Mayor-elect eager to address housing, healthcare and crime concerns
Southern Victoria voters chose a new path for municipal leadership Monday, selecting Tamara Titus McPhail over incumbent Cindy McLaughlin. The mayor-elect beat her opponent 572 votes to 550.
Only one incumbent Southern Victoria councillor, Sheila Cummings, retained her seat.
Rodney L. Brayall easily won the councillor-at-large seat with 721 votes over Jason Martin with 366.
In Ward 1, Joe Gee edged incumbent Todd McGuire 101-97. Ward 2 winners were Ethan Shaw, 499; Tommy Dixon, 427; and incumbent Sheila Cummings, 402. Incumbent Paul Legace and Daneil S. Sooley lost the Ward 2 race, with 361 and 182 votes, respectively. In Ward 3, Miranda L. Francis-Perley beat Sara Plant by one ballot, 104-103.
“I’m very happy to be representing the residents… It was a very close election, it felt like there was a lot at stake to move forward and I’m honoured to take the responsibility,” Titus McPhail said. “I am very grateful for the confidence people put into me.”
The mayor-elect served two terms on the council before running for the mayor’s seat. She said voters were concerned about affordable housing, health care, crime and subsidized housing. She is eager to work with the new council to address these issues.
‘We have an excellent team in the new council. I have a lot of confidence in their ability, and I’m eager to get to work,” she said. “There’s lots to do.”
The mayor-elect noted there was a lot of interest in this municipal election, with 1,133 voters casting a ballot, 56.85 percent of the eligible voters, a 20-percentage point increase over the provincial average.
The new municipal council represents the villages of Perth-Andover and Aroostook, and parts of the local service districts of Perth and Andover. Southern Victoria now represents about 3,000 residents with a service area of 6,500 people. The community is also one of three New Brunswick municipalities to have its own electric utility, the Perth-Andover Electric Light Commission.
CUTLINE: Southern Victoria residents selected a new mayor in Monday’s municipal election, Tamara Titus McPhail. Celebrating the win at her father’s home was, left to right, Tamara Titus McPhail, friends Marg and Burpee Wagner, and sister and brother-in-law Deann and Tim Titus.
