Ward 5 Councillor Dennis Ogrodnick (left) and Ward 4 Councillor Don Cody both enjoyed comfortable victories Monday. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Finding common ground

Re-elected ward councillors weigh in on council shake-up

Nov 10, 2020 | 3:50 PM

When city council meets again Monday, there will be two new faces in the chambers and seven familiar ones.

Ward 4 Coun. Don Cody told paNOW he was pleased to see the additions of Dawn Kilmer (Ward 7) and Tony Head (Ward 3), but added the stability brought by the six returning councillors is necessary too.

“I think the stability we have with the balance of the council is quite good,” he said.

The most obvious issue facing the group is COVID-19 and the impact on the city’s finances, but Cody acknowledged there are others requiring council’s attention.

“We have to spend extra funds on crime and we are going to continue to with our recreation project which I think is an excellent project,” he said.

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Ward 5 Coun. Dennis Ogrodnick acknowledged he was the “new guy in the block” after the 2016 election, and so understands some of the pressures newly-elected Kilmer and Head possibly face.

“With the new councillors I congratulate them on winning and look forward to working with them and trying to find some common ground,” he said.

Monday’s mayoral race came down to the final polls, but when the smoke cleared it was Greg Dionne who emerged as the victor. Coincidentally, Ogrodnick went to school with Darryl Hickie, who finished second in the four-man race. Ogrodnick explained council must work for the best interests of the city and find common ground on the issues heard in every ward, citing crime reduction and homelessness.

“Whoever won the mayor’s chair, all of them had those concerns and issues, so I think it would have been easy to work with and support any one of the four,” he said.

Ogrodnick thanked outgoing councillors Dennis Nowoselsky and Evert Botha for their service to the city, and also thanked the residents for their support.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell