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Yearend Coverage: Contentious civic election sees Greg Dionne return as mayor

Dec 30, 2016 | 11:00 AM

In October, Greg Dionne secured his second mandate as mayor of Prince Albert, after handily winning the 2016 civic election. 

His path to victory wasn’t as smooth as he may have hoped. The battle between the four candidates turned out to be one of the most contentious in recent history.

When all was said and done, Dionne’s primary challenger was the now-former councillor Martin Ring, who finished second in voting, with nearly 2,000 fewer votes than incumbent Dionne. Rookie candidates Josh Morrow and Conrad Burns finished well back, each garnering roughly 1,500 votes each.

For much of the campaign though, the contest seemed much closer with one candidate in particular grabbing many of the local headlines.

Josh Morrow, a former WHL player and current property manager appeared almost out of nowhere over the summer in full campaign mode. He attended local events and met with residents to establish himself as a serious contender for the top job at city hall. A regular attendee of council meetings, Morrow came out swinging once the campaign began in September.

Morrow accused Ring and Dionne of being “too old” to run the city, called Dionne’s personal financial history into question, derided Ring for spending too much time playing golf and claimed to be the recipient of unfair treatment by the media, including paNOW and the Prince Albert Daily Herald

These tactics were referred to as “Trump-like” or “Rob Ford-esque” and seen by many as a level of mud-slinging not seen in a Prince Albert election before.

Meanwhile, the relatively unknown Conrad Burns, coming off a cross-Canada walk to raise awareness of domestic violence, stayed away from what he called “bullying” during the campaign. He focused his message primarily on addressing the issues around homelessness in the city and helping police get the tools to tackle its underlying causes.

At times, issues such as the Diefenbaker Bridge, emergency preparedness, taxes, the hospital and public safety appeared to take a back seat to personal attacks throughout the fall campaign. But in the end it was all for naught, as Dionne and Ring used their experience in politics to focus on the message and turn the vote out to support their campaigns.

The real surprises on election night came in the ward contests, as only three candidates from the previous term returned to the council chambers. Terra Lennox-Zepp, Blake Edwards, Dennis Ogrodnick, Dennis Nowoselsky and Evert Botha were all elected to council in a sign that some change at city hall was desired.

 

shane.oneill@paNOW.com

On Twitter: @stroneill