Two people have filed to run for the position of Huntsville mayor in the upcoming October municipal elections.
Reuben Pyette-Bouillon and Tim Withey (in alphabetical order) have thrown their hat in the ring.
Reuben Pyette-Bouillon
Pyette-Bouillon said he’s been embroiled in a zoning battle with the municipality for some time related to his taxi dispatch business – Independent Taxi.
Pyette-Bouillon said the municipality needs to have clear and fair regulations for everyone.
“I think the Town is doing some things within council that are inappropriate and it’s affecting the property owners of Huntsville. I think we need a better direction for the council and the town,” he said.
He also argued that given the amount of revenue the municipality is collecting due to development it should be giving property owners a break.
“I would like to see a five per cent decrease each year for the next four years on residential properties and I’m hoping to look at 10 per cent on waterfront,” he said. “Huntsville’s just growing so fast and I worry about the direction we’re taking. We’re leaving the little guy behind for big money coming out of the cities and our homeless situation – you know we still have people couch surfing and we’ve got people that are paying way too much in rent. There’s not enough opportunity for low-income Muskokans to afford homes and I think… we need to take a really serious look at that and try to create housing that’s affordable with [an annual]tax base of under $1,000 a property.”
He also said he’d like to see different types of housing.
“We need to look at different alternatives other than these $800,000/$900,000 condominiums that people are building. You know, the locals that do the job and service the people in the restaurants, those people can’t afford $800,000/$700,000 mortgages and the rent in this town is just unreal. I don’t really know whether or not I could afford the rent in this town,” said Pyette-Bouillon who said he has lived in Huntsville for about 30 years.
He also said he’d like to see property standards enforced.
Tim Withey
Tim Withey, a local business owner, is also running for the position of mayor.
Withey is no stranger to municipal governance. He was first elected as ward councillor in 2010. In 2014 he ran unsuccessfully for the position of mayor. In 2018 he was elected once more and returned to the council table as District and Town councillor.
Withey said he’s running for mayor in the upcoming October municipal election because he wants to continue seeing the municipality thrive.
“I think we’ve got the best town in Muskoka, certainly, if not Ontario, and I think we’re growing quickly, and I think we need to have some fresh ideas at the table from the mayor’s chair.”
Affordable housing, ensuring Huntsville has a full-service hospital, attracting more health care professionals to the area as well and keeping a close eye on the municipality’s finances are among Withey’s top priorities.
He said attainable and affordable housing is critical. “I think we need to bring some fresh ideas to that issue in terms of making it easier for getting more supply into our market, so we don’t have these huge resales of places that sold for less than half a couple of years earlier,” said Withey, adding that he’d also work with all levels of government in order to provide incentives for the creation of more affordable housing while also streamline the process to get that housing built.
Withey, who has served in various healthcare-related positions in the community, has been a staunch advocate for a full-service hospital in Huntsville – a necessity which he said is integral to the continued growth of the community. “I’m very focused on making sure that our hospital has essential services and 24-7 ER as well as attracting new services and new family physicians to our town,”
Withey also said he’d be excited to finally cut the ribbon on the new Fairvern Nursing Home – a project that he said has been near and dear to him and one he’s been advocating for in order to see it redevelop and grow.
He said if elected he’d work to build consensus around the council table “because there’ll be probably different faces around the table, so you want to make sure you’ve got a good respectful group that isn’t afraid to disagree but, as they say, not be disagreeable.”
You’ll find more information about how to vote for your municipal candidates in the upcoming October 24, 2022, municipal election here.
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