Victoria mayor confident in new council

by Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Roughly five months after the provincial government dissolved Victoria town council due to infighting, a new council was elected this May.

The newly minted council has since named Sharon Penney mayor, and Kelly Loch deputy mayor.
The May election was Penney’s first time running for municipal council, and not only was she successful in her bid for council member, but she also received the greatest number of votes of all the candidates.

“It was kind of a shock,” Penney said. “I did not think I would be anywhere near the top of the vote poll, but it was gratifying to see that so many people would place their faith in that I was able to do a good job.”
Penney said if there had been a separate ballot for mayor, her name would not have been on it as she did not think it was a job someone could do without prior experience. “But, given the breadth of the new council, just about everybody had no previous experience,” she said.

All of the new councillors encouraged Penney to seek the mayorship. Kelly Loch nominated her, and this nomination was seconded and voted on. “I’m happy that they think I’m going to be a good candidate to lead us all forward and be a voice for them as well as the town,” said Penney.

When asked what she can bring the Town of Victoria in her role as mayor, Penney said she is level-headed and can bring people together to talk through situations and arrive at a consensus. “It might not be the vote that everybody would have taken initially, but after discussion and give and take, we can come together as a council and do what’s best for Victoria,” she said.

Penney said council intends to implement the recommendations made to them by Chris Stamp, the provincial government administrator who oversaw town operations following the previous council’s dismissal.

“Mr. Stamp has also left some areas open for us to discuss and develop policy further,” said Penney. “And we intend to follow his example and put unambiguous plans in place and unambiguous policies so that there will be no contention as to if this is what is meant, or if this is what the intention was.”

As for how the new council is getting along, Penney said they are very excited, communicate well, and are working cohesively. “We have good discussions in our council meetings,” she said. “Everybody has a voice. Everybody gets to express their voice, and we continue from there. So far, our decisions have been unanimous, so I think that speaks well to A, the policies that Mr. Stamp has put in place, and B, to the fact that we are going to move ahead as a unit.”

Penney believes the new council will be able to avoid the issues and conflict the previous council experienced. “There are so many new voices on the council that there is no room for rehashing of old grievances,” she said. “We have an agenda that we have to move forward with, and nowhere on that agenda is bringing up the past. The past is in the past, and we as a council are committed to moving forward from that point.”

Penney has served on the executive of other organizations in the past. In these roles, she learned how to work collaboratively, a skill that she thinks she can bring to council as mayor and use to avoid conflict and dysfunction.

“Every organization I’ve ever been part of in an executive position has always been made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds,” said Penney. “This council is no different. And everywhere where you get diverse backgrounds and diverse interests, you get diverse opinions. But, because I’ve experienced being in leadership positions, I have had to develop the skills to bring people around, to bring people to a collective decision, and that is exactly what’s going to happen in this council.”