Meet your Huntsville and District candidates

There are 21 candidates running for nine positions in the Town of Huntsville, and there’s a race for every single one of them!

Huntsville Doppler reached out to the candidates running to represent Town and District council. In their own words, we asked them to introduce themselves and tell us what they bring to the table.

There are five candidates vying for three District positions. In alphabetical order, see who is running and their answers below:

Dan Armour

Thank you to the Doppler for the opportunity to introduce myself.

My name is Dan Armour; I am the current Brunel Ward councillor. I was born and raised in Huntsville and live with my wife. We have four grown children, one daughter in-law and three amazing grandchildren. 

After 35 1/2 years as a Paramedic in Muskoka, I retired on March 25 2022. I started my career at Huntsville Hospital in 1987. I have held positions from Supervisor, Inspector with Ministry of  Health and finished as a Commander working for Muskoka Paramedic Services. My portfolio included Procurement, Fleet Services, Asset Management and Emergency Planning. 

From 1987 to 2008 I was a volunteer Fire Fighter for the Town of Huntsville where I first became interested in politics.  

I also canvass for the Canadian Cancer Society for over 10 years and continue to be a volunteer for the Salvation Army food drive. 

Going into the 2023 election the current District councillors are not seeking re-election. It is very important to have a seasoned representative at the District level of government. I have really enjoyed being the Brunel Ward councillor for the past 8 years and feel it is time to represent Huntsville at the District table. My experience in Health Services, Chair of the Accessibility Committee and co chair of Public Works has prepared me to be the best choice to represent the community. 

I have also been very involved in my community over the years and have worked hard for the people in Brunel. I feel I bring a strong voice and I am confident that I will continue to do that at the District table.  

I look forward to becoming a Town and District councillor and being able represent ALL the residents of Huntsville.

Vote Dan Armour October 24th.

Kathleen May

My name is Kathleen May and I am a candidate for Town and District Council in Huntsville. A bit about me:

– attended Huntsville Public School and Huntsville High School

– received Hons BA English degree from York University

-returned to Huntsville and began working at Chrysalis, our women’s shelter, where I remain a Front-Line Counsellor today

-hosted ‘herstories’, a show on YourTV where I interviewed local women about their struggles and triumphs

-co-founded Huntsville Women’s Group, a weekly drop-in funded by Pay It Forward grants that ran for more than five years

-wrote the column She Speaks for the Huntsville Doppler for several years

-Shortlisted in 2019 for CBC Nonfiction Prize; Longlisted for Short Story Prize in 2020

-won the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 2018 for Community Development and Social Activism

All of these experiences have led me to run for Huntsville Town Council today. Here’s what I stand for:

1. My work with local women and men has exposed the extraordinary human cost of the housing crisis and the effects of poverty in Muskoka. Eliminating homelessness and violence against women is my highest ideal and I will work tirelessly to achieve that.

2. I have deep concerns about the climate crisis and biosphere degradation, so as your Councillor I will fight for our life-sustaining environment by giving science and nature a voice in development decisions.

3. I want to do my part in bridging the ever-widening gap between citizens and government. I will be accessible, compassionate, dedicated, and I will prioritize using this platform to shine a light on the disparities that tear communities apart.

My values are integrity, transparency, justice, community, and service. My work with Council will be imaginative and collaborative – never combative. Above all, I look forward to working for you and making your vote count every day.

Scott Morrison

Born in Cape Breton, we moved to Huntsville in 1992 when I was 16 years old. Other than leaving for school or travel I have lived in Huntsville ever since.   I am married with two teenage children and a dog.  I’ve been a coach in many sports and have always given back to our community through many sponsorship and charitable initiatives.61

I have had many different jobs in our town, having worked at local resorts, a factory, landscaping, janitorial services,  restaurants and real estate. For the last 14 years I was an owner of Coldwell Banker Thompson Real Estate, I sold my shares in June.

In this time I have gotten to know people from many different economic circumstances. Our town is not just a playground for wealthy people. There are many people struggling to pay their bills and sadly some of them will have to leave unless we take serious measures to make our town more affordable.

Here’s my info about what I bring to the table:

I think that my background makes me a great choice to represent Huntsville as a District Councillor.  I grew up in a low income family.  Despite our economic situation I had an amazing upbringing and a great family life.  But I did watch my parents work extremely hard for low wages just to pay the bills and put food on the table.  I didn’t realiize at the time just how stressful that was for them.  

There are lots of families struggling to make ends meet.  Affordable housing was already at a crisis level, Covid has made the problem an absolute disaster and we need to focus a lot of energy on fixing this.

Also, with my experience running businesses I believe that I can bring common sense governance to the table.  We need to deal with our roads, short term rentals and much more and I feel that I have some great ideas and the right approach to make necessary changes.

Chris Occhiuzzi

As an active member of the community for the past two decades – both as a volunteer and member of the media – I have had the great pleasure of meeting and getting to know individuals and families throughout Huntsville.

Currently the vice president of the Huntsville Soccer Club – and longest tenured board member – I have also sat on the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce board of directors, was on the communications committee for the first two years of the Paddle for Fairvern, as well as donating my time to various one-off events throughout the years.

Currently a fulltime writer for a marketing publication, I spent a decade as a print journalist in Huntsville and Muskoka as a whole, covering numerous council meetings, sports, arts and much more. I also have been a volunteer radio host with Hunters Bay Radio for many years.

In early 2020, I founded Muskoka Unlimited, which promotes local artists and their works through an online gallery and one-off exhibitions.

Having been enveloped in so many different parts of our wonderful community and spending years helping make it a great place to live, I can bring the knowledge gained through those experiences directly to the council table in Huntsville and at the District level.

As well, the many years covering council meetings has provided an understanding of the time and effort needed to do the job well. 

As a councillor, I will continue to be active in the community and be willing to hear all points of view on how to make our amazing Town the best it can be.

I will bring a balanced approach to every issue; be it affordable housing, recreation, active transportation, development, the environment, budgets, roads, and all the other items we will need to work on as councillors.

Bob Stone

My name is Bob Stone and I am running for Town & District Council.

My wife Tracey and I moved to Huntsville in 1995 to raise our boys in this amazing small town. Connor has just received his PHD in Astrophysics and Bryan is teaching high school in a small town of 400 people in the high Arctic and hopes to return to Huntsville to teach in a couple years.

I have owned and operated 3 businesses including Christmas Tyme on Main St. for 20 years and it has been my absolute pleasure and responsibility to represent the Downtown Ward on Town Council for the past 2 terms.

I simply love the work of being on Council. I love studying the research and learning about the countless topics that come to Council so that I can bring an informed opinion to the table. I enjoy visiting Constituents and helping them with their problems. Working with talented Town staff and fellow Councillors to craft better policy, chairing meetings and visiting properties that will come before the Planning Committee for the best possible future of our Town.

Experience Matters – While I acknowledge new people at the Council table brings a fresh perspective, it is equally important to recognize that experience really does matter. Municipal politics is hugely complicated and I could not imagine jumping directly to the District table without having first sat at the Town table and expect to be effective.

I know the issues, I know the process, I have great relationships with many people around the District Table and I know how to get things done.

Having been in business for 25 years together with two terms on Town Council I hope you see value in my experience and I would be truly honoured if you vote for BOB STONE in October.

Don’t miss out on Doppler!

Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!

Click here to support local news