PORT HOOD: The swearing-in of Inverness Municipal Council on November 7 resulted in the third woman being selected to lead a local municipal unit.
“There’s a new female mayor in Antigonish, and that’s also true in Port Hawkesbury. Now, the warden of Inverness County is also female,” said Betty Ann MacQuarrie, the newly-minted leader of the Municipality of the Count of Inverness.
“It’s nice to see that happening in every area,” MacQuarrie said.
MacQuarrie put her name forward to become the new warden at the Monday meeting. Long-time councillor Jim Mustard did the same, and council voted on who would take the role. That vote resulted in a 3-3 tie. In the event of a tie, the name of the new warden had to be drawn at random. MacQuarrie’s name was pulled from an envelope, and Mustard offered her congratulations.
“It feels wonderful,” said MacQuarrie. “I’m very happy for the support of my fellow councillors, even though it ended up in a draw between myself and councillor Mustard. I’ll do my best to keep the county healthy and growing.
“It could have gone either way, but my name was picked from the draw.”
MacQuarrie and Mustard took the oath of office at the swearing-in ceremony, as well as Alfred Poirier. The councillor ran unopposed for the deputy warden position, and he was acclaimed.
Also sworn in were John MacLennan for district 4, John Dowling in district 6; and Laurie Cranton, as the new district 2 representative.
“My first impressions are that we have a good six-unit council,” MacQuarrie said.
“That’s not to say the ones no longer on it weren’t fantastic, but the electorate have spoken. We have three new members and three veterans. It’s very well balanced that way.”
MacQuarrie’s mandate moving forward will include working on housing infrastructure, municipal services, and staying in touch with volunteers in the community, including development associations, fire departments, and the primary industries.
“We’re working on agricultural immigration as well, as one way of fulfilling our population strategy,” she said.
The nominating committee for Inverness County was also named at the Monday meeting. This group is a three-person unit that assigns committees to council members. Poirier, MacLennan and Dowling were named to the committee.
Also speaking at the meeting was Inverness County returning officer Dernie Gillis, who oversaw a recount earlier in the day for district 6 which was triggered after incumbent Dwayne MacDonald lost to Dowling by 39 votes. Gillis said the recount reconfirmed Dowling as the district’s new councillor.
