MINTO – Even after almost 20 years of being on Minto council, the deputy mayor still feels he has something to give. So he’s running for mayor.
Dave Turton confirmed in an interview he has filed his nomination papers to run as mayor of the Town of Minto.
George Bridge, Minto mayor for the last 12 years, announced in March he would not be seeking re-election in the fall.
“Well, I’m retiring this year and I just felt that it was a perfect time for me to take the leap,” Turton said. “I’ve been in since 2003 and I have another four years to give.”
Although he’s been on council a number of years, Turton was voted deputy mayor in 2018.
He noted this past term has been difficult with COVID, virtual meetings and keeping the municipality working as intended.
“Everybody had to work hard to keep things going, keep the building permits flowing because we’ve got a record number of building permits,” Turton said.
This growth, and preparing for it, is what he said he sees as likely the biggest issue Minto is facing over the coming years but he said he feels he’s the right person to lead the town through this period.
“We’ve got a good plan and we’ve really started into it as a council over the last number of years,” Turton said.
“When you have all the expansion, subdivisions and all the housing development that’s going up and every municipality in Wellington for sure is growing like crazy. All municipal councillors have a job to do to prepare for that.”
He also said the search for a new CAO, after Derrick Thomson left for a CAO position in Bruce County, will be a crucial early step for the next council to take.
Current Minto councillor Ron Elliott has filed to run for Minto deputy mayor.
No other nomination papers have been filed to run for mayor of Minto so far but residents have until Aug. 19 to do so at the town office.
The municipal election will take place on Oct. 24.
