The doctor is in at Harbour Grace council

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

This past month’s municipal election resulted in a mix of old and new faces on Harbour Grace council in a race that drew one of the largest slates of candidates in the province.
Among the newcomers who got an endorsement from voters was Dr. Gary Baker, a well-respected doctor who specialized in pathology at Carbonear General Hospital. With 877 votes, Baker received the greatest number of votes among the 15 candidates for council during the election. So, at council’s first meeting of the new term, held October 15, his colleagues quickly selected him as deputy mayor.
At the top of the council order is Mayor Terry Barnes, who defeated former mayor Don Coombs in the election with a vote of 720-656. Barnes previously served as mayor from 2013-2017. He also served as a councillor from 2021-2025.

Among the veterans re-elected were Gordon Stone, who also served for over five years on the community council of Harbour Grace South, Keith Skinner, who served as deputy mayor from 2021-2025, and Lee Rogers, who is serving in his second consecutive term.
Also elected was Sharon Reynolds, who was elected to council in 2021, but resigned about a year into the term to take a job as facility manager at the Danny Cleary Community Centre.
The other newcomer to council, aside from Dr. Baker, is Christina Hearn, who moved to Harbour Grace in 2019 and has been involved with the Harbour Grace Board of Culture, Innovation, and Business, the Harbour Authority board, and the Town’s special events committee.