It’s officially a race.
Two candidates have now filed to be the next District of Muskoka Chair. Recently re-elected Bracebridge District Councillor Don Smith, and outgoing Gravenhurst District Councillor Terry Pilger have both filed their nomination papers.
Smith was first elected to Bracebridge Town and District Council in 2014. He won re-election last month, securing the most votes of the five candidates running for the District position in Bracebridge.
Terry Pilger has over 26 years of council experience with Gravenhurst, 17 of which were on the District of Muskoka Council. He finished second of three candidates in his bid to become Mayor of Gravenhurst during the latest election.
Nominations for District chair close on November 15, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. The District chair will be appointed by the incoming council at its Inaugural meeting on Monday, December 5, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. in the District council chamber at 70 Pine Street in Bracebridge.
The District chair performs a number of duties at the upper-tier municipal level, most notably acting as the Chief Executive Officer of the District Municipality of Muskoka. The chair is also tasked with providing overall leadership on the affairs of council and its committees and acting as a spokesperson for the District on major issues of policy and direction. The chair is also responsible for the District’s external relationships with other organizations and levels of government.
Dopper will endeavour to speak with all of the candidates once the nomination period has officially closed.
A formal meet the candidates/debate event is scheduled for Monday, November 28 at 3 p.m. Jean Polak will moderate the event.
Members of the public, including councillors-elect, are encouraged to submit questions that may be considered during the event. The moderator for the event will be selecting the questions from those submitted. You can submit questions to the Clerk by no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 24, 2022. You may submit your question(s) in writing by emailing the clerk at [email protected] or by dropping written questions off (addressed to the clerk) at 70 Pine Street, Bracebridge.
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Sure hope Don Smith does NOT become District Chair. If he does get chosen as District Chair he should pay the huge cost of the required by election in Bracebridge where he was just reelected. No wonder people are cynical about Muskoka politics. Who in the back room is driving this?
Sure hope Don Smith becomes the District Chair.