lloyd.
The current warden, Wellington North mayor Andy Lennox, said he will not seek re-election. Lennox became warden in 2022, replacing former Centre Wellington mayor Kelly Linton, who served from 2018 to 2022.
Acting as a chair for county council meetings and sitting in as a member of all committees, County of Wellington wardens typically serve two-year terms but can seek another in the event of an election midway through the four-year municipal term.
Lennox said his biggest takeaway from his time as warden is a "more holistic view" of everything the county council deals with.
"It's been a learning experience," said Lennox. "I think I had an understanding before but sitting in this chair gives you a greater depth of understanding."
In justifying his experience, White cited his time as the past warden, chair of groups like ROMA and AMO and mayor of Guelph\Eramosa.
"You know who I am. What you see is what you get," said White. "I have great faith in the county and the great services we provide .. .I try to build relationships to get things done and that's something I will continue to do."
Commenting on his over 25 years in municipal politics, Watters said he's putting his name forward because he believes his experience as Centre Wellington's mayor has been "training in some ways" as many issues he's dealt with are also reflected across the entire county.
"Obviously we're pushing ahead in terms of protection of agriculture and I think that's actually the number one thing we should be doing here," said Watters. "Protecting that asset and demonstrating to the rest of the province that we can grow and still protect those values for our community."
Ballantyne said she's seeking the warden position because she believes the county deserves "energetic and collaborative leadership," which she said isn't only measured in time served but in one's capacity to serve.
"My track record around this horseshoe and well beyond demonstrates that I analyze government situations effectively, advocate articulately and forge productive and cooperative relations with community, colleagues and our staff," said Ballantyne. "Guided by our strategic goals, I'll honour our traditions...and work tirelessly for you to advance the county's critical infrastructure as well as our core services for our residents."
Previously running against Lennox in 2022, Davidson said the existing council and staff are great and he'd appreciate their support this time around.
"We have some incredible staff here to help us make these decisions and do we always agree with staff? No, but that is okay. Do we always agree around this table? No, but that's okay," said Davidson, who is also Mapleton's mayor. "At the end of the day, we still are colleagues and we still get along."
Bringing "over 40 years" of business experience to the table, Lloyd said while she appreciates representing her community right now, she'd love the opportunity to serve all residents in Wellington County.
"I am a steady hand," said Lloyd. "I think I bring a little bit of a softness to sometimes difficult conversations that we've had and I've shown that I have the ability to be able to take a no and work it through as a good valuable member of this committee."
County councillors will vote on the new warden on Friday, Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. at a special meeting of county council.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
