Reaction to Cal Huntley’s razor-thin mayoral victory is ranging from surprise to delight as Flin Flonners prepare to usher in a new era of municipal politics.
Huntley’s four-vote win over incumbent George Fontaine last week is being called an upset by some and a backlash against unpopular policies by others.
Katie Stevens, an educational assistant, supported Fontaine and was taken aback by his defeat.
“I thought that George would get back in because
I thought he did a great
job last time,” she said.
Stevens felt that Fontaine unfairly bore the brunt of higher taxes, the cost of the government-mandated water treatment plant and ongoing infrastructure problems.
She said Fontaine’s contentious policies were “things that had to be done.” Her own taxes went up under Fontaine, but she didn’t blame him or council, saying, “I just think that’s part of life.”
Now Stevens is looking forward to seeing what approaches the new Huntley-led council will take.
“I see that there’s probably going to be a lot more change,” she said. “I’m interested to see what happens. I want Flin Flon to do well and I’m hoping this is the right track to get us there.”
Every confidence
Dave Law, a former city councillor who worked with Huntley for eight years, has every confidence in the new mayor.
“He’s very good at leading a meeting and he has a way of working with people,” said Law. “He’s open-minded, and that’s the big thing that you have to be. He also respects the decision of the group. When [he and I] were [on council], people would think that we always agreed on things. But that wasn’t the case. We did disagree, but once a decision was made, then we supported it 100 per cent, and that’s the way he is, too. That’s what you need to have in local governance.”
Law, a Hudbay retiree, said he has nothing against Fontaine and that the election results for both mayor and council were a lot closer than he expected.
Another voter, school bus driver John Taylor, called Fontaine’s loss surprising even though the now-former mayor took “somewhat controversial” steps.
“In particular this business with dealing with cabin owners and…some of the [tax] increases that people have complained about,” Taylor said. “I thought overall people would see that it was pretty much inevitable, and I’m not sure that anything that Cal Huntley can do is really going to change the situation that council is in. So I thought overall people would stay with George, but obviously enough people were ticked off, I guess you could say. They wanted change.”
Victory welcomed
Among those wanting change was Ian Krieger, who welcomed Huntley’s victory.
“I was pretty happy he got in,” said Krieger. “I think we need a change, a change for the better.”
Krieger identified taxes as his main concern, as his have nearly doubled on the two properties he owns.
Although most of city council remains intact, Krieger is optimistic that a different direction is in store under Huntley.
For Tom Heine, a geologist and one-time MLA candidate, the mayoral outcome was “interesting.”
Like many voters, Heine speculated that issues like city-cottager relations and the special services levy, designed to help spread out the tax burden, cost Fontaine support.
“But ultimately, the mayor is just the figurehead of council and really doesn’t have a lot of power,” said Heine. “So I congratulate Cal on winning, wish him all the best, but boy, he’s got a big challenge ahead of him.”
Heine added he was disappointed that, from what he could see, none of the candidates for mayor or council spoke of the need to diversify Flin Flon’s economy.
Bruce Reid, a retiree who backed the incumbent mayor, believes Fontaine paid a price for trying to generate municipal revenue in a more equitable fashion.
“I think we are fast moving to an era where we have some people at the low end of the scale right within our city and we have people outside our city with extremely high-end property that are paying next to nothing, so Joe Blow in the middle is certainly carrying the load,” said Reid.
“I think that cost [Fontaine] solely because he was trying to do what was right, and I think we’re fast approaching an age, and we probably have been for quite some time, where I think politicians have to start doing what’s economically feasible, not what’s politically popular.”
The need for seniors’ housing is a key concern for resident Randy Post, but he said he’s not sure whether a mayoral swap will have an impact in that regard.
Post said he is taking a “wait and see” position toward the new council, adding he does not have strong opinions on municipal politics.
Low turnout
Several voters who spoke to The Reminder expressed disappointment over the low voter turnout, with just 35 per cent of eligible residents casting ballots. That was down from 45 per cent in 2010.
Other than Huntley, last week’s election produced just one change on city council with newcomer Leslie Beck filling the seat vacated by the retired Skip Martin.
Joining Huntley and Beck are incumbents Ken Pawlachuk, Karen MacKinnon, Colleen McKee, Tim Babcock and Bill Hanson.
Huntley, the senior contracts administrator for Hudbay, served as a city councillor from 1998 to 2010 before losing his seat.
Hanson first served on council from 1992 to 1995 and again from 2002 to present. MacKinnon and McKee were both elected in 2006, with Babcock and Pawlachuk coming on board in 2010.
Huntley and his councillors will serve a four-year term. The next municipal elections in Creighton and Denare Beach are scheduled for 2016.
