Municipal elections 2017: Stanstead Township
Current Stanstead Township Mayor Francine Caron Markwell is running to keep her position for a second mandate.
She is being challenged by Fitch Bay resident Stéphane Pouilot, who is on his third attempt at the mayorship in the municipality.
According to Pouilot, there are four main issues faced by Stanstead Township at the moment; the fire services merger, the municipality’s waste disposal schedule, the health of the lake and the town’s expenses.
Pouilot said he the lake has been a preoccupation of his since 2004.
“That’s one of the reasons I want to pick up the seat,” Pouilot said, wanting to bring the situation to the attention of higher levels of government.
When asked what makes him a good mayoral candidate, Pouilot said he has been following local municipal politics for 10 years, and has made three attempts to run for mayor.
He said he volunteers in town, and is a sound board for citizens who stop to talk to him all times of day at the marina.
“I’m used to working with people,” Pouilot said, adding that he is in tune with the interests of the community.
Pouilot said his vision for an upcoming mandate would be to bring more transparency to council.
He would also like to see a balanced budget for the town. “We have to make sure people can afford the decisions we are making,” he said.
He added that his main focus would be the health of the lake. “We have to settle the quality of the water so that we can keep property values where they should be.”
Pouilot also said that he would try to make council work as a team rather than act independently.
Francine Caron-markwell said that based on the public consultations held during the last four years, the main concern of Stanstead Township residents is the environment.
Keeping taxes low was also on the radar, she added, pointing out that the municipality has one of the lowest in the MRC.
Caron-markwell said four years as a councillor and her recent four years of experience as mayor made her a good candidate to continue the job for another term.
“I’m available, people can get in touch pretty much any time,” she said, always ready to meet with citizens.
“I want to continue the projects that are started and keep going,” Caron-markwell commented.
“I know the files,” she added, which she considered an advantage over someone starting from scratch.
Caron-markwell said she has made an effort to improve communication with residents in the municipality by sending out an English and French summary after council meetings.
“There’s always room for improvement,” she said, hoping to build on the work she has begun.
Regarding her vision for an upcoming mandate, Caron-markwell said that tourism is a very important industry for the municipality.
She pointed out that under her tenure Stanstead Township had received a number of grants for projects that the town had never applied for before.
“We’re working on more and more all the time,” she said, hoping to ultimately follow through on plans for a new fire station and community centre.
Caron-markwell said she would like to continue to make improvements to the villages in the municipality, using sound financial management to keep tax rates reasonable.