Both incumbents were re-elected to the two Fort Frances seats on the Rainy River District School Board on Monday night in the first election for those seats in six years.
The unofficial results put Gord McBride, current chair of the board and a trustee of 27 years, in first place with 1,955 votes (38.02 percent) and Dan Belluz, the current vice-chair, in second with 1,926 (37.46 percent).
Newcomer Linda Wall received 1,261 votes (24.52 percent).
Town clerk Glenn Treftlin was expected to certify the results either Wednesday or Thursday.
Both McBride and Belluz had been acclaimed in the last election in 2000, and McBride welcomed the challenge this year from Wall.
“I feel for something as important as education, we should have at least half-a-dozen people running for the two positions,” he said. “We need more people to throw their hat in the ring, and I certainly commend Linda Wall for venturing into the process.
“Hopefully she and others will run again the next time.”
McBride said he was “very pleased” to be re-elected, and that he is “very enthused about what we’re doing and what we can do to improve the system.”
While students in the local public system are doing well academically, McBride said he would like to see continued improvement.
“I’d also like to encourage more parents and guardians to play a part in the total education of their young people in the schools,” he remarked.
McBride said he was driven to run for a seat on the school board again after 27 years out of “an intense interest in educating our young people, and providing the resources and the teachers and the management to give them the best education that we possibly can.”
Belluz was equally happy with Monday night’s outcome.
“As I campaigned, I put my trust in the people and I assured them that all my decisions are based on students, and students come first,” he noted. “And apparently, the majority of people agreed with me.
“I’m very pleased to be on the board again,” he added.
Belluz agreed it was good to participate in a race for the two seats up for grabs rather than to be acclaimed.
“It felt really good. With an election, you get that support of the people again,” he reasoned. “I’m pleased there was an election. It shows interest in the school board.
“It also makes people aware of our school system and what we stand for in the district and what we’re trying to accomplish,” he added.
Belluz said one of the accomplishments he would like to see fulfilled in the next three years is improved scores on provincial assessments for district students in Grades 3 and 6.
“This is what we’re really focusing on right now,” he noted. “Over the last two years or so, it’s improved considerably.
“We’ll have another report out probably in about a month, and we’re anticipating an excellent result as far as improvements are concerned,” he said.
Even after nearly 20 years on the public school board, Belluz said the job never gets boring.
“It’s always interesting. There’s new innovations that come along as far as learning is concerned, and curriculums. It’s a changing system; it keeps you interested,” he enthused.
Wall, making her first foray into municipal politics, said the important thing was ensuring the people of Fort Frances had the opportunity to choose their trustees.
“It was important to me that people voted, that there was a vote,” she remarked. “When you don’t get enough people out to make it a race, [voter] turnout is lower.
“I’m really happy with the results,” she said of garnering nearly 25 percent of the vote in her first election.
Wall called the campaign experience “interesting. I didn’t really know what to expect.”
Because there were no public opinion polls like there are in provincial and federal elections, Wall said it was difficult to gauge how the public would vote on election day.
“I really appreciate the support I did get,” she added.
In the only other race for a seat on the local public school board Monday, incumbent Ron McAlister of Rainy River was re-elected with 392 votes, narrowly defeating Lisa Armstrong (364 votes).
Crystal Lindal (76 votes) was a distant third.
Trustees Martin Darrah (Alberton-La Vallee), Margaret Heyens (Chapple-Emo), and Judy Eluik (Atikokan) all were acclaimed.
The Rainy River District School Board will hold its inaugural meeting Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at the board office in Robert Moore School here.
In related news, chairman Gerry Rousseau, Harold Huntley, and Anne Marie Fitzgerald all were acclaimed to the three Fort Frances seats on the Northwest Catholic District School Board.
Also acclaimed were Mark Chojko-Bolec (representing Emo, Chapple, Nestor Falls, Morley, Rainy River, Lake of the Woods, and the surrounding unorganized areas) and Cathy Bowen for Sioux Lookout.
Unofficial results for the two seats up for grabs in Dryden saw incumbent Robert Van Oort re-elected with 361 votes while newcomer John Borst beat incumbent Wade Petranik—the current vice-chair—by just two votes (347-345).
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
