Whitby Free Press, 8 Dec 1976, p. 1

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Rh EE P [R $$ Vol. 6, No. 49 Wednesday, December 8, 1976' 20 Pages Few surprises in civic election Gartshore is re-elected mayor with wide margin over Hobbs By BRIAN WINTER Staff Writer Jim Gartshore received a clear mandate Monday for a full term as mayor of Whitby for the n.ext two years. Mayor Gartshore defeated his only opponent, Dr. Ken Hobbs by 2,718 votes, having built up a definite lead from the very beginning. Mayor Gartshore won all polls with the exception of three, where Dr. Hobbs edged him out by one or two votes. Dr. Hobbs' wins came in the Palmerston Road and Eliza- beth Crescent areas,.and the poll southeast of Brooklin. At 9 p.m. Mayor Gartshore was leading Dr.. Hobbs, 270 to 130, and at 9:45 p.m., when Dr. Hobbs conceded the election, Mayor Gartshore was leading, 3,571 to 1,853. The final unofficial totals are: Jim Gartshore, 5,752; and Dr. Hobbs, 3,034. "I would like to congratu- late Jim Gartshore. He obviously won two to one", said Dr. Hobbs to a large crowd in the municipal build- ing. "Our system is such that this is the name of the game. I accept it, perhaps reluctantly". Dr. Hobbs said there is still a need to maintain the town's identity, one of the main planks of his platform. "Maybe it is my last hurrah; we'll just have to see", he said. A burst of applause greeted Mayor Gartshore as he approached the platform. "This was a people election", he said. "One week ago we had 207 people on the streets of Whitby". Replying to comments by Dr. Hobbs about Whitbyneed- ing a full-time mayor, Mayor Gartshore said: "I put in 60 to 70 hours a week as mayor of the Town of Whitby. If that's not a full- time mayor, what is?" Mayor Gartshore also paid tribute to his employer for doubling his own work so that Mr. Gartshore could take- on the mayor's job. He praised such medium sized industries,. which js owned by a Whitby man, for permitting him to run for political office, and suggested that large industries should look at this example. "My door will be open for the next two years as it was ín the last year", he told the voters gathered at the town hall. Mayor Gartshore led Dr. Hobbs by substantial majori- Mayor Jim Gartshore answers questions from a panel of and Managing Editor Mike Burgess, ad the mayor. staff from the Whitby Free Press and Pine Ridge Cable TV Mayor Gartshore defeated Dr. Ken H" hy more thin following his victory in Monday's election. From left to 2,700 votes. right are Whitby Cablecast Director Dan.. Duerden, Free Free Press Photo Press Assistant Editor Blake Purdy, Free Press Publisher by Robin Lyon ties in many polls, but in others, the race was fairly close. He topped 100 votes in five polls, three of which were in the North Ward. Returning Officer Bill Wallace reports a 47 per cent turnout in the election, based on the mayoralty vote. Of the 18,700 eligable voters, 8,786 voted for mayor, he said. REGIONAL COUNCIL Gerry Emm- and Joy Thompson will be Whitby's representatives at the Durham Region Council, along with Mayor Jim Gartshore, for the next two years. Mr. Emm led the tally by 679 votes over Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Thompson edged out veteran politician John Goodwin by 208 votes. Unofficial totals are: Gerry Emm, 5,002; Joy Thompson, 4,323; and John Goodwin, 4,115. Mr. Emm *won 48 polls, Mrs. Thompson, 20 polls; and Mr. Goodwin, 13 polls. Mr. Emm and Mr. Goodwin tied in one poll in the Warden Wilson area, and Mr. Emm and Mrs. Thompson tied in a poll near the Ontario Ladies' College. Mr. Goodwin's strength was in the Corridor area, while Mrs. Thompson's strength was in the Corridor area, the West Ward and Port Whitby. Mr. Emm's strength was fairly evenly distributed throughout the town. Mrs. Thompson said she was very happy with the out- come of the election but was sad that Mr. Goodwin lost, "because he has a tremendous amount to offer". "The entireregionalcouncil will have its work cut out in straightening out the water and sewer bills", she said. "The first thing I want to do is get the public relations sorted out so people can communicate with the region". Mrs. Thompson said she would be very interested in social services, but intends to spread herself around and learn the work of all the committees rather than spend- ing all her time on one committee. "I know we've got a hard task ahead of us at the region", commented Mr. Emm. "I think we can hustle together and represent Whitby well and hopefully sort out this water and sewer situation". Mr. Emm also expressed his regrets at the loss of Mr. Goodwin. LOCAL COUNCIL A squeaker and a surprise were the features of the con- test for ward councillors. The squeaker was the narrow win in ihe West Ward by Bob Attersley, oyer Bob Cawker by only 19 votes; and the surprise was the runaway win by Joe Drumm in the East Ward, who defeated political veteran Bob White by 199 votes. Whitby's longestserving politician Tom Edwards defeated his nearest rival by two to one in the Centre Ward and Bob Carson did the same in the North Ward. it was a see-saw battle all the way in the West War.d, with Joe Bugelli taking an early lead, but for the rest of the night it was neck and neck for Bob Attersley and Bob Cawker, both candidates being tied in two tallies as the votes came in. Mr. Cawker decided not to ask for a recount. The voting strength was very fairly évenly divided among the polls by each of the three candidates. The unofhcial totals are: Bob Attersley, 896; Bob Cawker, 877; and Joe Bugelli, 669. "The West Ward made this election-and kept everybody here - tonight", said Mr. Attersley. He stressed the importance of integrity and promised to do his part in representing the West Ward. In the East Ward, Joe Drumm took the lead from the first poll and maintained it for the rest of the evening. Both he and Bob White won" four polls each, and Ron Treleaven won one poll. Unofficial totals are: Joe Drumm, 944; Bob White 745½ Continued Page 2 New council on the move to new home With election day barely over, the Tdwn of Whitby has begun the biggest moving operation in its history. On Tuesday, town officials and hired moving men began transporting files, records, furniture and equipment frorm the various department offices-to the new municipal building on Rossland Road. Town Clerk-Administrator Bill Wallace says the move should be completed by Friday or Saturday, with all departments being operational by Monday. It is expected to take about a week to get the departments fully functional Mr. Wallace informs Whitby residents that tele- phone reception will be main- tainèd at all departments throughout the move, to take and relay messages: As of December 13, the Town of Whitby's nev- municipal office address will be 575 Rossland Road East. The telephone nuimber will be 668-5803 for all departments except fire, which retains its existing number. The move began with the recreation department on Tuesday. The space occupied by the recreation department in the fire hall will be assumed by the fire depart- ment. The second department to move is the planning depart- ment, presently located at 14 Church Street in Brooklin. The Brooklin municipal building is presently for sale or lease. Public Works, which was renting space on Hopkins Street will be the third depart- ment to move, and the move will finish with-the relocation of the mayor's, clerk's and treasurer's offices from the town hall on Dundas Street. The Whitby Public Library is expected to move into the former town hall upstairs floor next year; The official opening of the new municipal building will be held in conjunction with the inaugural meeting of the 1977 council on the morning of January 8. At this time thre will be an open house at the municipal buildihgwithconducted tours for the pXiblic-ý - ..~..~..-.-.--------~.--- -~

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