Ernie Margetson wins mayor’s seat; voter turn out over 50% but ballot question fails

Mayor-elect Ernie Margetson with wife Dawn Carleton, daughters Abby and Leah, and Mayor Steve Ferguson. – Sue Capon photo

By Sue Capon
Ernie Margetson will be taking over the mayor’s seat in Prince Edward County with six incumbent councillors (three acclaimed) and seven new faces.

Voter turnout at 50.07 per cent (13,381 of 26,723 voters) was higher than 2022’s election at 47.05 per cent (11,262 voters) and even though it broke the 50 per cent threshold necessary, the mandate for a third-party review of council size and related ward boundaries failed, as not all the voters answered the question on the ballot.

Just 12,829 of the electors answered the question: Are you in favour of a third-party review of Council size and related ward boundaries?

However, of those that did answer the question, 69.8 per cent voted “yes” and 30.2 per cent voted “no”. If the official numbers confirm less than 50 per cent answered the question, the issue can still be brought to the horseshoe with a motion.

More people voted online at 8,114 while 5,267 votes were tabulated.

All results are considered unofficial until County Clerk/Returning Officer Catalina Blumenberg declares them official, expected to be Wednesday afternoon.

“The turnout indicates local democracy is healthy in Prince Edward County,” said Blumenberg. “Our dedicated election workers helped thousands of people easily and efficiently cast their ballots. I want to thank everyone for their hard work and professionalism throughout the election.”

With 62.2 per cent of the vote (8,261 ballots), Margetson won the seat over former councillor Brad Nieman at 27.1 per cent with 3,598 votes and Terry Shortt at 10.8 per cent with 1,430 votes.

Six incumbents are returning to the horseshow – three acclaimed councillors John Hirsh (South Marysburgh) Corey Engelsdorfer (Wellington) and Chris Braney (Hillier) and three re-elected: Bill Roberts (Sophiasburgh), Kate MacNaughton (Picton) and Sam Grosso (Ameliasburgh). Three incumbents are not returning: Phil St.-Jean, Janice Maynard and Nieman.

New faces include Jane Lesslie in Picton; Kane Rutgers and Mark Henry in Bloomfield; former councillors Andreas Bolik and Dianne O’Brien representing Ameliasburgh; Emily Jane Pickstock in Athol, and Ken Morton for North Marysburgh.

Margetson said he felt great about the victory following his campaign.

“It was a six-month journey with a lot of ups and downs – a bit of an emotional roller coaster,” said Margetson. “You think you’re doing really well one day and the next day you hear something and you think ‘Oh, I’ve got to work that much harder and try my best.

Margetson poured his time and energy into preparing for the many all-candidates’ debates and meetings and learned more about the community.

“That’s one thing about the campaign,” he noted. “You learn a lot. You talk to people and you go to groups that are helping our community and you find out what they’re doing. It really makes you fell like you’re part of it and you understand how much we care about each other.”

He noted he’s looking forward to what’s next and working with current mayor Steve Ferguson during the transition.

Ferguson was at the election night watch party held at the Wellington arena and said the feelings were bittersweet.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the role I have played for eight years. I’m very proud of the accomplishments this municipality as been able to complete over the course of those years – some very significant: the hospital, long-term care, County Road 49, the roundabout to name a few.

“It’s been an honour and a privilege and I’m going to miss it but I’m looking forward to helping the next mayor acclimate to the position and put him in exactly the right position to be able to affect moving Prince Edward County forward.”

The council term runs four years starting in December and this new council will see new salaries with the mayor at $96,550 and councillors at $40,422.

Unofficial results by ward (elected in bold):

Ward 1 Picton
Jane Lesslie: 1,481 (38.6%)
Kate MacNaughton 1,238 (32.3%)
Phil St. Jean 793 (20.7%)
Emery Niles 323 (8.4%)

Ward 2 Bloomfield/Hallowell
Kane Rutgers 1,105 (24.4%)
Mark Henry 819 (18.1%)
Victor Lind 794 (17.5%)
Erynn Ahern 642 (14.2%)
Joanne Fralick 444 (9.8%)
Mark Hopper 284 (6.3%)
Kyle Mayne 230 (5.1%)
Geoff Heinricks 215 (4.7%)

Ward 3 Wellington
Corey Engelsdorfer acclaimed

Ward 4 Ameliasburgh
Andreas Bolik 1,604 (26.9%)
Dianne O’Brien 1,329 (22.3%)
Sam Grosso 904 (15.1%)
Janice Maynard 838 (14%)
Doug Villeneuve 692 (11.6%)
Paul Boyd 603 (10.1%)

Ward 5 Athol
Emily Jane Pickstock 268 (32.1%)
Anna Zak 242 (28.9%)
Tyler Langmuir 204 (24.4%)
Haley Woods 122 (14.6%)

Ward 6 Sophiasburgh
Bill Roberts 552, (41.7%)
Megan Hutton 344 (26%)
Rachael Prinzen 255 (19.3%)
Les Chapman 173 (13.1%)

Ward 7 Hillier
Chris Braney acclaimed

Ward 8 North Marysburgh
Ken Morton 402 (40.9%)
Tracey Stevens 303 (30.8)
Siobhan Harrison 279 (28.4%)

Ward 9 South Marysville
John Hirsch acclaimed

English Public School Hastings and Prince Edward School Board Wards 1, 2, 5, 8 and 9:
Codie Goodman 3,908 (66.9%)
Peter Wheeler 1,934 (33.1%)

English Public School Hastings and Prince Edward School Board wards 3, 4, 6 and 7:
Former trustee Jennifer Cobb acclaimed.

English Separate School Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
Incumbent Jacqueline Fernandes acclaimed.

Neighbouring Belleville has a new mayor as Paul Fleming ended with 700 votes over Neil Ellis. Fleming tallied 8293 while Ellis ended with 7492.

In Quinte West, Zack Card is the new mayor with 7,524 votes over Shelley Stedall’s 5,180.