Cavendish, the seat of the mayor of PEI. contested for the first time since 2014

CAVENDISH, PEI — For the first time in nearly a decade, the position of mayor of the PEI Resort Municipality. is disputed.

Com. Bill Drost has announced that he will run for mayor in the upcoming August 8 election, competing with incumbent Mayor Matthew Jelley.

“I think our municipality is ready for a change. We haven’t had a contested election in a while in the Resort Municipality, so I thought it would be good to give voters a choice,” Drost said in a phone interview with SaltWire Network. .

Having served on council for the past three years, Drost said he identified a number of areas where he thinks the municipality could be better governed, such as transparency, which he intends to take action on. he is elected.

“Our decisions have to be transparent and fair, and I think that’s why I’m running,” he said. “I think our council meetings have too many closed sessions where we should discuss public business in public and not in closed session. I think when we make a decision, we need to articulate it more clearly about why we made a decision that way.

Drost said the council should be more accessible to residents by putting members’ contact information on the municipality’s website. Currently, Drost is the only member with contact information on the website.

Drost also said he would like council meetings to be streamed live on YouTube and archived so they can be viewed by residents at a later date.

“We are a very unique municipality in that we have non-residents who actually have a vote and an interest,” he said. “We have people who live all over Canada and North America who own property here who have a vested interest in the operation of our government, so we have perhaps an increased responsibility even more than other municipalities for us. ensure that we are able to connect with our citizens. and voters.

transparent board

Jelley, however, says the board has never been more transparent than it is now, especially since adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the past two years, all of our meetings have been on Zoom and anyone can join and participate,” he said. “What we’ve actually seen is more engagement and public comment because people are going to put it on. Maybe they’re doing something else on Monday night, but they’re part of it.

Jelley said that since the Municipal Government Act 2018, everything council decides is done through resolutions and by-laws, meaning everything appears in the minutes of meetings posted on the council’s website. the municipality. This practice was not in place prior to his arrival on the board.

As for online access to council members‘ contact details, Jelley said he was concerned about how that might work.

“We said (the decision) would be a choice for the next council to decide how each councilor wanted to do this,” he said. “There is a problem with that. If you ask counselors to speak one-on-one with residents, it is more difficult to ensure that all information is accurate. The counselor’s words might be distorted or the person might not understand.

Jelley, who was originally elected in 2014 and acclaimed in 2018, said during that time he has faced many unique challenges for the board to consider when making decisions for different communities. which he serves.

“I think one of the biggest challenges is the seasonality of the winter months,” he said. “We have a year-round population of about 300, but today there are probably 15,000 people in the resort municipality. So with our services and our community infrastructure, we need to be able to afford it all year round, but it needs to be big enough and complex enough to serve on days like today.

In one look

August 8 election

• Voting will take place at the Resort Municipality Boardroom at 7591 Cawnpore Lane in Cavendish from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Advance voting will be open on August 6 at the same location from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• A full list of nominees can be viewed at resortmunicipalitypei.com.
• The Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico is the only resort municipality in Prince Edward Island.

Rural voices

Drost said the Resort Municipality’s unique diversity needs to be better balanced when it comes to decision-making to ensure those living in more rural areas receive the same attention as those in the main centers of the city. municipality.

“We spend the vast majority, if not all of our infrastructure dollars, on the main Cavendish strip,” he said. “We must continue to support the infrastructure that supports these businesses there, but we must also not forget that we have many residents outside and around the countryside in places like Bayview and Stanley Bridge, Hope River who are also part of our community. ”

With the election just days away, Drost and Jelley said they would campaign for their mayoral spot. For Drost, if elected, he intends to start implementing the changes as soon as he can.

“I think in government it takes time to change things, so I’m not going to promise anyone anything except that I’m going to try,” he said. “One thing that I think you will see (if you are elected) is that there will be no decisions made outside the board room, they will be made inside the board room. . And you’ll see more information posted on our website as soon as we can find the resources to put it there and as advisors agree to commit funds to these priorities.

For Jelley, he said he looks forward to talking with residents about the successes the current council has brought to the area and looks forward to possibly continuing that work.

“I think people who know me and people who’ve worked with me know what they’re getting with me,” he said. “I’m going to be honest, I’m going to be upfront, but when it comes time to make a decision, we’re going to show leadership and we’re going to go full steam ahead.”

Cody McEachern is a business reporter with the SaltWire Network in Prince Edward Island. He can be contacted by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @CodyInHiFi.