Caleb Nickerson
THORNE Oct. 25, 2017
A long-serving councillor and municipal employee is taking a shot at the mayoral chair in the municipality of Thorne.
Karen Daly Kelly has lived in the area for 42 years and has served on the local council for the past eight. Before that, she held several jobs within the municipality for ten years, including director general.
“You name it, I did it,” she said with a laugh.
She said that she has been volunteering in the local community and with the Thorne Community Recreation Association (TCRA) for many years as well.
She said that one of her biggest priorities was working to increase tourism to the area, as cottagers make up a large portion of the local tax base.
“We have beautiful lakes but now it’s just a matter of creating places for [cottagers] to come and enjoy,” she said.
She said that she would work to memorialize and promote several of the old communities and historic sites in the area that faded out over the years, like Schwartz and Greermount.
“It’s a very nice town. It needs tourism to survive and I think we can work towards that,” she said.
She said she was prompted to run in order to bring about a positive change, alluding to the legal struggle between the council and TCRA that has divided the community.
“There needs to be a more positive feel to the town,” she said.
If elected, Kelly said her priorities would be to keep taxes low and local roads maintained, especially in the winter months.
“Thorne is a very scattered area. There are people that work in the city and they need to be able to get out,” she said. “That is a very important aspect of our community, especially in winter time.”
She also said she would advocate for better cell and internet service in the area, which will be difficult due to the hilly terrain in the area.
“We don’t have a line of sight to any of the towers, so cell phones very seldom work up here,” she said. “I want to convince some of the communications people, the CRTC and the MRC to work on that aspect.”

Terry Murdock is seeking his second term as mayor in the municipality of Thorne. He said that the municipality is in great financial shape and one of the fastest growing areas of the Pontiac.

Murdock: low taxes, continued growth

Caleb Nickerson
THORNE Oct. 25, 2017
The incumbent mayor in the municipality of Thorne is looking to maintain his promise of keeping tax increases at zero.
Terry Murdock has lived in Thorne for the past 26 years, but originally hails from Clarendon. The former police officer has studied law at Carleton University and once served as the deputy mayor of Portage du Fort. He said that the municipality is currently in great shape financially and is one of the fastest growing communities in the Pontiac.
“That’s why we haven’t raised the taxes in four years, we have an ample amount of money,” he said. “Did you know that Thorne in the last four years has issued 237 new building permits? Our full-time population grew by 156 people over the last five years.”
He said that one of the biggest challenges that Thorne faced in his term as mayor was the dispute with the Thorne Community Recreation Association (TCRA), the organization that has owned the municipal hall and surrounding grounds since 1989. The municipality engaged in a lengthy legal battle with the TCRA over ownership of the property, ending with the association selling a portion of the land back to the council for $1.
“Right now we don’t have a whole lot of challenges other than the fact that we’re building buildings,” Murdock said. “We’ve never had a municipal garage or a decent fire hall. I’m using our gas tax to build these with federal money.”
He said that tourism was a big driver of the local economy, since Ladysmith is situated at the crossroads of Hwy. 301 and Hwy. 366.
“The biggest tourist attraction in the Pontiac is the TNOs [non-organized territories],” he said. “Hundreds of people go up there every weekend with their four-wheelers and they hunt and fish. They come right through here.”
He said that he would advocate for Hwy. 366 to be paved between Ladysmith and Wolf Lake in order to help both tourism and locals who commute to the city for work.
He was also extremely adament about his main campaign promise: no tax increases.
“Why would we want our ratepayers’ money in our savings account when we don’t need it?” he said. “Let them keep it in their savings account.”

LITCHFIELD

Larivière seeks second mandate

Caleb Nickerson
LITCHFIELD Oct. 25, 2017
The incumbent mayor for Litchfield says she will continue to build upon the progress she and her colleagues made in their previous mandate.
Colleen Larivière has lived in the municipality for the past 12 years but has owned property there for 16. She served as the director general in neighbouring Campbell’s Bay for 20 years and currently splits her time between the municipal office and her position as director general of the Friends of St. Joseph’s Manor retirement home, which she has held since 2012.
“In the past four years, we’ve really moved forward,” she said. “Council worked together to make things happen and I’m very proud of what’s been accomplished.”
She said that road maintenance is a priority, since the municipality sprawls all the way from Portage du Fort to Otter Lake and Fort Coulonge.
“We’re going to continue working with a structured agenda for municipal road repairs,” she said. “We put that in place about four years ago, it works well for us. Roads are one of our priorities so we need to maintain them.”
She also pointed to the municipal finances as well as the newly constructed town hall as a triumph of her previous term.
“I definitely will work hard on maintaining our current tax rate, which has not increased in three years,” she said. “I want to emphasize that with all the improvements – including our new municipal building – we’ve maintained a balanced budget.”
She added that she would continue to support community initiatives like the recent splash pad project.
“We want to continue working together with the taxpayers and the leisure committee because I know we can accomplish many more great things,” she said. “It also provides a sense of community spirit.”
She concluded by saying she was enjoying getting out to knock on doors this election season.
“It’s a big territory but I’m trying to get to everybody,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed going door-to-door. It gives me a great opportunity to speak to the residents. The people of Litchfield are great people.”

Brian “Champ” Corriveau is running for mayor of the municipality of Litchfield. He said he would attract new families to the area by working to ease restrictions on construction and development of the waterfront.

Corriveau: improve roads, development

Caleb Nickerson
LITCHFIELD Oct. 25, 2017
A local farmer and former councillor is looking to become the new mayor of Litchfield this election.
Brian “Champ” Corriveau has lived in the municipality his whole life and currently operates a beef farm situated along Hwy. 148. He has volunteered in several capacities, coaching minor hockey and volunteering with the local R.A.
He took a break from politics last election cycle, but before that he served as a councillor for 16 years.
“[I want to] take our municipality in a different direction, be more progressive,” he said. “We have a chance with the newly elected warden to bring opportunities into our municipality.”
He said he would work to remove restrictions on construction in the region in order to attract new families to the region.
“The main challenge is getting the community to grow. We’re in the decline. There’s no jobs,” he said “People are moving out and we have to give incentives … for growth.”
He said that other priorities would be maintaining local roads and advocating for the development on the shores of the Ottawa River.
“The Pontiac is the only part that’s undeveloped,” he said, pointing to other areas in Quebec and across the border in Ontario with riverfront infrastructure. “We have a golden opportunity to bring up new people, new families to the Pontiac.”
Corriveau added that he would also work with community groups like the Litchfield Leisure Committee to promote development for families with children.
“[We need to] keep that going and expand the play area, the kid’s structures to turn it into a real park for the young kids,” he said.
Corriveau concluded by saying that the people and the beautiful scenery are what he loves most about Litchfield.
“Our community is a very friendly community. We’re very open, if you ever need any help, people help each other,” he said. “It’s a beauty, we’ve got the rivers, the lakes the land. We have so much to offer.”

Allumette Island

O’Brien: “proven track record” to mayor’s seat
caleb nickerson
ALLUMETTE ISLAND Oct. 25, 2017
A long-time councillor and community organizer is running for the top seat on the Allumette Island municipal council.
Gene O’Brien has a staggering resumé when it comes to community involvement, with 15 years of council experience, 13 years as president of the local tourism committee and work on regional councils like CISSS Pontiac and TransporAction. She is also the president of West Pontiac Connects, a non-profit that helps reduce the barriers for young people in search of employment.
She said that local roads are her biggest priority, as they are the largest infrastructure expense for the council. She explained that federal gas tax revenues couldn’t be spent on municipal roads following the amalgamation of Allumette Island east and west with Chapeau, as the money was prioritized for water and sewer upkeep in the village.
“An improved road maintenance program will extend the life of the infrastructure, prevent premature failure, increase our ratepayers’ satisfaction and reduce the cost of rebuilding roads,” she wrote in an email.
She said that she would work to address the area’s ongoing issues with spotty hydro service as well as the lack of cell and internet infrastructure.
“There have been three major breaks in the cable and it has left most of the Pontiac without landline service and internet service,” she wrote. “Communication concerns need to be a priority for all municipalit[ies] and the county.”
She also said she would look to attract businesses to the area through an incentive program as well as attract tourists by getting more representation at a regional, provincial and federal level.
“I am an individual that has a proven record that my community comes first and I am willing to fight any issue at any level of government for the people of the island,” she wrote.

Local businessman and former fire chief Kevin Vickers is taking a run at the mayor’s seat on Allumette Island. He said his priorities would be to improve local roads and reassess how the municipality handles waste management.

Vickers wants a “new direction” for council

caleb nickerson
ALLUMETTE ISLAND Oct. 25, 2017
An entrepreneur and business owner on Allumette Island is taking a run at the mayor’s seat with more than a few ideas of how to improve the municipality.
Kevin Vickers has lived on the island his whole life and served as the local fire chief for 15 years.
He has worked in a range of businesses, from construction to land development and currently operates Vick’s Resto Bar and Allumette Outfitters Resort.
“It’s my first run at municipal politics but I’ve been a businessperson and an entrepreneur here in the municipality for 24 years,” he said. “Basically, I’d just like to see the municipality go in a different direction.”
Vickers said that his slogan, “a new vision, new direction” refers to several areas of municipal operations.
“Roads are a big issue,” he said. “The current council, for the past two terms basically have not initiated preventative maintenance on the roads.”
He said that in a municipality with well over 100 km of roads, upkeep is essential to attract potential homebuyers and tourists.
Another area that Vickers addressed was local waste management policy. He said he would work to increase the number of bags allotted to each household and pursue a “better deal” for local residents.
He also pointed to local composting as an area that needed improvement.
“We have no composting within the municipality,” he said. “I’d like to see some sort of commercial level compost facility at our transfer site.”
Vickers concluded by saying he would ensure accountability at the MRC and work to restructure municipal departments to improve efficiency.

Winston Sunstrom is a retired school principal and a two-term incumbent mayor running for re-election on Allumette Island. He said that maintaining the roads was a top priority in order to keep the municipality on its trajectory of growth.

Sunstrom seeks third term
Caleb Nickerson
ALLUMETTE ISLAND Oct. 25, 2017
The two-term incumbent mayor on Allumette Island is defending his chair from two challengers this election season.
Winston Sunstrom has lived on the island full-time since 2001 but has owned property there since 1980. In 2005, after being encouraged by several locals, the retired school principal was elected to council and successfully ran for mayor the following two terms. He also currently owns a stake in a local restaurant.
He didn’t hesitate when asked about the biggest issue facing his community.
“The biggest issue in the municipality is roads. We have 140 km of roads and so it’s a challenge to keep them in repair without raising the property taxes really high,” he explained. “We have a plan for that though. We’re in a program called PIIRL, with the ministry of transport. We have 56 km of our roads identified for repair with a 90 per cent grant through the Ministry of Transport.”
Sunstrom also pointed to the fact that Allumette Island is the highest taxed municipality in the Pontiac as a source of complaints. However, he also said that it’s a sign the land in the area is highly sought after.
“We have some excellent waterfront here and people pay good money for it,” he said. “There’s a demand for it, so that drives up our assessment the higher the properties sell.”
“My main objective is to keep our municipality on the [track] it’s on now,” he continued. “We have, for some time, been on a path for growth. Our properties are selling; homes and cottages are being constructed.”
He pointed to his work with the agriculture committee at the MRC as an accomplishment in his previous term, as they identified 100 lots on agricultural land that could be severed for construction. He said he was proud of what he and his fellow council members accomplished in their previous mandate.
“We have a reputation as being progressive and wanting to improve and we strive for that continuously,” Sunstrom said.

ALLEYN ET CAWOOD

Councillor Milford enters mayoral race

Caleb Nickerson
ALLEYN ET CAWOOD Oct. 25, 2017
A former Alleyn et Cawood councillor is looking to make the leap to the position of mayor this election season.
Kim Milford has lived in the community for over 30 years and has served on council for the past two terms. She said she is working to promote change in her beloved municipality.
“Our biggest issues are trying to retain youth and trying to attract businesses that will create jobs,” she said. “I would really like to see the taxes kept down. Being on council for the last eight years, we’ve managed to have very slim increases in the taxes. I would really like to see that because we have a lot of people on fixed incomes. These people can’t afford to keep their houses if the taxes keep going up.”
Milford said she would like to study ways that business could be enticed to set up shop in the municipality. She said many residents are forced to move to the city or commute in order to find work.
“Some stay but very few because they need to go to the city for a good job,” she said.
Milford believes she is a fair person and said that if elected, she would be open to the concerns of her constituents.
“Everybody deserves to be listened to,” she said. “I’d like to see this community prosper and not only look out for our residents, but also our cottagers because they are a huge part of our tax base.”
The best aspect of the municipality, according to Milford, is the people.
“It’s a small, personal community. Good neighbours,” she said. “We’ve had our issues with the landfill project that was [proposed] for here. It really divided the community and it’s just now getting back to the way it was.”
Editor’s note: Milford declined to provide a picture to accompany her story. “I’m not a person for pictures, you could say,” she said.

Carl Mayer is looking to keep his position as mayor of Alleyn et Cawood, where he has lived his entire life. He said that maintaining municipal roads with the limited funds the municipality receives would be his biggest priority.

Mayer for mayor
Caleb Nickerson
ALLEYN ET CAWOOD
Oct. 25, 2017
The current mayor of Alleyn et Cawood is hoping that local residents will elect him for his second term in the upcoming municipal elections.
Carl Mayer has lived in the community his entire life and has 22 years as a councillor under his belt in addition to one term as mayor. He’s employed by a paving company and commutes daily to the city for work.
He said that if re-elected, he would work to keep taxes low and maintain the many kilometres of road in his district.
“You try to do as much as you can with the little bit of money that you get,” he said.
He said that the isolated location of the municipality -on the periphery of MRC Pontiac – causes some problems when it comes to things like fire protection and road maintenance. Currently, Alleyn et Cawood has an agreement with the fire department neighbouring Kazabazua – which is a part of MRC La Vallée de la Gatineau – as well as the Otter Lake FD, for emergency services in the region.
“We have a brand new fire truck but we don’t have the men to run it so we go to Kaz[abazua],” Mayer explained, adding that road maintenance is also affected.
The Ministry of Transport has strict guidelines for materials when municipalities use provincial funds for repairs.
“When you only have a little bit of money, it’s hard to keep the roads up to par,” Mayer said. “We have to truck gravel from Campbell’s Bay, because it’s MTQ approved.”
He said that 51 per cent of the municipality is crown land, for which the municipality only receives $40,000 annually in compensation, eating into the region’s tax base.
Mayer said that if re-elected, he would continue to serve his community as he has for the past several decades.
“I love the country. I was born and raised here,” he said. “People ask, ‘Why do I do it?’ I say, I’ve done it for 22 years as a councillor and it’s not for the money because when I go to these meetings I lose money by not going to work.”

Joseph Squitti is running for mayor in the municipality of Alleyn et Cawood. He said that his main priorities are maintaining roads and promoting physical recreation activities at the community park.

Squitti looking for a “working council”

Caleb Nickerson
ALLEYN ET CAWOOD
Oct. 25, 2017
A former mayor is throwing his hat back into the ring in the municipality of Alleyn et Cawood.
Joseph Squitti has lived in the community, which sits on the edge of MRC Pontiac between Otter Lake and Low, for over 30 years. He was a municipal councillor for a term before serving as mayor for 12 years, from 1997 to 2009.
He said that one of his main objectives would be to promote activities for the local youth as well as the usage of the community park, which boasts a baseball field and an outdoor rink built to NHL dimensions.
“We’re very fortunate that we have an active recreation association,” he said. “They need some council support because the park belongs to the municipality.”
He said that there’s no reason why lines couldn’t be painted on the rink for basketball or badminton, and asserted that more needed to be done to promote health and wellness in the area.
“I’m a firm believer in, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” he said.
Another one of his goals is improved community involvement.
“Get a council that’s going to work and participate in the community,” he said.
Squitti also said he would work to unite groups of local cottagers – which make up a large portion of the tax base – in order for them to have a stronger voice. He also added that he would seek out government grants to improve local roads and examine the municipal finances to cut out any potential waste and keep the taxes low.
“I want to take a close look at the budget and see where there’s unnecessary spending,” he said.
Squitti said that he loves the people in his community and the local wilderness.
“It’s nature, you walk out and see trees. And it’s clean,” he said.

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