Next job is to choose a mayor, say Avondale byelection winners

By Mark Squibb

Justin Foote, John O’Leary, and former deputy mayor Don Lewis topped the poll in Tuesday’s byelection in Avondale.
Foote, owner of Flynn’s Store, notched the most votes of any candidate, collecting 190.
He said the vote of confidence from the community was humbling.
Once the new councillors have been sworn in, the question of who will be handed the mayor’s chain of office will need to be settled.
The town has yet to announce whether the mayor’s chair will be handed to the candidate with the most votes, in this case Foote, or will be elected by a vote of council.
“It wasn’t my intent (to be mayor), but with the support of the town, I feel that might be a good choice,” said Foote. “It would be something I would entertain absolutely.”
O’Leary, who came second with 145 votes, indicated he too would be happy to accept the mayor’s mantle, or remain a councillor.
“Should I be nominated, I probably would accept the challenge,” said O’Leary. “If it goes to the one with the highest votes, I’m comfortable with that … I think Justin Foote would make an excellent mayor.”
Foote, O’Leary and Lewis will join councillors Chris Chaulk and Tom Cantwell, who are holdovers from the existing council.
“I think everyone should be given a chance (top be mayor),” added O’Leary. “I don’t think it should be automatically given to one of the two remaining members.”
Former deputy mayor Lewis, who came third with 123 votes, said he had not given thought to seeking the mayor’s chair, and noted council will have to meet before those decisions are made.
The byelection was called after three councillors, including the recently elected Lewis, resigned due to the fallout from a budget spat between the Town Hall and the fire department that also saw the Town’s long-time manager resign.
Lewis said in light of everything that happened after the December budget meeting, consideration will have to be given as to whether “the budget was still the budget.”
Both Foote and O’Leary, however, seem certain that due to provincial legislation, there is little that can be done now, given that the budget has been passed for this year.
“Once the budget has been submitted, and to my belief the budget has been submitted for this year, there are no changes we can make for this year,” said Foote. “But it is something we can certainly look at moving forward, and we can make sure that all parties are involved. Maybe the biggest issue here was a lack of communication between everybody involved. Sometimes that creates problems. So, in the future we’ll work on making sure that everybody knows upfront what’s going on and where we’re going… Hopefully we can put those issues in the past and find a way to move forward, start a new chapter, and move on doing what’s best for the town.”
O’Leary is of a similar mind.
“I don’t know what each group were given in the budget,” said O’Leary. “And as of March 31, no rates can be changed in that budget, so I’m just assuming now that we’ll go ahead this fiscal year, this calendar year, with the approved budget. Should emergencies arise we’ll deal with it at that time. We’ll just have to muck it through.”
Lewis, who said he believes that three good candidates were elected to council, said the first order of business is to hire a new town clerk.
“We’ve got to round up someone for clerk duties, and once we get a new clerk and get the office up and running, along with the new councillors, I think things will run smoothly,” he ventured.
Of the 400 registered voters in Avondale, 278 cast votes, resulting in a voter turn out of 69.5 percent.
O’Leary applauded the high turnout.
“We had a great voter turnout,” said O’Leary. “That amount of people showing up and casting their vote for who they think can help the town makes you feel good.”
O’Leary hopes council will act as a unified group and work with each of the individual volunteer groups in the community.
“As I’ve said before, the volunteers are the backbone of any organization or community, and if we cannot support them and work together, we’re not going to go anywhere,” he said.
He said he will also petition for better infrastructure in the town.
Foote, meanwhile, applauded those who ran for election and expressed his thanks to all who voted.
The byelection’s five other candidates included Barbara McGrath-Barber with 113 votes, Tom Gushue with 97, Donna Phillips with 48, Caroline Cantwell with 33, and Susann Fifield-Costigan with 26. The ninth candidate, Jon Furneaux, withdrew his nomination ahead of voting day.