We are now a month away from the 2026 municipal election. The dozen candidates have been busy knocking on doors and erecting campaign signs in hopes of drumming up enough support to earn a seat at the council horseshoe once the votes are counted.
I too have been busy over the past few weeks, seeking and receiving information from each of the candidates that are registered to run for the October 26 municipal election.
All 13 of the candidates have submitted their responses before the September 18 deadline that I had set (including Rob Uhrig who was acclaimed for the Deputy Mayor position), and I have gotten all of them prepared for printing in our October 1 municipal election special issue.
The Independent has also booked the Riverside Community Centre for Wednesday, October 14, in order to hold a ‘Meet the Candidates’ event, which will begin at 6 p.m. On Monday of this week I sent invitations to all 13 candidates, and by Tuesday morning when I write this column, I have already heard back from 11 of those candidates.
This event will be an opportunity for voters to meet the candidates in an informal setting, with each candidate allotted a separate area to display their campaign signs and literature, and to meet voters face to face. It’s a chance to chat with the candidates, ask questions, and it can help voters determine which candidates they will vote for on election day.
As was the case in the 2022 municipal election, Meaford voters will not elect a deputy mayor as current member of council; Rob Uhrig was the sole candidate to register for that position, and so has been acclaimed.
While current Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney had no challengers in 2022 and was therefore acclaimed, this year she is running for mayor, and she is facing two opponents, both newcomers to municipal politics, Caryn Colman and Justin Perks.
Reading through the candidate profiles, there are many issues raised. From property tax rates to infrastructure needs, to municipal services, the candidates have noted many of the issues that concern residents, and that are regularly on the council meeting agenda. How to deal with growth is another issue raised by candidates in their profile responses, as new development proposals often get the community talking about what we want in this community, what we don’t want, along with the many questions about how growth impacts existing residents. The issues are many. Some have clear answers and direction, while others don’t, and voters will be able to sift through all of those various approaches to municipal governance as they read next week’s municipal election special issue of The Independent.
Based on the responses to the question of what the top priorities should be for the next term of council, the pumped storage proposal, for which we frequently hear vocal opposition, some candidates have it high on their list of priorities, while others don’t mention it at all.
The three mayoral candidates for example, have each taken a different approach to the much talked about pumped storage proposal.
Mayoral candidate Caryn Colman, who describes herself as a life-long artist and nature enthusiast, focused on environmental issues, including the proposed pumped storage facility in her candidate profile response to The Independent. Colman says that she would like to see the immediate revocation of council’s conditional support for the proposed project.
Current Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney, who is running for mayor this time around, reminded voters in her response that Meaford’s council does not have any approval authority when it comes the pumped storage proposal, and she notes that the environmental assessment that is currently underway will lead to the need for a negotiation of a comprehensive Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) should the project ultimately receive approval to move forward.
Mayoral candidate Justin Perks didn’t mention the pumped storage proposal at all in his submission for our candidate special issue, nor does he mention it on his campaign website, but instead he has focused on the municipality’s infrastructure needs, and the importance of planning for the future.
Given the little control and influence that the municipality actually has when it comes to the pumped storage proposal, I am certainly happy that many of the candidates have a focus on infrastructure, services, and property taxes, issues that are regularly in front of council for decisions, and are not solely focused on the pumped storage proposal.
There are many issues facing this municipality, and most of them are the very same issues that face every municipality. Planning for and funding infrastructure needs, from roads to bridges, to the pipes in the ground, and managing growth as developers continue to look to smaller communities like Meaford for their next projects. And of course there are the many services provided by the municipality, from trash collection, to the public library, to the many parks that we all enjoy. The issues with which council grapples are many, and of course the pumped storage proposal is one of those issues, but it is just one of dozens of pressing concerns at the council chamber.
There will be an all-candidates session hosted by ‘Game Changers’ on Wednesday, September 30, at the Meaford & St. Vincent Community Centre (151 Collingwood St. W.) beginning at 6:00 p.m. Doors open at 5:30, and the maximum capacity for the event is 200 people.
Whatever you are looking for when it comes to council candidates, I am hoping that next week’s special issue will help you to sift through it all and come to a decision before you cast your ballot. So be sure to pick up next week’s newspaper, and plan to attend the ‘Meet the Candidates’ event at the Riverside Community Centre on Wednesday, October 14.
