Gilvesy returned to mayor’s position

Mayor-elect Deb Gilvesy gave credit to her family for support during the election. Left to right are: granddaughter Ellie Yarmie, mother Margaret Vilez, Deb Gilvesy, husband Scott Gilvesy, granddaughter Dillon Yarmie, daughter Laura Yarmie, son-in-law Collin Yarmie, daughter Paige Gilvesy and father John Vilez. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg Mayor Deb Gilvesy was returned to office by a wide margin in Monday night’s vote.

She captured 68.6 per cent of the vote over challenger and former Councillor Kelly Spencer. This translated to 4,475 votes for Gilvesy and 2,052 for Spencer.

Gilvesy’s victory margin, percentage-wise, was called the largest in the town in recent history by some on Monday night, and was confirmed as the most in the last four elections. The next closest was the 2018 election, when incumbent Stephen Molnar defeated challenger Mark Renaud by 60.08 per cent.

At a victory party at the Carriage House, the mayor-elect said she was honoured and humbled by the support she received, thanking everyone who supported her throughout the campaign. She made special mention of her husband Scott and her family, who stood beside her and supported her.

“Running for office takes a great deal of time and energy, and I could not do it without their love, patience, and encouragement,” she said.

Gilvesy spoke about the campaign and the strong support, saying she stuck to her game plan throughout, focusing on the work she has done for the community and what she can do moving forward. Gilvesy said she had many volunteers and received many messages of encouragement, including word of mouth.

“My record speaks for itself,” she said. “I vote for the taxpayers and keep the taxpayers in mind when voting.”

Gilvesy also thanked Spencer for putting her name forward, and congratulated the newly-elected council.

“I look forward to working with you, listening to our residents, and continuing to move Tillsonburg forward together,” she said to the audience, which included several new council members.

Gilvesy is excited to start working with the new council.

“I have always believed that this job is not about one person,” she said. “It is about working together, making responsible decisions, and doing what is best for our community. I am proud of what we have accomplished over the past eight years, and I know there is still more work to do and more opportunity ahead.”

Spencer congratulated Gilvesy and the other council members elected. She was proud of the campaign and the team of volunteers who supported her.

“It’s been an honour to serve Tillsonburg the last four years,” she said.

Spencer spoke about the campaign, saying, “We did everything we thought we needed to do to beat an incumbent. It’s hard to beat an incumbent. We had a really good campaign.”

Getting back to work

For Gilvesy, job one is connecting with council about the budget and getting input from council members on what they want in it. Two budget meetings with the mayor-elect are already scheduled for next week, and is looking at a meeting with councillors-elect. Gilvesy said it’s important to hear what council members heard on the campaign trail for input into the budget.

“It’s not going to be easy,” she warned. “It’s going to be a very difficult year.”

The introduction of provincial Strong Mayor powers, which included Tillsonburg, shifted responsibility for preparing the budget from council as a whole to the mayor. Council members then had the opportunity to alter the budget before it was finalized. This process was set behind by the election, but Gilvesy wants to make up lost time.

During the campaign, Gilvesy spoke about the need to control tax increases at the County of Oxford level, with increases of more than 20 percent over the past two years. As a member of Oxford County council, she voted against three of the four county budgets over the past four years.

Although she hadn’t seen election results from across the county shortly after polls closed, Gilvesy was encouraged by what she saw in other municipalities.

“We need to work really hard to bring fiscal responsibility to the upper level of government,” she said.