It was a case of "what's old is new again" at the North Huron all candidates meeting in Wingham Wednesday night.
Extra seating was required as a large crowd at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 180 got its first look at the 16 candidates running for North Huron's seven council positions.
The race for reeve features incumbent Neil Vincent and former Wingham ward councillor Bernie Bailey, who sat side-by-side and fielded questions about topics such as the Howson Dam, farm taxes, the relationship with the neighbouring municipality of Morris-Turnberry, and how more industry can be attracted to the area.
Bernie Bailey tells the crowd he plans to utilize the Howson Dam for hydro generation if elected Reeve (Photo by Adam Bell)
Vincent and Bailey disagreed most on the future of the Howson Dam, with Bailey saying North Huron should look into hydro generation similar to what is being done in Chesley. Vincent is against this idea and said there is not enough flow, and he opposes any use of tax dollars to fund the future of the dam.
Incumbent Neil Vincent tells the crowd North Huron & Morris-Turnberry are still proactively discussing issues (Photo by Adam Bell)
The two candidates for reeve also spoke on the recently-dissolved public works portion of the shared services agreement between North Huron and Morris-Turnberry, with Bailey saying M-T Mayor Jamie Heffer knows where he stands on trying to "end the fighting", while Vincent said despite the dissolution, the relationship between the neighbouring municipalities is better than it has been in most of his lifetime.
The next North Huron all candidates meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 9 at the Blyth Memorial Community Hall.