Le nouveau maire de la Municipalité de Pontiac en compagnie de son nouveau conseil municipal : de gauche à droite, Leslie-Anne Barber; Isabelle Patry, le maire Joanne Labadie, Scott McDonald, Nancy Draper-Maxsom; Susan McKay and Thomas Howard.
Carl Hager
Le nouveau maire de la Municipalité de Pontiac en compagnie de son nouveau conseil municipal : de gauche à droite, Leslie-Anne Barber; Isabelle Patry, le maire Joanne Labadie, Scott McDonald, Nancy Draper-Maxsom; Susan McKay and Thomas Howard.
Carl Hager
MUNICIPALITY OF
PONTIAC – A major upset in the Municipality of Pontiac saw Joanne Labadie defeat incumbent Mayor Roger Larose in Sunday’s election. Labadie, a school commissioner with the Western Quebec School Board, won by over 300 votes. She is the first female mayor of the municipality and will be working with a council of four women and two men.
The Mayor-elect will meet with municipal employees and department heads as a first priority, to hear about staffing issues and to understand their respective operations. Public Works is high on the list given that major road repairs are currently needed. She also plans to re-instate the agriculture and strategic planning committees, as she believes a long term plan is essential.
Mayor Labadie says she will look for financial help from federal and provincial governments to help the municipality map and re-build aging infrastructure.
The bickering and recriminations that plagued the previous council is also a
concern, and she wants to build bridges between the community, municipal staff and the politicians who have been voted in. She says she believes “in having a voice of the community at the table” and that the new council offers a vision and hope for the future.