WAINFLEET COUNCILLOR CRIDLAND WON'T RUN FOR RE-ELECTION

FORMER BANKER SAID VOTERS SET STAGE FOR 'ENORMOUS' AMOUNT OF WORK ACHIEVED DURING CURRENT TERM

They may not have moved mountains, but Donna Cridland thinks members of Wainfleet council — all but one elected as rookies four years ago — achieved a monumental amount of work in the last three and a half years.

"It was an enormous amount of work for everybody," said the councillor who was one of those rookies.

That entailed achievements such as making major headway in addressing what Mayor Kevin Gibson termed a multimilliondollar infrastructure deficit on important assets such as roads and bridges, and just recently breaking ground on the township's long-awaited, new centralized fire station — a project studied and talked about for close to 20 years.

"It was really something to have landed that amount of work in one term," said Cridland. "Everybody worked really hard to have the results we achieved."

But she said the voters of Wainfleet deserve much of that credit for electing a council that worked cohesively, she said.

"You can thank the voters," said Cridland, who has just announced she won't be running for reelection. "The voters created what we have, the opportunity for us to serve. We listened to the people and we worked.

"The people now have their work now to think about their choice for the next four years."

Cridland said it was a difficult decision to opt against running for reelection.

She said in an open letter to Wainfleet residents that she'll keep working hard for them for the last six months of the current council term.

"Council still has much work to do over the next six months and this work will have my complete attention," she said. "Your council will be closing strong with all the projects that have been and will be completed."

As of May 11, no one had officially registered with the township as a candidate for mayor or one of four councillor positions

on council. Nominations began for municipal candidates on May 2 and the deadline for people to register as a candidate is Aug. 9. Cridland, who had a lengthy career in banking and is a former owner of a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario, is also a board member with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority after Wainfleet council opted it wanted her to be on the watershed protection agency board.

She said she felt honoured for being elected to council by Fleeters as a rookie four years earlier.

"Thank you again, Wainfleet, for placing your trust in me," she said. "It's been a unique and gratifying experience to work with such a collaborative team and such a great community."

Cridland said she thought hard for the better part of a year about whether to put her name

forward for council four years ago, and found hitting the campaign trail then to be a positive experience.

"I found one of the most rewarding parts of the journey was knocking on doors across Wainfleet, to hear so many stories and share so many concerns," she said. "For some, this was the first time any candidate had connected with them during an election. I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their concerns and ideas and continue to keep in touch."

Cridland urged other Fleeters to consider putting their names on the ballot, saying public service is truly rewarding.

"It just couldn't be more fulfilling for someone to do if they want to do community service," she said. "It ticks all the boxes if you want to contribute to your community."