DISTRICT CHAIR KLINCK LATEST NOT TO RUN AGAIN. COULD NORM MILLER REPLACE HIM?
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
MUSKOKA — Big changes in the political guard are coming to local government this fall at the district and town levels.
Four of the seven top municipal leaders aren’t running again.
District Chair John Klinck is the latest joining the growing list of politicians who won’t be back.
He follows the mayors of Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville who have previously announced their imminent departures.
Graydon Smith left his job in Bracebridge and is now Parry Sound-Muskoka’s new MPP and also a member of the provincial cabinet as Premier Doug Ford’s minister of natural resources and forestry.
Smith is already facing charges that have been brought in a private prosecution alleging that he and the Town of Bracebridge harmed Blanding’s turtles and posed danger to the habitat of the at-risk species in June and August 2021.
A justice of the peace has signed off on the charges of violating the Endangered Species Act and last week set a hearing date of Sept. 21 on the matter. The charges have not yet been tested in court.
The Town of Bracebridge expects the charges to be thrown out.
Paul Kelly in Gravenhurst is retiring to travel and Karin Terziano in Huntsville is also stepping down.
Phil Harding, mayor in Muskoka Lakes, is running again.
As is Georgian Bay Township Mayor Peter Koetsier. He said Tuesday that he plans to file his papers in the next week or two to seek re-election Oct. 24.
Terry Glover, over in Lake of Bays, has also filed to run again as mayor.
With Klinck’s departure the door is wide open to a new chair.
And it’s open to any taxpayer in Muskoka to apply.
After Ford rescinded a plan to open the district chair’s job to a vote at large by the public a reversal of that decision is not on the table as of now.
So there is some speculation that now former MPP Norm Miller could follow in the footsteps of his father, Frank, who became district chair after being defeated as a short-lived premier.
However, the mild-mannered politician may not wish to return to the political arena after more than 20 years Queen’s Park.
Some district councillors are also interested in running for Muskoka’s top job, but have not expressed their intentions yet.
Koetsier says he knows of at least one person interested, but he didn’t want to divulge the name.
One councillor in Georgian Bay who won’t be seeking that job or another term is long-time councillor Paul Wiancko. Koetsier expects about five member of his council will run again.
Klinck, a former councillor and mayor in Gravenhurst starting in 1994, said in a district release today that he considered his 12 years as chair “one of his life’s greatest blessings. … It is my hope that in some small way my service has added value to your vision of the Muskoka legacy we all manage together.”
Town council elections are also beginning to see more candidates.
In Huntsville Nancy Alcock is the latest to enter the race for mayor. She will be running against former fire chief Steve Hernen, Reuben Pyette-Bouillon and Tim Withey who ran before.
In Bracebridge Rick Maloney was first to declare his intention to replace Smith.
Gravenhurst has three looking to step up to fill in for Kelly: former Green candidate Marc Mantha and councillors Terry Pilger and Heidi Lorenz.
EMAIL: [email protected]
28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’
Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1
Leave comments at end of story
SUBSCRIBE for $25 by e-transferring to [email protected]
Or go online to https://muskokatoday.com/subscriptions
