KATHLEEN BÉLEC

Caleb Nickerson
MANSFIELD ET PONTEFRACT
Nov. 1, 2017
Bélec runs for re-election:
The current mayor of Mansfield et Pontefract is looking to secure her second term at the helm of her municipality.
Kathleen Bélec has lived in the community for 46 years and has served one term each as a mayor and councillor. She also has extensive experience working with community organizations, serving as the director of Golden Peaks in Fort Coulonge as well as on the board of directors at TransporAction.

In her tenure at the council of mayors, she served on several committees, including fire protection, finance and cultural development.
She asserted that economic development is the number one issue in her municipality.
“We have to work hard on our infrastructure so we can get people in here that will be willing to start small business,” she said. “We have to get the ball rolling.”
Unlike her competitors, Bélec is opposed to an amalgamation between Fort Coulonge and Mansfield, calling it expensive and instead choosing to focus on other priorities.
She emphasized the importance of re-opening the Marchand Bridge, in addition to other infrastructure projects.
“My priority is to get this open,” she said. “It’s our heritage, we need to have it fixed.”
Since Mansfield is such a large territory, she said maintaining roads is a large but essential expense every year. She also said she would be a strong advocate for the local forestry industry.
“We’re also pushing for our forestry roads and our forestry products,” she said. “That’s a very important thing that we have.”
She said the friendliness of her constituents is what she loves most about her community.
“When we had the flooding, I loved that most of our community came together to help each other out,” she said. “Everyone put aside their differences and they were all together to help the people that were flooded.”

GILLES DIONNE

Caleb Nickerson
MANSFIELD ET PONTEFRACT
Nov. 1, 2017
Dionne throws his hat in the ring:
A long-time councillor and pro-mayor is looking to get elected mayor in the municipality of Mansfield et Pontefract.
Gilles Dionne was born and raised in Fort Coulonge but moved to Mansfield in his 30s. He has been a councillor for two terms and served as pro-mayor for seven years. He has been employed with the local CLSC for the past 30 years doing home care.
He said the idea of running for mayor has always been an ambition of his.
“After eight years as a councillor, I thought it would be a good time to run for mayor,” he said. “I’ve always had it in the back of my head.”
He said the main issue facing his community was attracting investment from private business.
“Right now, it’s jobs. We need jobs,” he said. “We need to create incentives for people to work here and get companies to come here.”
He also said he would work to improve services to residents, maintain and improve infrastructure as needed and discuss the possibility of reducing the municipal evaluations. He claimed that the company that conducts the evaluations doesn’t understand the reality on the ground in Pontiac.
“We really need to focus on that file,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of re-opening the Marchand Bridge, which has been closed for several years now.
Dionne is in favour of looking at amalgamating the municipalities of Fort Coulonge and Mansfield, which is a hot-button issue that dominated a recent candidate’s forum on Oct. 26.
“There needs to be a study on the long-term impacts,” he said. “After that, if the study comes out positive we will put it to a referendum and the people will decide.”
He concluded by saying that the people are the reason he loves his municipality so much.
“I’ve been working for the CLSC for 30 years. I love working with people. It’s very rewarding,” he said. “I’ve always been involved in my community and I’m still involved”

TERRY LÉVESQUE

Caleb Nickerson
MANSFIELD ET PONTEFRACT
Nov. 1, 2017
Lévesque looks to clean up Mansfield:
A retired entrepreneur and political newcomer has recently returned to his roots in Mansfield et Pontefract and is currently running for mayor.
Terry Lévesque has operated several businesses over the years, from driving a taxi, to owning a bar and gas station in Luskville. He returned to his old stomping grounds of Mansfield in 2013 and built a house in the area. Though he is a political novice, he said his resume features a wealth of experience in management.
“After 42 years in business, I think I can run a small municipality,” he said, explaining that he was prompted to run for office after receiving encouragement from friends and family. “I thought about it, I talked to my children and they said, ‘Dad, why don’t you? You don’t have anything else to do.’ So I started attending the meetings. I decided about a month-and-a-half ago, why not?”
Lévesque said that he grew frustrated by the endless discussions about amalgamation that never amounted to any action.
“For me, you do not turn against your people,” he said, adding that many residents are in favour of a merger. “If your people voted yes, you go ahead with the union of the municipalities … I think it’s time to make a decision.”
In addition to amalgamation, Lévesque said he would work to attract businesses to the area by investing in the beautification of the region.
“I want to clean up the municipality, it’s one of my priorities,” he said, adding that he would look into zoning in the area to avoid homeowners being situated near industrial operations.
In addition, he said that if he’s elected, he would work to speed up the repairs to the Marchand Bridge by leveraging Pontiac MNA André Fortin’s recent appointment to Minister of Transport.
“He’ll have to work with me,” he said.
Lévesque concluded by stating that he was glad to be back in the community where he was raised.
“I like it all,” he said. “I was born here. I lived here. It’s a beautiful place.”