Headline News

New faces alter council dynamics

November 4, 2026

By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Good morning to a brand-new day and, in some cases, a brand-new council. Even if only one councillor was replaced, the dynamic will be altered among the entire group. After working with the same people for four years, a newbie can add some positivity or otherwise to chambers.

Differences in opinion or even core beliefs and philosophies over years often lead to bruised feelings or worse. Sarnia’s council, for example, has played like a prime-time soap opera with threats, accusations and more.

Happily, this is the exception and not the rule. While every council has disagreements that spawn robust debate, most of the time a motion passes or fails based on its merits or lack thereof.

So, in a way they all get a clean slate again. What they do with it will dictate what you do with your vote the next time. It’s not an easy job being a municipal representative. Unlike provincial and federal politicians, they’re directly accessible to the public at all hours of the day and night for all manner of issues. I’m not saying upper-tier politicians don’t work hard for their constituents, but when you live in the same neighbourhood, shop at the same grocery store and take your kids to the same activities, you’re much more accessible. I’ve known some who answer calls late in the evening and very early in the morning.

I’ve asked a few why they do it, because I would never want to put myself in that position. Clearly, someone who would eventually tell people to leave him alone would not make for a good councillor. 

Most of them replied with similar sentiments. They do it because they want to better their communities for the present generation and for those coming. They see needs that aren’t being addressed and failures that should be successes.

In the end, if you like someone, you vote them back in. If you didn’t, you choose someone else. That’s a keystone of our democracy and a good way to make your voice heard.

On a lighter note, the temperature is finally dropping a bit. For heat-weenies like me, it couldn’t come soon enough. Some people are startled by how much I can perspire in 30C heat, especially if there’s no breeze. I might just as well walk around with a towel over my shoulders. Yet, the opposite is true for others. A reporter I worked with a few years ago would have a space heater beside his desk in July. The indoor temperature was kept at a steady 22C, but that didn’t cut it with this fellow, who always looked like a human Popsicle when he would come in from the great outdoors in February. He was born and bred in Canada, but like a tiger in a snow-covered zoo, still looked and felt out of place. We each had seasons that gave us the opportunity to tease the other, but it was always taken in fun, even when I was steaming and his lips were blue.

And with that, enjoy autumn and all the bright colours and neutral temperatures it brings.