Photo courtesy Village of Sussex Corner on Facebook.
Sussex Corner’s new mayor-elect is brand new to municipal politics and looks forward to finding out what the role entails.
Wayne Wilkins beat incumbent Mayor Steven Stackhouseby 252 votes (52 per cent) to 226 (47 per cent) in last week’s election.
He says he decided to run after attending council meetings and feeling like constituents were being left in the dark.
“When I left the (council) chambers I really didn’t know what was going on,” Wilkins explained. “It was all, I wouldn’t say secrecy, but there was no explanation of what was being done, or if a motion was put forward, what the motion meant, did it affect me directly.”
“I’m not trying to blame the council that was there, but they kind of lost sight of telling people what was going on.”
He says he wants to bring back a question and answer period following each meeting, to allow residents to gain clarity into the process.
Wilkins is ex-military and says he isn’t worried about lacking experience in municipal politics.
He cites his time in the military, as well as working on boards and with the federal government as providing him expertise in various areas that could come in handy as mayor.
“I think I have the experience to adjust to whatever comes up, it’s just there’s going to be a learning curve,” he said.
The first thing Wilkins plans to do in office is to establish a rapport with the councillors who will serve under him.
He’ll be joined by a pair of incumbents – Doug Bobbitt and Paul Taylor. Catherine Macleod, Pamela Kaye, and Robert Burgess will round out the six-member council table.
“I’ll be the rookie, and I’ll certainly go after the veterans for guidance and answers, and what I can and can’t do,” he said. “I’m a rules person, being ex-military. I know if you follow the rules you’ll have no problems.”
