Carlyle’s new mayor is looking forward to the challenge.
Jennifer Sedor is happily taking her place at the helm of town council. Sedor is currently a librarian at the Carlyle branch of the Southeast Regional Library.
She was acclaimed as mayor on Oct. 7 after she was the only person to submit nomination forms. Former mayor Wayne Orsted elected not to run again after six years on the job.
Sedor has served two terms as councillor for the Town of Carlyle and community liaison for the museum and parks recreation. With a certificate of governance in co-operatives and a post diploma certificate in executive leadership for non-profits, this makes her well suited for the mayoral position.
“After serving two terms as councillor for the Town of Carlyle, this seemed like a natural step. In a situation where there are new faces to the council, and those with little experience in municipal governance, I felt that it was important to continue moving forward with the leadership.” Sedor explains.
Sedor says she takes pride in being part of a town with such a strong sense of community.
“I most enjoy working with various community groups and my heart is with arts, culture and recreation,” she said.
The council in Carlyle will have a few new faces this year and Sedor expresses her feelings about this change.
“I feel positive about the opportunity to work with the next council. We have a diverse list of names on the ballot this election and I am very interested to hear what each candidate envisions for their term. Going forward, the new council has the task of developing the next 10-year strategic plan for our community, and this is no small task. It will take vision, expertise, and integrity to develop a plan that is right for our community.”
Sedor explains that she is excited about developing the 10-year strategic plan and the plans for parks and recreation in the area.
“These are areas where members of the community will have an opportunity to be better engaged in future projects and maintenance of current infrastructure than they have been in the past. As mayor, there is an opportunity to improve relations and communication with our ratepayers and create stronger partnerships with our neighbouring communities and rural municipality.” Sedor went on to say.
Sedor closes by saying she believes Carlyle is an exceptionally resilient community.
“The past decade has been hard on our area in terms of growth, industry contraction, and economics (and now the unprecedented, unyielding pandemic),” she said. “Carlyle, while showing its ability to weather the storm, has not gone unscathed.
“Councils, administrators, business owners and countless volunteers before us have developed strong infrastructure, economic development, and a community quality of life that needs to be carefully stewarded into the future. Asset management, strategic planning, and careful fiscal decisions are necessary to ensure that Carlyle thrives through these uncertain times and into a bright future.”
There will be an election for town councillor, as seven people have filed for six councillor seats. Incumbents John Brownlee and Kelly Lutz will be joined on the ballot by Nicole Currie, Hugh Hislop, Scott Kirkness, Gordon Paulley and Jared Riddell.
