Team effort brings Ganann to West Lincoln mayor’s seat

By Joanne McDonald

For NewsNow

Voters delivered a resounding victory to Cheryl Ganann Monday night, ousting incumbent Dave Bylsma to become the next mayor of West Lincoln.

After weeks of debates and a house divided, Ganann received a strong mandate to serve, winning 3768 votes over Bylsma with 1484 votes and Greg Stephens, 256 votes.

A large crowd packed the Smithville Legion Monday night and they brought the house down as the polls closed and the unofficial election results rolled in for the new slate of council.

Ganann in return took the stage and rolled the credits, unfurling a long scroll of names and thanking the team that helped put her in the mayor’s seat with an overwhelming 68.4 per cent of the votes.

“I am very pleased with the positive campaign that we ran,” Ganann said celebrating with her team. “We have a terrific Council and I am honoured to lead this team. We have many strong voices that will be at the table as we move forward but I think that step one is our own team building.”

“We’ve been so divisive over the last council term,” Ganann said, now planning to forge strong relationships in every corner of the municipality.  “My first job is to build relationships with council, staff and the community.” She will also be working to build relationships with the business community.

Bylsma paid tribute to the new mayor. “Congratulations to Cheryl Ganann. I ran a thorough and fair campaign. It was an honour to serve West Lincoln for eight years.”

The voters’ voice was clear.

“Of course I had hoped for a huge margin of votes either way as it was important for the community to have a strong say in its own future.”

Ganann said she asked volunteers to refrain from engaging in negative discussions as they knocked on doors and everyone stuck to the plan. “My personal mantra became that ‘it is not about the past four years, but rather the next four and beyond that’ as I spoke with residents in all three wards.”

“We need to recognize that we all care about our community and work on doing good work together as a strong team, debating issues appropriately but putting those differences aside as we make the best possible decisions for our residents.”

“It is my intention to have a respectful, responsive and responsible Council representing a community of people who will be proud of those whom they have elected to represent them.”

Debbie Thiele attested to the newly-minted mayor’s tenacity at relationship building. They’ve known each other since Ganann, a former teacher, taught her son Mitchell everything he needed to know in Kindergarten and they’ve since worked on numerous community ventures.

“Cheryl is going to do great things for this community,” Thiele said. “She is just a lovely person.”

Ganann said she drew inspiration from a book by George Cuff entitled ‘The Mayor’ that tackles the significant aspects tethered to public office.

“My takeaway was that a mayor must understand how to build trust, build relationships and build a sense of community,” adding, “that is my plan in a nutshell.”

REGIONAL COUNCILLOR

A steady hand at the helm, incumbent Albert Witteveen is back for a second term as Niagara regional councillor for West Lincoln.

Witteveen’s message of balanced growth while protecting agricultural and escarpment lands and Greenbelt resonated with voters returning him in a close race for the seat, with 2,885 votes over contender Peggy Cook with 2,407 votes.

Witteveen said he will continue to work on completing unfinished tasks in the upcoming term and ensure that all individuals have a voice at the table. A self-employed farmer and business person, Witteveen was the first-ever elected member from West Lincoln to regional council, winning the inaugural position in 2018.

WL COUNCIL TABLE

Back for another term in Ward 1, incumbents Jason Trombetta was returned with 1,023 votes  and Mike Rehner with 680 votes. Contenders Paul Griffin trailed with 416 votes and Henry Vis with 316 votes.

A huge vote of confidence has put Joann Chechalk (previous councillor for eight years) back on council, winning Ward 2 with 709 votes. Incumbent Shelley Ann Bradaric won her seat with 576 votes. Incumbent Harold Jonker lost his bid with 529 votes along with newcomer Eric Ravensbergen with 512 votes.

Ward 3 returned incumbent William Reilly with 1,938 votes and Terry Bell, a council member before 2018, is back with 1,671 votes. Contenders Mark Wanders trailed with 693 votes and Clarence Vanderhout, 525 votes.

DSBN TRUSTEE

Deanne MacIntosh earned a decisive win as West Lincoln/Wainfleet trustee for the District School Board of Niagara with 4,038 votes, over contender Jessica VanSydenborgh with 2,309 votes.