North Perth deputy mayor Todd Kellum has been acclaimed as Perth County warden, taking over from outgoing warden and current Perth East Mayor Rhonda Ehgoetz after two one-year terms in the position.
Kellum, who has served on county council for a decade, including most recently as deputy warden, took his oath of office and accepted the warden’s chain and gavel from Ehgoetz during the annual Perth County warden’s election Dec. 5 at the Arden Park Hotel in Stratford.
“I am delighted and honoured to serve as the 154th warden for Perth County this year,” Kellum said. “I appreciate the trust you’ve placed in me as I step into this important role. … It’s an exciting time to step into this role in Perth County. This past year, we’ve achieved some significant milestones. The new official plan is complete and it has been submitted to the province for review.
“This is a big step forward for the county. Once approved by the ministry, it will mean great things for the future growth and development of our region.”
Kellum also spoke about the near-complete connecting-link addition at the country courthouse campus in Stratford, which will connect the recently renovated Perth County courthouse with the renovated former land-registry office at 5 Huron St. into one unified Perth County headquarters building.
“This renovated space will provide a new and expanded home for county staff,” Kellum continued. “This year will be an exciting time as administrative staff settle into this new space. I’d like to thank county staff for their continued hard work, dedication and patience, particularly during the construction.”
Kellum thanked each of the four delegates who wished him well in his new position before he took his oath of office. Those delegates included Perth-Wellington MP John Nater, Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae, Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma and St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee.
“I’m proud of the relationship we have with Perth County,” Ritsma said, congratulating Kellum ahead of his official appointment as warden. “I think about the shared agreements that we have that are a benefit to our residents – both a benefit with regards to the services they provide and the cost efficiencies. … We do have challenges and I think collectively we need to continue to work with our federal and provincial counterparts to meet the needs of our residents in Stratford and Perth County … whether it’s housing, homelessness, infrastructure costs, or policing.”
“I want to congratulate Rhonda Ehgoetz as the former warden for her tremendous leadership and certainly her strong leadership throughout the county,” Strathdee said during his remarks. “ … Congratulations to the new warden and … we looking forward to continuing to work together to make the region better.”
All four delegates expressed their condolences over the recent passing of Perth South mayor and former Perth County Warden Jim Aitcheson, who died after a brief battle with cancer on Nov. 21. Kellum also spoke about the impact Aitcheson had on him while working together on county council.
“Jim was a wonderful colleague to have on council and he will be deeply missed by all,” Kellum said. “He served in this role as warden of Perth County for three years during the pandemic, which were some of the most challenging times we’ve seen in our region. I learned a lot from watching him and I hope I can live up to the hard work of Jim and all the past wardens who have served in this role before me.”
West Perth deputy mayor Dean Trentowsky also took his oath of office as the 2025 deputy warden during the warden’s election after being acclaimed to the position. Trentowsky was appointed by West Perth council to serve on Perth County council in 2022.
During the election ceremony, president of Perth County’s Past Wardens Association and Perth County Coun. Bob Wilhelm presented Ehgoetz with her second past-warden pin marking the end of her second term as warden.
The election of Perth County’s warden and deputy warden is held annually. County councillors were given an opportunity to put their names forward for the positions at their Nov. 7 meeting. As only Kellum put his name forward for warden and Trentowsky put his name forward for deputy warden, both were acclaimed to the positions and an actual election was not held.
In previous years when two or more candidates from county council have put their names forward, a vote of county council is held during the warden’s election ceremony to appoint both positions.
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