Councillors to pick warden, deputy warden Tuesday night

BY KIRK STARRATT

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The newly elected incarnation of Kings County council will be sworn in Tuesday, Nov. 4, but the voting is far from over.

That’s because councillors get to choose, from among their ranks, who will serve as Warden and Deputy Warden for the coming term.

Who will be nominated for Warden or Deputy Warden or who will be in favour of standing as candidates remains to be seen, but the current warden and deputy warden are both willing and prepared to serve council and the community once again.

Current Warden Fred Whalen, who was re-elected as councillor for District 4 in the Oct. 18 municipal election over opponents Bil Scott, Jason Langille and Adrian Doherty, said he is running for the position of warden again. Whalen, who has been warden for eight years, said he has found it interesting and challenging, especially the last four years.

It’s interesting in the sense that he’s had the opportunity to meet so many different people and challenging because, even though you try, you can’t please everyone all the time.

One reason why the last term was so interesting keyed on what council was able to accomplish, as well as ongoing initiatives. For example, the county’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) is well on its way with the recent completion of a consultant’s report. Whalen said the plan is important in terms of continuing to receive federal gas tax revenue and the county is doing its best to be environmentally sustainable.

Appreciates involvement in Atlantic Mayors’ Congress

Another reason Whalen said he would like to serve again as warden is his involvement in the Atlantic Mayors’ Congress, established by Halifax Regional Municipality Mayor Peter Kelly.

Whalen is the only warden involved. The organization is starting to accomplish a lot in terms of advocating for economic development in the Atlantic region and it helped lobby successfully for federal gas tax funding. Whalen said he’d also like to continue pursuing economic development opportunities with Scotland.

Whalen said the county now has an anti-racism and anti-discrimination committee and he gives current Deputy Warden Diana Brothers a lot of credit for getting the municipality involved in the initiative. The committee started with four citizen volunteers expressing an interest to serve, but that has since increased to seven. “There is an interest,” Whalen said. “I think we can make a difference.”

Brothers said council colleagues have approached her about reoffering as deputy warden and she is willing to continue serving council and community. Brothers was re-elected by acclamation in District 6 in the Oct. 18 municipal election. Her peers have elected her deputy warden on a number of occasions. “I have enjoyed my years as deputy warden and I’ve worked hard at it,” she said. “I certainly will serve in any way the council wishes.”

Brothers said the important thing is council works together as a team and makes Kings County a better place.