Enniskillen Township Mayor Kevin Marriott will be serving another two years as Lambton County's warden.
He was acclaimed Wednesday as the county's 161st warden, while St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar will serve as deputy warden.
Marriott was the only one up for the position.
By the end of this term he will be the longest serving warden for Lambton County, surpassing former Plympton-Wyoming councillor Pat Davidson.
"I'm honoured and very thankful for council's confidence in allowing me to serve as warden for the next two years that will take us to the end of this term as council. I promise to give as much of my energy and dedication as possible," Marriott said.
He said he is nervous about this term.
"We have the worry of the financial part of it because we still have to be responsible to the taxpayer and inflation has come down, so it's not going to feel good having a tax increase higher than inflation if it needs to be," Marriott said.
Agar was elected over former deputy warden and City/County Councillor Brian White in a secret ballot.
"I just want to say thank you all very much and I look forward to these next two years," Agar said.
After the results, Marriott was escorted to the warden's office by Lambton County's 158th Warden Bill Weber for the ceremonial gowning. Marriott was later piped into council chambers.
Marriott said top priorities will be housing and economic issues.
"I'm hoping we finally break through with both levels of government for support because we need to build more [housing]," he said.
Marriott said the last four years have been a big learning experience.
"Now more than ever council must come together as a unified team to address the challenges ahead," he said. "You have my commitment that I will continue collaborating with all members of council and ensuring our work in this chamber is guided by fairness and respect."
Most council members were present at the meeting, except for Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who attended virtually.
