General News

Hastings Highlands appoints new councillor

May 30, 2018

Hastings Highlands Mayor Vivian Bloom shakes hands with Councillor Dorothy Gerrow (second from left) welcoming her to the council table with the rest of council. / SARAH SOBANSKI Staff

By Sarah Sobanski

Hastings Highlands council has appointed Dorothy Gerrow to fill its vacant seat.

Gerrow was up for the position with Kristena Schutt-Moore, Roger Davis and Ed Kobylka. Each had to present a speech to and answer questions from council at a special meeting May 24.

Gerrow opened by telling council she had mixed emotions about the seat after former Councillor Frank Hickey was forced to step down. She told council he had given her his blessing to apply for the seat.

She said she was raised “seasonally in Haliburton” and loved the area so much she settled in Hastings Highlands. She said she had attended council meetings consistently for the last three years to become an informed citizen.

“I knew I could be on council if I worked hard enough,” she said.

A former stock car racer, Gerrow said she would treat being on council the same way she treated racing. She would learn as much as she could and be as prepared as she could so the race wasn’t so terrifying.

Councillors asked Gerrow about Hastings Highlands’ procedural bylaws, which she said she read before vying for the seat. They also asked about how she felt about the municipality’s current council and its recent decisions.

Gerrow said she had stood up to past council decisions including garbage pickup and changing landfill hours. She said that experience made her a good fit.

Council also wanted to make sure Gerrow had the time to commit to council. She said she was recently retired and had greatly considered what it would take to be a good councillor.

Gerrow won the vote by four votes to two. The other two went to Schutt-Moore.

Gerrow said she appreciated council’s confidence in her and that she cares about Hastings Highlands and its ratepayers.

“I listen to both sides of the story. I’m very approachable for the ratepayers,” she said. “I have a ratepayer’s opinion.”

Gerrow was sworn in at council’s following regular meeting May 30.