Georges Pharand is the new West Nipissing Councillor

Council votes to fill vacant seat.

At a special meeting held last night, council voted to appoint Georges Pharand as the new councillor for Ward 8 (Lavigne).

Council chambers were full, as dozens attended with the majority supporting one candidate: Dave Lewington. But after hearing from each candidate and a few questions, council chose Georges Pharand to join them at the table.

Pharand has lived in the United Kingdom but recently retired to an island in West Nipissing. Most of his remarks to council were related to the AirBnB bylaw that was recently passed. Pharand was mostly in favour of the bylaw and commended council for adopting it. He blamed opposition to the bylaw on “online misinformation” which likely won over the hearts of many on council. He also stated that the one project that really fires him up is the mill site redevelopment and that council should be addressing the homeless problem while seeking an additional seat on DNSSAB.

Lewington, a farmer who has lived in Lavigne for over 20 years, used his full 10 minutes of opening remarks to offer a polite critique of council for their lack of transparency and rush to pass controversial bylaws. He sold himself as being a voice that can help council understand many residents’ frustration. He told council that he was “not new or suddenly interested in council affairs”.

Lewington along with the fourth place candidate, Christine Riberdy are the only ones who actually ran in the 2022 elections. They are also the only ones who currently sit on municipal boards. Riberdy on the cemetery and library boards and Lewington on the Environmental Services Board (which he has declined compensation for).

Corriveau and Riberdy did not comment much on public policy but generally agreed with the direction of council. Both spoke briefly on their motivation for seeking the position.

The first round of voting saw Pharand receive 4 votes, while Corriveau and Lewington received 2. Council proceeded to a second round where councillor Daniel Gagne changed his vote from Corriveau to Pharand leading to a 5-vote majority for the winner.

Pharand was then sworn in as the new councillor for Lavigne.

Final vote:
Rivard, St-Louis, Restoule, Gagne, Thorne-Rochon: Pharand

Tessier, Pellerin: Lewington

Nicol: Corriveau

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