Marlene Wright, the only sitting councilor who lost their seat in last week’s municpal election, was both upbeat and optimistic about the future during her final meeting on Monday night.
Despite having only served one term on council, she was clearly appreciated by her colleagues and the public, so Mayor Andy Adams gave up his seat to Wright at the front of council chambers near the end of Mondays’ meeting to let her say goodbye.
“The last four years have been very exciting for me,” she said. “I like action, and we got a lot done, so thank you, because we worked as a team.”
She said she knows the next council will be just as productive as the one she had the privelege of sitting on, because they all respect each other, the process and truly have the community’s best interest at heart.
“I know that you will be very proactive and you will be very collaborative and respectful, because that’s what has made us such a success over these past four years.
“We’ve always been respectful of each other and we’ve always been collaborative with whoever we were teaming up with. To me, that’s really what we need.”
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She also thanked city staff, who she called, in a word, “awesome.”
“The staff has really shown the world how to do it,” citing the various awards the city has been receiving of late – not to mention various individual staff members being recognized on a provincial and national scale.
As for what’s up next for Wright, well, she hadn’t made any plans for that, obviously, but she says she’s looking forward to spending more time with her family – especially her seven grandchildren.
“There’s a one year-old and a new baby and there are the two that are doing hockey and dancing in Toronto, and some that are all over the place,” she says, adding that she can’t thank her family enough for all their support throughout the campaign.
“During the election, it was amazing how many times they would all phone – just to check in on things,” she says. “And then when the result didn’t go the way we’d hoped, they were on the phone again saying how proud they were of me. It was very special.”
But as for specific things she’d like to get involved in, she says she’s keeping her options open.
“I’ll always be involved in some way in the city, so I’m sure I’ll find something I could do,” she says.
“I’m sure I could just curl up on the couch and watch Netflix, but that’s not my style. I’d go crazy. That’s one of the things I liked about being on council. I was very busy.”
