Grand Bay-Westfield’s Mayor Will Not Re-Offer

After 28 years in municipal politics, Grace Losier will not be re-offering this spring.

The longtime mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield said she is grateful for the learning opportunities she is sure she would never have had without this job.

One of the more significant events over those years was watching the village of Westfield and the town of Grand Bay become one community.

“I was elected on June 26th, 1997, for mayor of a community that didn’t exist until January 1st, 1998,” Losier said.

She said growth was measured the way people wanted it adding the townspeople didn’t want to lose their small-town charm.

“When I first came here we had $30,000 in the capital budget. ‘Can you imagine? In a town’ We know have more than a million dollars a year and that’s without borrowing any,'” Losier said.

Losier said the biggest challenge facing her town is population growth and it’s the same for the entire province.

“But, honestly. This is a huge region. People underestimate the responsibility to service a large region like this. Grand Bay-Westfield, frankly, is the largest community next to Saint John,” Loser said.

Losier thinks the big investments are the important things and she would count the Brundage Point River Centre as one of them.

“It’s important to maintain access for this waterside community,” Losier said.

She wants someone to come into the role with the same level of enthusiasm as she did at the age of 36.

Losier says it’s time to step aside because she has things she wants to do with her husband, family and friends.