"You have to have strong shoulders," Morden Deputy Mayor on what it takes to be a city councilor

Three empty seats around the Morden City Council table didn't stop the remaining councilors and staff from conducting business at Monday night's public council meeting.  

Deputy Mayor Gord Maddock said there's still lots of work happening. 

"You know, we have a good group of councilors and we're all on the same page. We're working toward the betterment of Morden. There's a lot of things happening in this city right now. We had meetings today about waste treatment and water prior to council. We're on the same page. We know we have got to get it done, and it's going to be costly for us, but we're going to get it, one way or the other, and just keep the city growing." 

Maddock said Morden is in a good place right now. 

"When I first came in, Mayor Burley led us through a lot of tough issues, and all of a sudden this town started moving. Immigrants were coming here, there was a place to live, jobs were there for them. I think it's great that we're back on track. When I was a kid, this city was 'the city,' and we lost that designation, because we were just stuck. Now, we're back on track." 

Deputy Mayor Gord Maddock and Councilor Garry Hiebert side beside the empty mayor's chair.

Recently, outgoing councilor Florian Lassnig publicly stated he left not only because he is moving, but because of the 'thankless and rude comments' he received as a councilor.  

Deputy Mayor Gord Maddock has this word of advice for those looking to run in the mayoral and councilor by-election set for December 20th.

"You have to have strong shoulders, and the people come at you and they come at your hard, but we always have the team behind us, our administration staff. Most of the time, we follow what they tell us, and they set the guidelines, and they are the ones that have figured it all out. So, is it an easy job? No, it isn't." 

He went on to give an example, and to remind people the importance of kindness when giving feedback. 

"We had a snowfall, and the first phone call came in at ten minutes after nine. 'How come my driveway didn't get cleaned?' Just little things like that, and it gets on our staff, and we have to pep them up and keep them going, and say we'll deal with some of this stuff and help you along. People have got to watch how they say it (feedback), because the staff and the council, we're all working hard for the same result, and that's just to make it a better place to live." 

Two empty councilor seats

Maddock was encouraged to see people in the crowd Monday night, who are considering running for the three vacant council positions. 

"I was wondering if there's a pile here for the variance order. And then I realized, there's three of them here looking to run for council. So, that's great. That's good news. They're interested. People are interested, and that's what we want, people that are interested. I worked for the city, and I was proud to be an employee of this city and I'm proud to be in a councilor of this city as well." 

The nomination deadline is November 14th. Learn more on the City of Morden website.

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