Time to move forward

By now it’s old news that Mayor Randy Hope was re-elected to a third term in last week’s municipal election.

No sooner had the polls closed than the social media comments began concerning the number of votes he received, 28% of 42% who voted (in effect less than 12% of eligible voters voted for him).

It’s true that 9,942 people voted for him and 23,133 voted for someone else and it’s true that the number of supporters is now 30% below what it was in his first term.

It’s also true that none of those secondary numbers means anything.

Randy Hope has been chosen the mayor for the third time and at the end of this term, he will have served more consecutive years in office than any mayor in the history of Chatham as well as Chatham-Kent.

He’s the municipal politician everyone thinks they can beat but no one can.

With the completion of his 12-year vision for Chatham-Kent in sight, the mayor will be able to concentrate on that without the distraction of another election.

With six new faces on council and an experienced mayor at the helm, there is tremendous potential for the community to move forward.

What could hamper that is a pervasive negative attitude.

We need to rally behind the mayor, council and administration and provide the type of input and feedback they need to do their jobs.

That doesn’t mean overlooking real issues and not demanding greater accountability and transparency.

Our work as citizens doesn’t begin and end at the ballot box.

In terms of The Chatham Voice, we will ensure local government isn’t given the free pass on issues the way it was before our arrival.

We remain committed to the community.

Don’t worry; we won’t publish an editorial about the elk population in Alberta the week of the election. We’re willing to invest the time and effort to bring you the news and information you need.