The usual pomp and ceremony was missing as Lambton County elected its 159th warden virtually for the first time Wednesday morning.
Enniskillen Township Mayor Kevin Marriott was promoted to the role by secret ballot after serving as deputy warden for the past two years.
He told council 2020 has brought lifestyle changes that will be remembered and reflected on for a long time.
"Some of these changes that have happened will be the new normal for quite some time, however the biggest changes and challenges are yet to come," said Marriott.
He said downloads from upper tier governments could be a one-two punch in the future.
"The federal and provincial governments have increased the debt by more than $475 billion in one year. I fear that both the upper and lower tiers of Lambton may feel much pressure from cutbacks. Probably even worse than those of the 1990's when it was also top-down austerity. Anyone who was on this municipal council then can attest to the pain we went through with those downloads."
According to Marriott, the county has to prepare for significant spending in four areas.
"We are facing very large infrastructure investments at our long-term care homes due to provincial standards of when they need to be replaced, we need additional affordable housing, we need to start building reserve to purchase the shared services building in ten years and continue to add to our asset management plan with each budget."
Marriott defeated incumbent, Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber who was seeking a third consecutive term, and Sarnia councillor Brian White on the first ballot.
Point Edward Mayor Bev Hand was elected deputy warden.
"I feel like I've learned a lot in the last four years since I joined the county system, from attending the council meetings, the committee meetings and activities, such as the farm tour and the project tour, and I look forward to continuing to learn," said Hand.
Hand defeated Warwick Township Mayor Jackie Rombouts and Sarnia councillor Mike Stark.
Lambton County Council claps as Enniskillen Township Mayor Kevin Marriott is declared the 159th warden. December 2, 2020 Photo screenshot from ZOOM election.