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Who Wants to Be Warden?
Clarence-Rockland Mayor Richard Lalonde has never been warden of the United Counties of Prescott-Russell. Apparently he does not want to be.
As December approaches, so does the time to choose a new warden for 2010 to replace Robert Kirby, Mayor of the Township of East Hawkesbury. Casselman Mayor Conrad Lamadeleine has been asked to take the office, and it seems likely that the man who has not yet held this post, in spite of being mayor for nearly 20 years, will finally have his day at the top.
“I’ve never been warden; I wasn’t ready before,” Lamadeleine confided. “It’s not something to be taken lightly.”
It seems time that Lamadeleine become warden. Still his nomination raises questions. Lamadeleine is mayor of the smallest municipality in the United Counties. Meanwhile, Richard Lalonde, mayor of the largest municipality in the United Counties, would remain the only mayor besides Hawkesbury Mayor Jeanne Charlebois, who is in her first term, not to have been warden. And this in spite of being near the end of his second mandate. Even Russell Mayor Ken Hill has been warden, although he is still in his first term. Why then was Lalonde not nominated?
The political math of the Township of Russell
Numbers are the currency of modern politics. And just like money, political numbers are worth much less than they once were, since they are bandied about ad nauseam. But unlike paper money, some numbers, it seems, have something that approaches intrinsic value. One such number is roaming the realm of Russell politics. It is 2,000.
Two thousand is the approximate number of signatures that grace the petition against the Township of Russell’s compulsory bilingual signage bylaw. This may seem insignificant, especially given the fact that this number represents about 14% of the population of the Township of Russell and that politicians almost invariably disregard petitions – as is the case with this one. Despite these facts, however, in this number reside the results of next year’s municipal election.
Let’s do the math. Fewer than 5,000 people voted in the 2006 municipal election. Mayor Ken Hill won his office with less than half the vote. Councillors, for their part, need even fewer votes to gain office. With these rough figures in mind, let’s consider what effect a 2,000-signature petition has on a municipal election. In a two-way race, if all 2,000 signatories vote against the Mayor, his days in office will be over. If these same people also vote against the two councillors who supported the bylaw, all those who voted in favor of the mandatory signage by-law will watch their political careers evaporate before their eyes.
Liberals line up for four way race
Discontent over Harmonized Tax
Report appears, questions abound
© 2010 - William G. Stephenson