Hastings Highlands all candidates meeting attracts old and new talent

October 23, 2026

By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Hastings Highlands Interlake Association hosted an all candidates meeting for all the candidates running for council in the Oct. 26 election. The meeting was held on Sept. 19 at Emond Hall in the HH municipal building in Maynooth. The event was livestreamed on You Tube with the assistance of MooseFM’s multi-station program director Michelle Somerville.

The candidates running for mayor and councillor positions were all present to lay out their platforms and share their views on how they’d shepherd the municipality into the next four years. Tammy Davis, the candidate for deputy mayor was also present, but she was acclaimed in the position, meaning nobody is running against her. Bonny McCleery Scanlan with Hastings Highlands Interlake, Tony Fitzgerald, current mayor of HH and Joe Shulman, who’s running for mayor, comment to The Bancroft Times on this informative meeting that gives HH ratepayers the lowdown on who to vote for for their municipal government to take them through the next four years.

The candidates present that day were Tony Fitzgerald and Joe Shulman for mayor, Tammy Davis for deputy mayor, Keith Buck, Roger Davis, Wayne Elliot, Tracy Hagar, Dave Hunt, Liam Kearney, Brad MacDonald, Nancy Matheson, Joan Nieman, and Troy Thrower for councillor.

The moderator, Marlin Horst, president of Hastings Highlands Interlake, got started with meeting by having each candidate lay out their platform for the crowd in attendance. Mayor Tony Fitzgerald went first, thanking everyone for being there and outlining his experience as a councillor since 2018, mayor since 2022 and deputy warden of Hastings County and chair of the County’s finance committee for the past two years.

“During this last term, I’m proud of what we accomplished. We passed our second strategic plan that highlights our key priorities, keeps us focused as a council and it’s one of the reasons we get so much done. One of our goals was financial sustainability and accountability. We now have the third lowest residential tax rate in Hastings County out of 14 municipalities. We are also a lakes-based economy so we’ve made great gains and work to try to look after the health of our lakes. We work with our local lake associations, the Interlakes group, BASC, and even national groups like Watersheds Canada. We put on some awesome workshops such as the shoreline restoration workshops which were well attended to keep those things in charge. Our greatest accomplishment though, I think is the $35 million grant that we got for the rehabilitation and resurfacing of former Hwy 62 all the way from the four corners here in Maynooth to the Renfrew County line, including two bridges, structural culverts, shoulders, guide rails, the whole thing. The engineering and design work is presently underway, and we’ll be receiving that report this fall. We’ll put that together into the tenders and construction should start early in 2027 and we anticipate it being done by the end of 2028. It’s a massive job, $25 million with no municipal contribution, just doesn’t happen, so that’s an incredible compliment. I bring proven, reliable and responsible leadership for this municipality. I’d be honoured and privileged to be given the opportunity to continue to lead Hastings Highlands into the future as your mayor,” he says.

Shulman spoke next, saying he’d lived in Hastings Highlands for 38 years and had run two businesses locally with his partner; a guest house for 19 years and a gallery for 10 years.

“So, I’m well aware of the economic driving forces here. I’m a long-time advocate for economic development through the many years that I was on the board of the Maynooth and Hastings Highlands business association. It started as a new business association and segwayed into a larger name when the scope changed. This upcoming mayoral term will take us to 2030 which is a number when I was growing up, was the future, science fiction future. But here it’s coming down the pipe. We do need a mayor with a vision for Hastings Highlands future and the ability to work toward it. The status quo isn’t going to go. Fire season is getting worse every year with climate change, and we need to meet it. As mayor, I would aggressively pursue grants and fundraising to rebuild some of the fire halls and aggressively recruit new volunteer firefighters as they are on the front line. The culture sector has potential for expansive economic growth and to make us a destination. Strategic partnerships with other municipalities to boost tourism, to take advantage of the fact that we’re 14 municipalities within the second largest county in Ontario. I want to put dollars and infrastructure back into the community. Municipal politics can and should be exciting, as exciting as this room is right now,” he says.

Tammy Davis spoke next, saying she had the good fortune to have been acclaimed as deputy mayor for the next four years and that she takes that honour seriously and will work with the council elected by their constituents.

“I am here for the same reason you are. We have some great new faces and some of our existing council and I look forward to hearing from each member on their platform and how they’re going to make improvements in Hastings Highlands. I do live here in Hastings Highlands, just off of Papineau Lake and I work in Bancroft. I drive the roads every day and I know the issues we have with our roads. We know there’s so much we need to do in our municipality with very little money. One thing I would point out to you to keep in mind as you’re listening to people speaking, is that one per cent of our taxes is a little over $94,000. So, whenever we’re looking for additional resources, if we’re looking to make reductions, remember that. I just want you to know that I’m available to you, and I’m open to meeting with anybody and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning,” she says.

Buck next spoke, saying he was asked why he runs for council and he said the simple truth is that he believes that good local government comes down to three basic activities; be a good listener, do your homework and ask questions.

“One of the most important things I’ve learned over the years is that the best decisions don’t always come from loudest voice in the room. They come from listening, knowing the facts, asking questions, and working together to find solutions. At the beginning of this term, I identified fire services, taxation, economic development and the fair delivery of services as things council should work on, and I’m pleased to say, much has been accomplished. The ongoing evolution of our fire services, responsible property tax increases, delivering services that meet the needs, and working with the MNRF to expand and improve our boat launches. We face many important challenges moving ahead; improving our local roads, development, taxation and services. I believe residents deserve a councillor who will take the time to understand the issues, ask tough questions and make decisions based on facts and what’s best for the community. I’m not running because I have all the answers, because I certainly don’t. But because I believe I’m willing to listen, learn, work hard, and be accountable to you folks,” he says.

Roger Davis spoke next, saying that this is what makes Hastings Highlands so great; participation.

“Not just from the people at the table here, but the people out there sitting on the chairs watching us. A lot of people today are going to talk about transparency. Every time we attend a council meeting, we’re asked if we have conflicts of interest, we have to be transparent. We’re on YouTube. You can look at it and see what we do and I encourage you to do that. I’d just like to highlight a couple of things that have been accomplished since I’ve been councillor. Dry wells, nobody knows what they are or a lot don’t. They’re those red things you see sticking out by lakes and creeks that the fire department can go and get water from in the middle of the winter and they’re found all over the municipality. A lot of people don’t realize what it costs to keep us going. Those dump trucks that you see going up and down the road; $950,000 for one of those. It’s a lot of money so just bear in mind,” he says.

Hagar spoke next, saying that over her 30 years working and volunteering locally led her to run for council.

“After 12 years I continue to learn and grow every day. My first term as councillor, my second as deputy mayor, then halfway through that council term, council appointed me to the mayoral seat. Those two years as mayor were the most exciting and rewarding and I met people from all over our County; MPs, MPPs, and had several meetings with ministers about our municipality’s needs. Because of a personal reason, I ran as a councillor again in this last election, putting the needs of my family first. This past term continues to be rewarding in a different quieter way. I thank you my community for putting your trust in me to be your voice at the council table. I love being helpful, I love to listen, and learn what each and every concern you have to come to me with. If given the opportunity to serve you for the next four years, I will continue to be your voice, your information source, and your advocate at the council table,” she says.

Matheson spoke next, saying her 14 years on council, 30 years as a resident and 12 years as a business owner had given her a strong understanding of the community.

“I have always made it a priority to come to the table prepared. I research the issues, ask questions, listen to different perspectives and make decisions based on facts and what I believe is in the best interest of Hastings Highlands. My platform is rooted in one word; balance. Good decisions come from balance, weighing community needs, costs, the ability to pay environmental protection and long-term impacts by approach a steady, practical and grounded in experience. That means being fiscally responsible while maintaining the essential services our residents depend on. It means making thoughtful decisions about spending while respecting our stakeholders and their ability to pay. It also means responsible growth. Hastings Highlands has tremendous potential but growth needs to be sustainable. We need to support opportunities that strengthen our local economy and our community while protecting the rural character, natural environment and quality of life that makes Hastings Highlands such a special place to live. Good municipal government isn’t about making promises. It’s about listening doing the research, weighing the options, and making responsible decisions for the long-term. I am asking for your support because I believe my experience, my commitment to this community and my approach to balanced fiscal responsibility and sustainable growth will allow me to continue working for Hastings Highlands and helping move our municipality forward in a thoughtful and responsible way,” she says.

Nieman, who’s lived in Hastings Highlands for 67 years, is a current member of council and worked for 21 years prior to that beside what she described as a great municipal team.

“There is lots of new interest in our municipality which I think is terrific. I cannot make promises that I cannot keep. But I will be your voice and I will be your supporter and a listener and I love to talk. We will try to make the best decisions for everyone for the future of Hastings Highlands. The present council has worked very hard over the past four years making some difficult decisions be we have had good news. As Tony mentioned we got $25 million to do that horrible road from her to the County of Renfrew and it’s literally falling apart. I wish we had another $25 million because we have that many more roads to look after. Anyway, I would like to have a very good vision, and I know roads are our biggest priority. But I will work hard for you and I’m a good listener,” she says.

Elliot says he grew up in the area and he is running because he’s really into community engagement.

“I would like to expand how much people are involved with council in particular. I think that at this point, there’s a lot of new people in the area and with that comes a lot of new expertise. We have a lot of new skills and if we can engage you folks into making this place a better place, I think that will go a long way. Right now there’s a lot of issues that are building around climate change and other things we really need to be addressing. But I do think we have the skills and the people to be able to do that and being able to engage a wider populace in these issues. I think that is one of my primary mandates as a community-based person, so that is my pitch,” he says.

Hunt said he decided to run because they’d been cottagers in the area for 24 years and he knows all the issues that cottagers have.

“I do have issue and know the issues that real people have here. Roads, I’ve been on them. I’ve been on the road actually for a couple of weeks walking, knocking on doors and hearing problems that everybody seems to be having, and I would like to be everybody’s eyes, ears and voice on council,” he says.

Kearney said he’d been coming up to the area for over 20 years and that he and his wife moved up here seven years ago.

“I’ve been listening to people every since I decided to run for council. With issues that they have and I’d like to be able to assist them, help them with it. I can’t guarantee anything will get fixed but I’ll try my best and see what we can do. I decided to run for council because I’d like to give back to the community. I’ve been with the Hastings Highlands fire department for six years now. I look forward to hearing from people if you have any questions for concerns, feel free to bring it forward. If you do bring an issue forward, try to put forth a solution as well as it’s easier to work with, and help someone who perhaps doesn’t see it all the time,” he says.

MacDonald said he’s a fifth generation Hastings Highlands resident and that in addition to running a beef farm with his family in Purdy, he also works as an automotive sales person at Paul Price Ford in Bancroft.

“I am running for council because I’ve always had a keen interest in politics and I feel I can benefit the community with my entrepreneurial experience.

I want to make Hastings Highlands an appealing place to live, work and play so we can attract and retain as many residents as possible. My main priority is fiscal responsibility, growing our local economy and being accountable and accessible to taxpayers with regard to fiscal responsibility. I’d like to commend our current council for tabling a balanced budget for 2026. That being said, there’s always room for improvement. Going forward, it will be more important for municipalities to be fiscally responsible,” he says.

Thrower spoke last, saying he is a retired teacher and has lived in the area for about 30 years.

“The reason I want to run for council is I have three children that have grown up in this area and they’re now at the time in their life when they’re going to be buying a house and it’s not an easy time to be doing that. We’ve got to keep our taxes down and keep money in our pockets. As a councillor, I’d fight for that. I want my kids to grow up in a community like I did with clean lakes, safe roads and that’s an area where I think we need to find improvement. I want to thank everyone for coming. Democracy has taken a hit in the last 20 years and it’s really nice, to see it alive and well here in Hastings Highlands,” he says.

Horst then asked the candidates questions, ranging from the primary issues facing Hastings Highlands, the top three priorities and how they’d address them within the confines of the budget, their reasons for seeking a council seat, their personal achievements while on council (for the incumbents), OPP costs and why they’re so high and how they work to mitigate them, common issues that voters come to them with that need addressing, the Strategic Plan with regard to bylaws, whether the reserves are kept at sufficient levels to address future needs, septic systems and water quality and many more. The question-and-answer portion of the meeting can be found on YouTube under “HH all candidates meeting” at 49:27, and on Facebook on the HH Interlake page.

McCleery Scanlan said they were thrilled with the turnout.

“You just never know when you are doing a public event how many will show up. We had about 162 people attending in person according to our sign in sheets including our volunteers. A huge thanks also to Michelle Somerville – Moose FM for volunteering her expertise and time, rather last minute to set up the live stream. We are now at 281 views on that link! Democracy is alive and well in Hastings Highlands. This marked the third all candidates meeting for Hastings Highlands Interlake. We extend our gratitude to both current and former volunteers for their contributions, which have enhanced the process. Insights gained from the Elections staff at Hastings Highlands have been noted, are now documented for the next all candidates meeting! The success of the event hinged on the candidates who participated at the event from the beginning providing their overview and pictures for profiles that we could distribute. They expressed their gratitude for the well-organized nature of the gathering. Additionally, our volunteer, Tom Scanlan, reached out to various businesses in Maynooth and Birds Creek to gather their concerns, understanding that many owners might be unable to attend due to their commitments. The planning committee crafted a set of pre-selected questions, while members of the lake associations contributed their inquiries for the candidates. On the day of the event, attendees were provided with questionnaire forms to submit their questions, resulting in an overwhelming response that unfortunately could not all be addressed within the limited time available. Consequently, the questions were compiled and forwarded to all candidates, allowing them to review the public’s concerns and expectations for the upcoming council. Memorable moments – the attendance!” she says. “Having spent many volunteer hours in preparation over summertime at the cottage, this was the reward!”