Wellesley council will have three new faces around the table on December 1 after voters elected Joe Nowak as mayor, along with Peter van der Maas for Ward 3 and Carl Smit for Ward 4. Incumbents Shelley Wagner (Ward 1) and Herb Neher (Ward 2) were re-elected.
![Mayor-elect Joe Nowak (right) attended Tuesday night’s session of Wellesley council, presided over by retiring Mayor Ross Kelterborn.[Whitney Neilson / The Observer]](https://www.observerxtra.com/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/feature_wellesley.jpg)
Nowak defeated councillors Jim Olender and Paul Hergott for the position, with 1,301 votes, a 56.7 per cent majority. Olender secured 516 votes (22.5 per cent), with Hergott bringing in 478 (20.9 per cent). They both served two terms as councillor.
Only 29 per cent of eligible Wellesley Township voters bothered to cast a ballot on October 27, the first contested election since 2006. In the last municipal election in 2010 all of the Wellesley candidates were acclaimed.
Nowak said he has a lot of thoughts about his new position and the learning curve he faces in regards to process at the regional council.
“I’ve had a chance to talk with all the new councillors in one form or another and I’m very encouraged by the support I’ve received from them and the goodwill,” Nowak said. “I think we’ve got a tremendous team and we’ll certainly be able to work together and move this township forward.”
The two-term former Ward 3 councillor said in the short term the new council will have to work to get a new chief administrative officer to replace the retiring CAO, Willis McLaughlin. Shortly thereafter they’ll be starting their 2015 budget deliberations and his goal is to keep any sort of tax increase at or below the rate of inflation.
“I’m going to meet a tremendous amount of people over the next little while, especially at the region and I’m looking forward to learning more about the process,” Nowak said. “I’m just looking forward to meeting all sorts of great people. The region has a tremendous amount of talent and I think it’ll be really exciting to meet with some of them.”
He added the bottom line is he’s very anxious to get going. He said it’s almost unfortunate they have to wait a month before they can really dig in. Current major Ross Kelterborn announced his retirement this spring after 12 years leading council.
“I’m sure we’re going to be able to move this township forward,” Nowak said.
Wagner said she was disappointed by the low number of people who voted, despite the campaign across the province to encourage higher voter turnouts. She said she doesn’t know why people aren’t exercising their right to vote.
The election done, she’s looking forward to the next term.
“I think that the new council will be good. Change is always hard but change is good,” Wagner said.
She was elected with 99 votes in her ward (56.9 per cent), over Murray Frey’s 75 (43.1). This will be her third term as a Wellesley councillor.
“I hope that we continue to keep things on track, keeping the taxes low, spending the money we have wisely and still building the reserves, seeing our infrastructure improve,” Wagner said. “The last eight years we’ve done well with those things.”
Neher was elected over Butch Voisin with 208 votes (73.2 per cent). Voisin had 76 votes (26.8 per cent).
“I thought the mayor’s contest would have been tighter but you know the people vote and you can’t do anything about it,” Neher said. “The people have spoken and you leave it at that.”
He said in his eight years in the job he thinks council has done a great job. He said the township is in good financial shape, has good reserves, and has made good decisions.
“We just motor ahead and try to keep taxes down as much as possible and yet at the same time look at ways to improve services to the taxpayers,” Neher said.
He said he’s looking forward to getting the position of CAO filled since McLaughlin will be leaving in January. That’s going to be a challenge, he added.
“Another area that I’m looking at is the transfer station,” Neher said. “That has to be revisited. Complete closure doesn’t have to be the only solution.”
Van der Maas, a retired teacher and resident of Wellesley Village, was the first Ward 3 candidate to throw his name into the ring back in the spring. He was voted in over Andrew Brenner with 568 votes (58.4 per cent). Brenner had 404 ballots (41.6 per cent) cast for him.
He said this is his first time entering a municipal election and he’s pleased with the results.
“I think there are a number of things council has to do,” van der Maas said. “In realistic terms, in immediate terms what I’d like to do is encourage more community cohesion in the village and a little more communication and interaction among village residents. We’ve grown very quickly.”
He said it’s important for the life of the village for people to get together and support one another. He added the council has a complex future ahead of it as far as growth and development is concerned.
“I’m looking forward to working with council as a team,” van der Maas said. “I know some of the people on council already so I’m looking forward to working with them. I think it can be a very effective contributor to township life.”
Smit had the most competition of the four wards, with three other candidates jockeying for the one position. Smit won out with 418 (51 per cent) of Ward 4 voters choosing him as their representative. Brian Cunningham had 212 votes (25.9 per cent), Andrew Epp had 160 votes (19.5 per cent), and Gord Doehn had 29 votes (3.5 per cent).
“There were four good, qualified candidates for our ward and everyone did a really good job,” Smit said.
The former police officer said he’s looking forward to representing the constituents in the best way possible.
“I’d like to revisit the fire hall and aerial truck,” Smit said. “It’s somewhat of a hot-button issue.”
He said he’s not in favour of the proposed new fire hall and aerial truck. The land for the new fire hall has already been purchased, but the decision to build it will reside with the new council.
“My hopes are that the three other councillors and the mayor, we can work together and continue the previous administration’s good work.”
