Following the results of last week's municipal election, the Town of Bonnyville welcomed its first new mayor in over seven years, with Coun. Gene Sobolewski edging out incumbent Ernie Isley and Brent Boulrice in the town's first mayoral race for almost a decade.
Having secured 499 of the 1,005 votes cast, Sobolewski will make the step up from councillor to mayor when he is officially sworn in at tonight's (Oct. 29) regular council meeting - the first since the election.
Speaking to the Nouvelle in his first interview since being elected, Sobolewski said he was very much looking forward to "making a difference" over the course of the four year term, stating he had several ideas on how best to address several of the issues the town is facing.
"Moving forward, we have a lot of issues here in the town and a lot of things that have been put to the wayside as a result of different focuses in the past," Sobolewski explained. "There is tremendous growth that is happening and we have to take steps to prepare for that, so we need to start focusing on housing, looking into maintaining infrastructure and just coming up with (contingency) plans to address some of the other issues in town."
Since Sobolewski currently spends a lot of his time working at his job as a program manager, he said he was actually on his way home from work when he first heard he had won the election, and although he wasn't necessarily surprised to hear the results, he admits it was still a very "humbling" experience.
"Upon finding out I was initially very ecstatic, but then shortly afterwards incredibly humbled by the realization that what I had been working so hard for had been attained, and humbled by the number of people that came out and said 'yes, we're going to place our faith in you to be the leader of this town.'"
He added, "I'm very grateful to the public for having the faith in me to vote me in as mayor. I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations, I'll be the first to admit I'm not perfect, I will make mistakes, but I'll do my best to learn from them and move on."
Sobolewski said he was particularly looking forward to addressing the issue he built his entire platform on - regional cooperation.
"During my campaign, I really just approached the issue of regional collaboration. I adamantly maintained throughout my campaign that we had to do things differently and that we had to start cooperating and working together with our neighbours," Sobolewski said. "We can't stand alone as the Town of Bonnyville, because that's not going to work."
He pointed out that he had already met with re-elected Reeve Ed Rondeau for preliminary discussions, and plans to hold talks with other municipalities in the region to try and promote the idea of working together to further strengthen what he describes as a "potential powerhouse region."
"The only way we're going to be able to move forward and develop is by sitting at a table with other (municipalities) and talking, and talking and talking," Sobolewski said. "We don't have to agree on everything, it's more so about developing relationships and having a respect for one another. Other communities and municipalities have their own unique issues, as do we, but together we have a lot of common goals and common needs - the largest of which that I want to reinforce, and seems to be in agreement with everyone else, is that we can be a powerhouse region. We all just have to want it and work for it."
Outgoing Mayor Ernie Isley wished Sobolewski luck in his new role as mayor, saying he had all the tools and surrounding influences to enjoy a successful career as a leadership figure in municipal politics.
"I think Gene is very fortunate in the way that he has a good council behind him and a very solid and loyal group of staff working for the town," Isley said. "As long as Gene provides the right leadership to council and town staff, and ensures the town stays business friendly, I believe he can have some very good years (as mayor of Bonnyville.)"
Sobolewski said he was looking forward to meeting with council for the first time, with old faces such as John Irwin, Ray Prevost, Jim Cheverie, Rene Van Brabant and Lorna Storoschuk returning to office. They will be joined by the recently elected Nestor Kunec, who takes Sobolewski's previous spot on council.
"I'm absolutely looking forward to working with council in a different capacity over the next four years, and (you can rest assured) things will be different," Sobolewski said. "Meetings are going to be the same, but the way we interact and the way committees are going to work might change. We'll do our best to function as a team and work through several issues, taking into account each others opinion, because that's how you resolve things properly."
Town council met on Oct. 29 at the council chambers at 5 p.m for their first regular meeting since the election.
