Sturgeon County has its first new mayor in nine years – Tom Flynn – who says he plans to take the county on a new, more collaborative course with its neighbours.
Flynn was declared the winner of the 2013 Sturgeon County mayoral election Tuesday night at about 10:30 p.m., beating incumbent Don Rigney 3,560 to 1,980.
It was a decisive victory, said Flynn, one that sends a strong message to council about its recent actions. “We can't continually go around and poke people in the eye and expect their co-operation,” he said. “We're far wiser to collaborate.”
Flynn said he would try to take the county in a direction that was more co-operative with its neighbours. “We can't always be on the offence,” he said. “We have to give and take.”
He was confident that such an approach would help the county's municipal development plan pass muster at the Capital Region Board and yield improved support from the province. “I think we'll get real good co-operaion from them very soon.”
Flynn will be surrounded by unfamiliar faces when he returns to council next week: with the exception of Karen Shaw, every other incumbent councillor was turfed in Monday's election.
Flynn said his first priority would be to meet with the new council to set priorities with them. “It isn't all up to me. It's a collaborative thing.”
Next would be to set the 2014 budget. After that would come a comprehensive look for efficiencies in the county's administration and operations. “That's not a simple one-night project,” he said, and would take time.
County residents should expect a more collaborative council that puts renewed emphasis on the community and local business, Flynn said. “The people talked loud about what we were not doing to take care of people who were in the county,” he said. “We had too much focus on what could be and were not paying attention to the businesses and the people where were here right now.”
While the county would still work on the industrial heartland, Flynn said council would put more effort into expanding industrial parks in other parts of the county. “The guys who helped build this county, we have to help them grow as well.”
Rigney could not be reached for comment Tuesday night despite repeated attempts.
For complete election coverage, including photos, pick up a copy of the Oct. 23 edition of The St. Albert Gazette.
