Incumbent Chair for the District of Muskoka John Klinck will run again.
The two-term chair confirmed that he would be filing his nomination papers immediately following the October 22nd municipal election. Klink said he was in favour of having the selection of the Chair position be an open vote by the public.
“I advocated for the election of the District Chair many years ago before I became the District Chair,” confirms Klinck. “I think it is an important position within the political realm and I continue to believe that.”
Having to campaign for the first time, Klinck did admit with a laugh that he realized what a large geographic he had to cover.
“I have to tell you we were getting positioned and I spent some time in the last couple of months in Georgian Bay and in the northeast in the Lake of Bays area and boy I tell you it would have been a massive undertaking,” recalls Klinck. “In the absence of party politics, I wonder how an individual might go about it.”
Despite the fact he does not yet know who will make up the District Council and ultimately who will be selecting the role, Klinck feels his work in the post since 2010 will stand up to scrutiny partially because “The District Chair doesn’t stand on his record, he sort of stands on the record of District Council.”
He goes on to say that he likes the job and feels like he has more to offer. “I’ve enjoyed the position,” he confirms. “And I’ve learned far more than I thought I might and . . . I am eagerly anticipating election day.”
Nominations for the role of District Chair of Muskoka will be accepted until November 20th. If there are multiple nominees a debate will be held in council chambers on November 28th, followed by an election, if necessary, on December 10th when the new regional council sits for the first time.