The results are in!

Mark Walas is the new mayor of Brighton with 2660 votes to Brian's 2239.
The new elected council members are:
Mike Vandertoorn
Mary Tadman
Craig Kerr
John Martinello
Thomas Rittwage
Emily Rowley

Eligible electors 8518
Votes cast 4960
Percentage 58.23
According to Gayle Frost voters were lined up out the door at the Brighton office past 8 p.m. this evening.
Tiffany "T.J."LeBlanc Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Still waiting

The clock ticks closer to nine as candidates and public await the election results.

The results, which were expected to be announced shortly after eight this evening, are likely not going to be announced before nine.

Tiffany "T.J."LeBlanc Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Candidates anxiously await the results

Brighton candidates await word of the results of the 2010 election.
Tom Rittwage, Mike Vandertoorn, Mary Tadman, Mary McEwan, Cassal Larmer, Wayne Armstrong and Mark Walas mingle with the public and chat amongst themselves.
Tiffany "T.J."LeBlanc Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Candidates begin arriving at Community Centre

Candidates begin arriving at the community centre amongst a handful of public attendants.

As the clock counrs down the minutes everyone is wondering if the election results will come in as quickly as expected.

Tiffany "T.J."LeBlanc Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Election Results expected in Brighton before 9 p.m.

Following the first mail-in ballot election, Brighton residents can likely expect to hear the final results sometime before nine tonight.

According to a number of candidates the votes should be tabulated within one hour of the 8 p.m. voting cut off.

The Independent will be on location at the King Edward Community shortly. Follow us here or on twitter @north_news.

Tiffany "T.J."LeBlanc Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Election Day Brighton

Election day gets underway in Brighton this morning as candidates await this evening's announcement.

If you haven't already cast your vote, you can still drop off your ballot to the Brighton Municipal office before 8 p.m. this evening.

Follow this blog or visit www.northumberlandnews.com for up to date election coverage for the Municipality of Brighton. Also, follow us on twitter @north_news.


Tiffany "T.J."LeBlanc Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Will Christine Herrington run for council?

As the nomination deadline approaches one can't help but wonder if Christine Herrington will run for Brighton Council. 

Mayor Herrington filed her nomination papers on April 27 and later withdrew from the mayoral race on July19. She  never stated specifically why she withdrew, but did say that Brighton residents could be assured that her passion and commitment to the community would not change. 

During a public announcement Mayor Herrington said she would "continue to make a contribution, whatever that might be in the future". 

With just 3 days left before nomination papers are due, perhaps Mayor Herrington will make a contribution by running for council, at least that's what some people are saying. 

Ostrander supports cooling off Brighton's citizens

Brian Ostrander recently announced his support for a splash pad at King Edward Park which, he says, is long overdue. 

"The parents, children and grand parents of our community know that a splash pad, located centrally in Brighton, is long overdue," Councillor Ostrander said. "Brighton has grown by leaps and bounds and it is time to invest in our community again." 

Without a doubt investing in the community is certainly important, but is a splash pad really the best way to do that? After Monday's council meeting and a heated debate between council and members of the public whose homes have been flooded out a number of times the last few years, perhaps tax payer money would be better spent fixing the aging storm drains in the older urban areas.

Or what about the $3,483,347.89 loan council took out through the Royal Bank of Canada to fund the incurred arena expansion, community centre construction and water plant capital costs? The annual payment on this loan is estimated to be a whopping $164,039.57. Can Brighton Council really afford for Brighton residents to cool off or will an expensive splash pad just bring a little more heat to the already tense council meetings of late?

One more mayoral candidate, and one less

During an announcement at King Edward Park today, Councillor Brian Ostrander announced that he would be running for mayor in the 2010 municipal election, but before he could elaborate further he stepped aside and allowed Mayor Christine Herrington to take the stage. 

" I am just here today to let everyone know that I am withdrawing my candidacy to seek reelection as mayor in the municipality of Brighton in the 2010 election in October," Mayor Herrington said. 

She went on to say that there were a couple of reasons that caused her to come to this decision, the main one stemming from family input. This was obviously a difficult decision for the Mayor as she became emotional during the announcement. 

"I will never stop being passionate about Brighton and I will continue to make a contribution whatever that might be in the future. In the meantime I just want to wish Brian every success in October and beyond," she said. 

As Mr. Ostrander reclaimed the stage he acknowledged Mayor Herrington's decision and quickly regrouped his audience. 

" I think we can all appreciate how emotional this decision was and how very personal this decision was for you. Now, let's make no mistake my friends, Brian Ostrander in the mayor's office will not be business as usual," he said. 

Although Mr. Ostrander is several weeks away from completing his election platform, he undoubtedly had some concrete plans. 

"Over the course of the coming weeks I will be outlining a platform for this election. Some of those initiatives will include measures such as asking council to impose a hiring freeze on municipal staffing. Staff hiriing has reached a level that should deal well into the future.

 I will also ask council to consider freezing the current residential tax rate for the first two years of our next term. The current tax rate sits at just over half a percent of assessment. It is my opinion that this is sufficient to meet budgeting needs in our municipality and will allow our tax payers to have predictable  taxation levels for their own household budgets. 

I also commit to asking council, that if they see a need to increase tax rates after the first two years, that they do so at no more than the cost of living increases. I have long argued that our tax increases should never exceed cost of living increases and many members of council have agreed," he said. 

In an ever-expanding community Mr. Ostrander has certainly got his work cut out for him. Persistent flooding is leaving residents fuming, dated infrastructure is in desperate need of assessment and a slew of new homes popping up throughout the community is leading to even more concerns. Will Mr. Ostrander be up to the job? So he thinks. 

"Our community has begun to tackle some very important issues and inititatives that have been the direct result of growth pressures. inititatives around the table, that have included the Brighton specific growth plan, have taken into account provincial regulations and local needs. To date these have resulted  in our new official plan which we see the passage of. As the chair of our growth management committee, and hopefully as your next mayor, I remain committed to developping policies and practices that will allow our community to grow at a sustainable and realistic level." he said.

Chris Herrington declares candidacy

Brighton's incumbent mayor Chris Herrington is the municipality's first candidate for the 2010 municipal election.

Ms. Herrington announced her intention to seek a third term in Memorial Park, Tuesday, April 27 at 10 a.m.

During the announcement the Maor issued the following release;

On Tuesday morning, I filed papers declaring my candidacy for my third term as mayor of the Municipality of Brighton.

We are blessed to have so many great people working on so many excellent initiatives in this municipality and I am very committed to maintaining and building on the momentum we are enjoying.

Our unprecedented growth has brought some pressures on staff capacity and in response this Council has worked to build a solid staff team to help us continue our accomplishments. I am confident we now have the right people in place to implement the directives of Council for the balance of this term and well into the next.

The current Council adopted a plan in its early days and has been working on tourism, industrial and commercial economic development, quality of life, improvement of waterfront lands and resource conservation while ensuring sustainability.

 We have good relationships to the east with Quinte Economic Development Commission, particularly in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, and with Quinte West on health care related initiatives. To the west we have a good relationship with Northumberland County, and we’re working with our agricultural sector and tourism as well as on industrial and manufacturing opportunities. We may never have a large industrial base in Brighton and so it is very important to accelerate our efforts with these partners to ensure there are employers looking for our skilled workers located within an easy commute of Brighton.

We are extremely fortunate to have Canadian Forces Base Trenton as a neighbour. The unprecedented construction activity contributes to our economic well-being and members of the Canadian Forces add to the culture and character of our community. They are our friends and neighbours and we celebrate and grieve at their side.

I have great respect for Brighton’s thriving downtown and want to assure continued support for our retail sector as Council makes planning and related decisions in the future.

Brighton is experiencing a renaissance of all of the arts in Brighton, helping our Creative Economy take hold. I believe the potential is unlimited when arts, commerce, and tourism come together and Council must take an active role in advancing the link.

I have had the privilege of sitting at the Network Brighton table and watched partnerships inspire initiatives to benefit the community. Mutual success stories from representatives of the DBIA, the Chamber, Presqu’ile Park, Brighton Farmer’s Market, Brighton Economic  Development Committee, Codrington Community Association, and  the Brighton Arts Council are growing. Last summer’s shuttle bus between Presqu’ile and the downtown is a wonderful example of the power of cooperation.

Brighton is partnering with the school board on the ENSS/Community Track and Sports Field and I believe partnerships such as this strengthen our community in many ways.

Brighton is growing and its leadership needs to embrace a spirit of cooperation in order to facilitate this evolution to protect the quality of life for its residents while moving forward in a viable and sustainable manner.

I am proud of my accomplishments and the successes experienced by council and the citizens of this incredible municipality. I look forward to four more years of mutual achievements.

Together, we can continue to prepare Brighton for a prosperous future while respecting our heritage.
Thank you for your time today, and thank you for all you do for Brighton.

Chris Herrington, Mayor
Municipality of Brighton