Northumberland County council will see 3 incumbents return, 4 newcomers around horseshoe
By editor/reporter Sarah Hyatt
With several new leaders emerging across Northumberland after Monday night’s election, this will also mean a changed county council for the 2026-30 term.
Northumberland County council is made up of member municipalities’ seven mayors (although mayors can send and/or assign delegates in their place as needed.)
In west Northumberland, two incumbent mayors – Cobourg’s Lucas Cleveland and the Township of Hamilton’s Scott Jibb – retained their seats at the head of councils following the Monday, Oct. 26 municipal and school board election, and will again serve as county councillors.
To the east, Brighton’s incumbent Mayor Brian Ostrander secured a three-peat at the helm of his council following the 2026 municipal election and will also return to the fold at county council.
Ostrander has served as mayor since 2018 (and previously served on Brighton council in the early 2000s) and took on the warden role for two back-to-back years at the county level for the outgoing council.
He secured his win in Brighton – and therefore his return at the county – with more than 52 per cent of the vote in three-way mayoral race.
This means there will be four newcomers around the horseshoe for the coming term in comparison to last.
These individuals will include Port Hope’s Todd Attridge, who unseated incumbent Mayor Olena Hankivsky Monday night in a four-way mayoral race. Hankivsky also served two consecutive years as deputy warden previously at the county level.
For Alnwick/Haldimand, Sherry Gibson, who beat out Mike Ainsworth for the mayoral seat, will also serve as a county councillor. Outgoing Mayor John Logel has represented the township at the county level for the last four years and did not enter the mayoral race this term.
For Cramahe, long-time Mayor Mandy Martin similarly chose not to seek re-election this term and will not return at the county level as a result. She also previously was chosen by county council to serve as warden in 2023 and then deputy warden for 2026.
Sandra Arthur is now set to represent Cramahe at county council for the coming term after securing her win as mayor by more than 1,000 votes in a three-way race, according to the Township of Cramahe’s results.
As for Trent Hills representation, outgoing Mayor and Northumberland County Warden Bob Crate is also not returning at the county level. He announced his plans to not seek re-election as mayor earlier this year but did toss his hat into the ring as a councillor candidate for Ward 5 in the Municipality of Trent Hills for the next term.
He was not successful in securing a councillor’s seat, with Ethan Armit elected to serve Ward 5, according to the municipality’s official certified results.
Two candidates entered the Trent Hills’ mayoral race, with Michael Metcalf emerging victorious by more than 2,300 votes over candidate Steven Haylestrom.
A Northumberland County spokesperson confirmed with the Independent that the final meeting of the current term of county council is set for Thursday, Nov. 12 starting at 9:30 a.m. (as Remembrance Day is on the Wednesday.)
“The inaugural meeting of the new county council will be on Wednesday, Dec. 19,” said the spokesperson.
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