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New faces in Ayer’s Cliff council |
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The voters of Ayer’s Cliff have passed over seasoned local politicians Isabel Marcotte and Roland Dupuis and chosen a political newcomer to tackle municipal matters. 
COURTESY Alec van Zuiden, a newcomer to the municipal scene, was elected as mayor of Ayer’s Cliff.
Alec van Zuiden garnered 243 signs of support to take the lead of council while former seat five councillor Marcotte came in with 191 votes and past village mayor Dupuis earned a mere 92 votes.
“I’m very excited,” van Zuiden told The Record about his victory. “I’m anxious to work with the new council members.”
The Mesotec Inc. chairman said that he kept his campaign activities to a minimum during the election, distributing a flyer introducing himself and his program. Van Zuiden believes the response from the polls with 59.5 per cent participation, shows voters are ready for a change.
“It’s like I always say, if you do the same thing all the time the result will be the same. To me it would appear that (residents) want to see a different face or some new blood in council. That they would have had the confidence in me is quite flattering.”
Just prior to the November 1 election, van Zuiden also distributed a flyer laying out some projects he had begun. These included preliminary discussions to secure a “Meals on Wheels and More’ program as well as other programs geared to seniors and young adults. The new mayor also entered into negotiations with organizations to access the lake and to attain a medical clinic in the village.
“I’ve talked with people on both sides (but) I didn’t go too far because I wasn’t sure if I would win or not,” stated van Zuiden. “I’ve spoken with three doctors who are keen on the idea and we will see how it goes from here.”
Armistice Day, which van Zuiden felt had been ignored by his predecessor, will be the first of his official duties as he has already secured permission to detour traffic during a parade and ceremonies.
“I think it’s an absolute hoot that my first public function will be on Armistice Day,” said van Zuiden.
Although he admits winning his seat was “the easy part”, van Zuiden is ready to get to work serving the citizens Ayer’s Cliff with a diverse team of councillors.
“I think we have a good pick,” he said. “I think I can work with all of them and they can work with me. I think there’s some things we can do together in the short term to bring a little freshness to the village.”
Three familiar faces will return to the council with the re-election of Patrick Proulx (seat one by acclamation), Roger Dumouchel (seat two with 299 votes to Marcel Scalabrini’s 219 votes) and France Coulombe-Goodsell (seat six with 272 votes to the 245 votes for her opponent Christian Savoie).
A resounding 339 voters supported fireman Peter McHarg’s bid for council seat three pulling him ahead of Louise Roux (180 votes) who’s husband Yves Therrien previously held the seat until passing away earlier this year.
With 291 votes, André Martel will now occupy seat four bringing his training in business management and economy to the council. Martel defeated former Dominion Textile mechanic and past Ayer’s Cliff councillor David Tear (219 votes) for the position.
With past experience in municipal politics, urbanism committee member John Batrie defeated opponent Clothilde Gingras for seat five with 327 votes to the 183 votes earned by the Magog hospital advisor for quality care nurse. By Corrinna Pole 2009-11-03 |
Montreal Canadiens
