Mayor, deputy acclaimed
Politics has never been a spectator sport for Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos until this fall.
In what must be a resounding confirmation that the citizens of Kingsville are content, Santos and Deputy Mayor Gord Queen both retained their positions by acclamation. Santos will begin his fifth term as mayor while Queen is entering his second term as deputy mayor. He admitted it was a strange feeling not having an opponent for the first time in 15 years. With a vibrant downtown core, strong residential growth and one of the most expensive high schools in the history of Ontario expected to break ground in the upcoming term, Santos said he has received a lot of positive feedback from residents on the town’s direction. “I feel we’ve had strong leadership on council and there’s an energy and excitement in town,” he said.
Santos said managing that growth in a way that preserves the flavour of the town is a priority as Kingsville updates its master plan. With the town’s core in healthy position, the focus on the new $44-million high school will dominate a lot of what happens over the next four years.
“It’s a huge infrastructure investment,” Santos said.
“We have to make investments in active transportation connecting the school and the rest of the community. We also must plan for expanded services, such as in arts and culture, which people want.”