Enniskillen Mayor Kevin Marriott has been acclaimed as Lambton County's 160th warden, and City of Sarnia/County Councillor Brian White will serve as deputy warden for the next two years.
Lambton County Council held its inaugural meeting Wednesday morning, following October's municipal election.
Marriott was the only declared candidate for the position. He was first elected as warden in 2020 during a virtual meeting due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"I'm flattered that nobody decided to run during the last minute but we've got lots of work to continue to do and it's going to be challenging," said Marriott.
In a secret ballot, White was elected over former deputy warden and Point Edward Mayor Bev Hand and Brooke-Alvinston Mayor David Ferguson.
"It's truly an honour for my colleagues to select me to be the deputy warden of Lambton County and quite honestly, I'm humbled by their confidence in me to serve them," said White.
After results of the vote were announced, Marriott was escorted upstairs by Lambton County's 158th warden Bill Weber for the ceremonial gowning. Marriott was later piped back into council chambers.
Marriott and White will serve in their newly elected positions for the 2023-2024 term.
Some of the top priorities both Marriott and White alluded to were the county's economic and social issues.
There are several new members on county council, including St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar, Plympton-Wyoming Mayor Gary Atkinson, Warwick Mayor Todd Case, Lambton Shores Deputy Mayor Dan Sageman, City of Sarnia/County Councillor Chrissy McRoberts, and City/County Councillor Bill Dennis.
"Going forward, everybody will have to work together. I hope everybody puts their biases behind from where they come from and work together for the county as a whole," said Marriott.
Meanwhile, White said he believes that the relationship between city and county members is "fairly strong" and trust was built during the past two years.
"I think the pandemic really helped solidify that relationship and understanding that working together through public health, for example, and through some of the emergency measures means that we were able to get through it a lot better," said White. "I believe the strength is there and I believe that we now have a trust that we can work together on some of these critical issues."
The full list of 17 Lambton County Council members to serve from 2023-2026, can be found by clicking here.
The only council member not present during Wednesday's meeting was Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley.
