George Cornell acclaimed to second term as Simcoe Warden
George Cornell, mayor of the Township of Tiny, was acclaimed to serve as County of Simcoe Warden for a second term, 2021-2022.
“It has been an honour and privilege to serve as County of Simcoe Warden for the past two years and I look forward to continuing to serve and represent the interests of County Council, our residents and municipalities for another two years,” said Cornell. “We have a committed, innovative and collaborative group of County councillors, and I thank my colleagues for their renewed confidence in my leadership.”
“Our unique situation presents challenges and opportunities. We will need to continue to work together to navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, while addressing the pressing needs of our residents, businesses and community partners. From supporting the needs of social services, to long-term care, to our economy and to infrastructure needs, we all have a vested interest in an inclusive, active, safe, prosperous and age-friendly community. It is our job as county council, to understand this vision and support our staff in making it a reality in a fiscally responsible manner.”
As a civil engineer, Cornell spent his career working in the oil and gas sector. He joined municipal politics as a councillor for the Township of Tiny from 2006 to 2010. He was elected Mayor of Tiny in 2014 and was acclaimed as Mayor in 2018. As a two term county councillor, Cornell was elected as Warden for the 2019 and 2020 term.
He also serves as vice chair of the SWIFT board, a member of the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, and as a director on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative Board.
County council also elected Lynn Dollin, mayor of Innisfil, as the County of Simcoe deputy warden for 2021 and 2022.
Dollin has a diverse background in representing municipal interests. First elected to Town of Innisfil council in 1994, she served 20 years as councillor, four as deputy mayor, and is entering her third year as mayor (2018-2022 term). During her time on County of Simcoe council, Dollin has served as chair of corporate services, a member on the county’s economic development sub committee, and representative at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. Dollin has also served as a member of the board of the Association of Municipalities (AMO), as chair and vice-chair of the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities, and as president of AMO in 2016. In addition, Dollin served two years as a board member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and is one of 19 individuals to receive an appointment by the Ontario Minister of the Environment to serve as chairperson of the South Georgian Bay Lake Simcoe Source Protection Committee.
Additionally, the county’s business section chairs and vice chairs for 2021 and 2022 were elected/acclaimed on Tuesday: Don Allen, business section chair of performance management; Rob Keffer, business section chair of human services; and Richard Norcross, business section chair of corporate services; Harry Hughes, business section vice chair of performance management; Jennifer Coughlin, business section vice chair of human services; and Mike Ross, business section vice chair of corporate services.
“On behalf of all County of Simcoe staff, it’s my honour to congratulate Warden Cornell, Deputy Warden Dollin, and our Business Section Chairs and Vice Chairs,” said Mark Aitken, Chief Administrative Officer, County of Simcoe. “It has been a privilege to work with this council that has guided us through a number of significant decisions over the past two challenging years. Moving forward we continue to be well represented at the county level, as we work with our community partners and other levels of government to not only address the challenges brought on by the pandemic, but also plan for the future recovery and prosperity of our communities and residents.”
Contributed photo: Tiny Township Mayor George Cornell will serve a second term as warden for the County of Simcoe, with Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin as deputy warden.
Dufferin County council elects 144th warden
Melancthon Mayor, Darren White, was elected as the 2020/2021 head of Dufferin County council. This is White’s fourth term as warden having previously held the position in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Council also elected the four chairs to lead the standing committees of county council. Council has adopted to move to four standing committee to address the county’s needs.
Janet Horner, Mayor of Mulmur, will chair the newly formed Community Development and Tourism Committee.
Mono Mayor Laura Ryan will to oversee the Health and Human Services Committee (formerly titled Community Services/Dufferin Oaks/Museum Committee).
The General Government Services Committee will be lead again by Deputy Mayor of Mono John Creelman.
Orangeville Mayor Sandy Brown was selected as chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee.
The remaining members of Dufferin County council for 2018-2022 are: Steve Anderson, Deputy Mayor of Shelburne; Bob Currie, Mayor of Amaranth; Guy Gardhouse, Mayor of East Garafraxa; Chris Gerrits, Deputy Mayor of Amaranth; Earl Hawkins, Deputy Mayor of Mulmur; Andy Macintosh, Deputy Mayor of Orangeville; Wade Mills, Mayor of Shelburne; Philip Rentsch, Deputy Mayor of Grand Valley and Steve Soloman, Mayor of Grand Valley.
County council meetings are currently held by video conference and posted to www.youtube.com/DufferinOne. Meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at 2 p.m.