Three familiar faces, three new ones.
Armstrong Mayor Chris Pieper is eager to get to work with his new council, which features incumbents Shirley Fowler, Paul Britton and Ron (Sully) O’Sullivan, and newcomers Steven Drapala, Linda Werner and Lance McGregor following Saturday’s municipal election.
“The old ones have been around the table for a long time, like me, so it will be up to the four of us to welcome the newcomers,” said Pieper, acclaimed to a third term as mayor.
The mix of three incumbents and three rookies will make for a good team, according to the mayor.
“We have one young guy in Steven who reminds me of (former councillor) Ryan Nitchie, when Ryan came on board,” said Pieper. “It was nice to see how well he did and I look forward to having his younger generation input on council.”
Werner used to live across the street from Pieper, and McGregor is a former Armstrong classmate of the mayor.
“Linda does a lot for the community and Lance is well-known around town,” said Pieper.
Fowler topped the polls with Britton coming in second, Drapala third, O’Sullivan fourth, Werner fifth and McGregor sixth.
Drapala, a high school teacher, said he is humbled and honoured that so many voters would take a chance on a new face with no political experience.
“I’m excited by the results of the other elected council members, and I believe that it will be a productive four years,” said Drapala.
“I have a steep learning curve ahead of me to learn the system, but I thrive in those types of challenging situations and am eager to get to work representing community members to the best of my ability.”
Fowler, who topped the polls, is thankful to the community for having confidence in her work and is looking forward to working with the new council.
“We heard during the campaign that some needs weren’t being addressed at all or there were issues that needed to be addressed and I’m looking forward to coming up with solutions and ideas,” said Fowler.
“Armstrong is a great place to live and I want to keep it that way for the people here now, people who move here in the future and for people who are far away from home.”
