ARICHAT: Meeting for the first time since winning their seats in Richmond County’s new five-district system, the municipality’s newest municipal council chose a third-term councillor and a political newcomer as their warden and deputy warden.
The new Richmond Warden is Brian Marchand, who served the municipality’s former district 6 for the previous eight years and was acclaimed to the new district 3 in early September.
Marchand and new deputy warden Jason MacLean, who won the county’s new district 5 in his first crack at municipal politics, were unopposed for their new positions.
Immediately after assuming the chair following a swearing-in ceremony at the Richmond Municipal Building in Arichat, Marchand sought councillors’ approval to make adjustments to the public question period that normally wraps up regular monthly council meetings. The new warden is seeking to allow residents to ask questions unrelated to the official council agenda, but also cautioned that any members of the public who launch “accusations” or “innuendos” at individual councillors or staff will be asked to change their tone and, if necessary, to leave the council chambers.
“I don’t think any councillors at all should be harassed by people, and I don’t think any statements should be made without any facts,” Marchand said.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, the Louisdale resident said he hoped to address what some have referred to as “a toxic environment” at council meetings over the past year, but added that residents have every right to question council on issues that do not specifically fall on a council meeting’s official agenda.
“For the last year, I found the agendas very much controlled, so it was hard to raise issues that weren’t on the agenda, and the question periods were controlled, because anyone that went off the agenda was quickly told [to stop],” Marchand insisted.
“We might not have all the answers [to residents’ questions], but we’ll try to find them and get it to them in some good time.”
Marchand also suggested that he is “in no rush” to find a replacement for Warren Olsen, who resigned as Richmond’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at the end of October. The director of finance and deputy clerk, Jason Martell, has served as the top non-elected Richmond official following Olsen’s departure.
“I think we have a competent guy in there now, and we need to get our finances straight and see where we go from here,” the new warden declared.
“So once we continue doing that, then we might [seek a new CAO]. I’ll probably be discussing that with [council] later on, but it’s on hold for now.”
MacLean, whose election-night victory was confirmed in a recount five days before he became the new deputy warden, said he was “honoured” to receive council’s unanimous support.
“They certainly reached out to me once the initial results were over, and also after the recount,” MacLean recalled.
“We’ve been having informal conversations on the phone, mostly of a congratulatory nature, but… I’m really excited to get up and running and get into the work.”
