Chris Lowrey
SHAWVILLE June 10, 2018
Former Shawville Councillor Bill McCleary will get the chance to sit on the municipal council again after winning a by-election on June 10.
McCleary received 307 of the 520 votes cast. Aileen Sheppard received 102 votes and Sherwin Greer received 111 votes.
The 520 voters represented just over 40 per cent of the 1,285 eligible voters.
McCleary’s 307 votes represent nearly 60 per cent of the vote, which he called “an excellent mandate.”
McCleary sat on council for one term before losing in a close mayoral race to current Shawville Mayor Sandra Murray.

Admittedly, McCleary said he wasn’t one to solicit votes from residents by going door-to-door.
“That’s not me,” he said. “A lot of people will vote for the person that goes and asks them, which I consider to be kind of idiotic because if the village idiot ran and asked you to vote, would you still vote for him?”
But clear victory meant that McCleary was extremely thankful to his supporters, and those who got out to vote.
McCleary said he’s interested in getting an update on the progress of the committee that’s been set up to look into the possibility of a new arena in Shawville.
But he said he’s cautious about being too enthusiastic about a new arena since the cost of a new facility would be anywhere from $6 million to $10 million.
“I’m opposed to going into huge debt,” McCleary said. “But if they could get enough grant money and donations, it would be a great thing.”
He also pointed out that even if the municipality got 90 per cent of the $6 million to $10 million, it would still amount to a huge expenditure for the municipality.
He also targeted the local dump and said he’s heard that local churches and charitable groups are being charged to dump garbage.
“I’m going to try my best to get that reversed,” he said.