Leland Anthony voted warden of MoY council

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The council for the Municipality of Yarmouth elected its two longest-serving members as warden and deputy warden last night during a swearing-in ceremony.

Leland Anthony, a 14-year veteran of council, was elected warden and Ken Crosby was elected deputy warden.

In the aftermath of an election that saw three sitting councillors ousted and one not re-offer, the choice of Anthony as warden is somewhat ironic. Anthony is now the only remaining councillor who voted in favour of the new municipal office building, a hot-button topic that played a large role in the change around the council table.

But the new warden said that is in the past. He said the councillors are ready to move forward and, as they do, must be committed to keeping an open dialogue with residents and making decisions that will help advance the community.

"They're like a young stallion," he said, "they want to get going."

Council chambers at the Yarmouth Courthouse was full, the first time a council meeting could boast such a feat since the public meeting about the new building more than a year ago. One of the challenges the new council will face after the ceremony of last night passes is how to get and keep people engaged. Anthony, whose district had the lowest voter turnout in Yarmouth County during the election with just 29 per cent, said he's hoping that's where the new councillors can play an early role.

"People wanted a change, so here's the perfect opportunity. If they wanted a change they have a change — there's four new councillors. Let's give (those councillors) a challenge and say, 'OK, you form a committee and get some ideas of how we can get people out to our chambers and participate in our meetings.'"