Wallaceburg’s two municipal councilors are sitting more comfortably these days without the pressure of having to run a re-election campaign leading up to Chatham-Kent’s October 24th election.
Aaron Hall and Carmen McGregor remained uncontested as the nomination period closed last week, giving them both another four-year mandate.
Both say they are honoured and humbled by the trust Ward 5 residents have shown.
“I just want to thank the community of Wallaceburg for their confidence and their support and their trust in us to continue to do this work,” Hall says.
“Now we can continue on with all the things we’ve been working on and working towards,” McGregor adds. “Elections are a different scenario. Running a campaign and doing a job are so totally different from each other. This just allows us to relax more and continue on with the work we’ve been doing.”
McGregor, entering her third term, says there’s still lots of work to do, particularly when it comes to more housing.
“We need all housing, we need affordable housing, we need regular built homes for young professionals, we need one-floor homes for seniors. We just need all types of housing.”
McGregor says in their last term, the focus was on job creation in Wallaceburg and the surrounding area. She says now there are help wanted signs up all over town and the need has shifted to attracting more residents to fill those jobs.
Other priorities for the Ward 5 team include the ongoing southside study, which both McGregor and Hall admit has taken more time than expected, redevelopment of the downtown core, and the potential creation of a community hub.
Hall says he and McGregor are launching a community engagement initiative entitled Onward and Upward.
“What are those things you want to see continue, what are those issues you want to see addressed,” Hall asks. “I think we have a good idea, over the last four years we kind of know what has come up and what the needs are, but it’s important to do that check-in and re-evaluation.”
Hall says the engagement project provides input they would have normally received during their respective campaigns and ensures they continue heading in the right direction as they enter the next term of council.
