Clinton voters have decided it is time for a change in leadership electing Roland Stanke to the office of mayor.
Roland Stanke, who lost the 2018 election by a single vote, won with 123 votes beating out Christine Rivett’s 113 votes and incumbent Susan Swan’s 97 votes.
This will be Stanke’s fourth time in the mayor’s office having served in 2002 and 2005 and winning by acclamation in 2008.
“I’m pleased with the voter turnout. The results were split almost three ways, which tells me two-thirds of the voters are looking for a change,” said Stanke.
He said his first point of order will be to do a complete financial review of the village’s standing. The new council needs to know the position of the community.
Stanke also plans on meeting with each councillor on an individual basis; to see their passions for running for office, look at their strengths and start building a solid team to carry the village forward. Also on his list of items is to review the portfolios that are on the books and see the best fit.
“I also will look at the official community plan and review all the fairy dust that’s sprinkled throughout it and bring forward a plan for the new council to create something realistic,” he said.
He applauds all the people that put their names forward for election.
“It takes a lot of courage but there are only so many seats to fill.”
Swan was not surprised by the results of the election.
“As soon as I heard that one of my councillors was running against me, I said, you just watch we’ll split the votes and Roland will sneak up the middle. That’s exactly what happened.”
She said it is now time to sit back and enjoy life.
“Yeah, I haven’t had a lot of me time in the last four years, and a very challenging term. So there are a lot of things I want to do. I want to do some renovations in the house. I’ve neglected my crafts and my painting for too long. And I love gardening. So yeah, I’ll be busy.”
Elected to the four councillor seats are Darrell J. Schapansky - 240 votes, Sandi J. Burrage - 223 votes, Nicholas Kosovic - 211 votes and David A. Park - 189 votes.
Kosovic said his council win felt pretty good.
As a newcomer he was surprised he won, but said it just reinforces how welcome Clinton has made people like him feel.
“I owe a serious debt to the community based on how at home we feel. I hope to do a good job by the people who voted for me and the people of Clinton,” Kosovic said.
He plans to keep working on his light industry project until his inauguration date and attract innovative investment into the community.
“I would like to thank all the other candidates for running. I look forward to working with the other elected councillors and the new mayor and also look forward to hearing more feedback and working with the people of Clinton broadly,” he said.
The remaining votes went to Pauline A. Piller - 112 votes, - Bernice Weihs-Anderson - 106 votes, Ted Pappas - 65 votes and Sherri L. Forget with 55 votes.
There was an estimated 479 eligible voters of which 335 cast a ballot.
fiona.grisswell@100milefreepress.net
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