Fifteen years after last being on Ritchot council, a man from Ste.Agathe is hoping for a return to municipal politics.

Gene Whitney is a retired federal civil servant who served as a Councillor in Ritchot from 1995 to 2002. Whitney says in the history of the municipality, that is probably the worst period because of the 1997 flood.

Whitney says he decided to run for the position of Mayor because he had heard a rumour that the former Mayor had thought she would get in by acclamation.

"I believe strongly in our democratic system and figured that I would put my name in the hat to make sure that the people decide," he says.

According to Whitney, campaigning is going well. He admits being taken aback by the fact people still remember him, 15 years after leaving Council. His message to voters is that he has the experience, knowledge and leadership skills to guide the new Council.

Whitney says the common concern he is hearing at the door focuses on resignations from Councillors and the Mayor earlier this year.

"Nobody can rationalize as to why," says Whitney. "And then the big concern is the same people are running again."

Whitney says he gets the feeling that voters would like to see a change on Council.

"If you elect the same five people that were there, what have you accomplished," he questions. "They couldn't get along before, there were problems, at least there's time with somebody with experience that can straighten it out so that in the next cycle the people would start with a cleaner slate."

The need for an experienced leader is the same message Jackie Hunt is sending to voters. Hunt is the most recent Mayor of Ritchot. She says experience is important this time around because of the length of time before the next election.

"We have a fifteen-month mandate and if we have new folks on Council, there is a steep learning curve to it," says Hunt. "We don't have time to kind of wait on things, we have projects that have to get going."

Hunt says her relationships with staff, neighbouring municipalities and municipal officials make her the right person to take the reins and move the new Council forward.

According to Hunt, the concerns from voters vary from one community to the next. She says there is the standard road maintenance, ditches and dust debate but then there are also concerns with riverbank stability, road safety, daycare and seniors housing. Another big issue has been how reassessment is impacting farmland.

Hunt says there is a lot of interest in this election, which is evident by the number of candidates. She is hopeful the new Council can take this momentum and get people interested in what their local government is doing with their tax dollars.

"We want to see in the polls the reflection, the effort that the candidates have made and the folks that are asking questions have made," says Hunt. "So get out and vote and that's the biggest message I can pass on to folks right now."

Election day is Wednesday, July 19th.

The other two candidates are Chris Ewen and Marianne Curtis.

Read More:

Ritchot Mayoral Candidates Part I