HUNTSVILLE, ON- Scott Aitchison will be staying on as Huntsville’s mayor for the time being.
Aitchison is the new candidate for the federal conservatives in Parry Sound-Muskoka, and won the nomination this past weekend.
Hundreds of delegates cast their votes Sunday afternoon at the Bracebridge Sportsplex before Aitchison emerged as the winner.
He had been up against Alan Fraser, a Toronto lawyer from Bracebridge, chartered accountant Holly Thompson, and Meghan Shannon of MacTier.
As many as 1500 delegates were eligible to vote. It took three ballots to declare a winner.
Voting was extended by two hours to 6:00pm to accommodate the crush of voters.
In the wake of the vote, Aitchison told the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom that he had known “all along” it would have been a close vote.
He’s proud of the work done by the candidates in the nomination race to expand the party, and indicated that the election campaign work for the riding will start immediately. He was hopeful the other candidates could come together and work with him going forward.
“We need to come together as a party and rally all of Parry Sound-Muskoka to make sure we keep this riding Conservative,” said Aitchison.
As for the impact on his current elected position, Aitchison is planning on a leave of absence once the federal election officially begins.
“I’m going to meet with the deputy mayor right away and we’ll talk about where things are at,” said Aitchison on Sunday.
“During the nomination campaign, I was able to continue my duties. Of course, being mayor is a part time job, and normally I do that, plus a real estate business.”
He believed he would be able to keep things balanced going forward.
“So far, I’ve been able to do them both and do them well, so I’ll be talking with the deputy mayor and council colleagues to see how they feel, and we’ll make a decision after that.”
-with files from Doug Crosse