Bradford West Gwillimbury Deputy Mayor James Leduc has decided to run for the position of warden of Simcoe County. County council is currently comprised of representation from all 16 member municipalities. The elected mayor and deputy mayor (or reeve and deputy) of each municipality sit as members of the council. The warden, who serves a two-year term, is elected by his or her peers.
Bradford and West Gwillimbury politicians have filled the top county council position 14 times in the past 172 years. In fact, the third warden of Simcoe County, appointed to the position in 1846 by the Crown, was William Armson, West Gwillimbury councillor and later reeve. After his initial appointment, Armson became the first elected warden of the county, serving between 1847 to 1852.
Later wardens served one-year terms – Thomas Atkins in 1874, George M. Evans in 1883, James S. Boddy in 1896, A.E. Scanlon in 1912, William Wood in 1914, J.E. Coombs in 1924, C.T.S. Evans in 1949, D.A. Evans in 1958, Herbert Hughes in 1965, R. Bruce Stewart in 1971, Orville Hughes in 1976, John Fennell in 1981, and Dennis Roughley in 2005. In 2010, for greater continuity, the warden’s term was extended to two years.
John Fennell was warden in 1981 in the days before Bradford West Gwillimbury's amalgamation. “There were close to 50 votes… It was quite a big county council,” said Fennell. At the time, the tradition was to elect a Warden from North Simcoe one year, and South Simcoe the next. “That doesn’t happen any more,” he said.
“There were a number of challenges at that time. There was a study to get population and industry to the north end, to Collingwood, Midland and Orillia. It was fairly successful, to a degree,” and relied on 10-year tax breaks to draw employers north, Fennell said. “Unfortunately, at the end of the 10 years a lot of them moved out.” Overall, Fennell enjoyed his term as warden. “It was quite enjoyable, quite an insightful term. You attended a lot of meetings. It was pretty near a full-time job.”
Dennis Roughley was warden at a time of great change in 2005. “It was the time when the Province of Ontario was downloading services,” including ambulance service, and long-term and community care, he noted. “The county already had community housing, like Miller Park, that we had to extend and expand. We had to make a significant difference in what was provided.” The result was also a significant increase in the county budget, which quickly went from about $80 million, to half a billion dollars. As warden, his role was to oversee the changes, “working with others to make it happen.”
It was a demanding job. “I was going seven days a week,” said Roughley. “I remember putting 50,000 kilometres on the car. One thing I learned was how to get around the county quickly!” Retired from politics, he remains chair of the Past Wardens Association. The county, he said, is “shockingly different today than it was when I was first there."
Sources: From Governor Simcoe Slept Here: The Legacy of West Gwillimbury, Simcoe.ca, and personal interviews.
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