Wallaceburg has a new voice around the council table.
Carmen McGregor was elected in Ward 5, beating out incumbent Councillor Sheldon Parsons.
“I know I have a big road ahead of me,” McGregor said. “I hope I can make Wallaceburg proud and bring the community more in the fold… more engaged with what is going on in Chatham.”
McGregor finished second in the voting, gathering 1578 votes, good for 29.13% of the vote in Wallaceburg, only behind Jeff Wesley.
“I look forward to working with Jeff,” she said. “I really appreciate the job that both Jeff and Sheldon did in the last term. They have led the way where I need to go in the future. I hope the community will engage with me and have contact with me moving forward, so I can bring their voice to the table.”
McGregor said she had an “amazing” team of supporters, including her husband , who is a former Wallaceburg Councillor, mayoral candidate and current acclaimed school board trustee in Ward 4 and 5.
“I think I knew what I was getting into because of Tom,” she said. “Both of us have been involved in one way or another in politics for a very long time. I don’t think it’s going to be a shock to me. Is there a learning curve, most definitely. First, what I would like to do is build a relationship around the table. To me, when I look at the polls, there was a big shake-up tonight.”
McGregor added: “I’m quite positive that Jeff and I will be able to work well together and represent Wallaceburg strongly and bring a voice for Wallaceburg. I hope Bill (Arends) and Sheldon continue to do what they do. Sheldon has done amazing work in this community… I hope he continues to work for the hospital and the groups he is involved with. He is a super guy. I look at it and I think, I had to beat somebody to win. It’s unfortunate had it been Jeff or Sheldon because I would have loved to work with either one of them.”
This will be McGregor’s first term on Chatham-Kent council, after previously serving as a trustee for the Lambton-Kent District School Board.
