Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman will not be seeking another term in the October municipal election. (Rick Conrad)
Darlene Norman has made it official, announcing she won’t seek re-election as mayor of the Region of Queens.
“I have decided not to reoffer simply because these last four years have made me realize that it was one thing to be a councillor, it’s another thing to be the mayor,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
“When you are a councillor and you vote in a certain way at a meeting and the vote didn’t go your way, then it’s over and done. When you are the mayor and you vote at a council meeting for something that you feel is very important and you lose the vote, … as the mayor you still have to speak on behalf of council for the vote. And I am the type of personality that finds it very difficult to speak favorably about an issue that I think is so wrong.”
Norman’s decision to serve one term as mayor caps a 20-year career in municipal politics, which began in 2000 when she was elected councillor in District 1, which covers the area of Hunts Point, White Point, Port Mouton and Port Joli.
She served as councillor for the area until 2016 when she was defeated by current councillor Kevin Muise.
In 2020, she decided to run for mayor, beating incumbent David Dagley and two other challengers – Susan MacLeod and Brian Fralic.
Norman said she enjoyed her time as mayor.
“I really liked being the mayor, I liked helping people, I liked meeting people. But I just have a very difficult time when I have to as mayor speak on behalf of council and it’s a decision of which I disagreed. Other than that, being the mayor was wonderful.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday announcing her decision, she said council has achieved many good things over the past four years. But she said there were other things she regrets.
One of those was not building a new library. The Thomas H. Raddall Library has to leave its leased premises in downtown Liverpool by the end of December. After many stops and starts, council couldn’t agree on a new permanent location, so they decided to put it, at least temporarily, in the Liverpool Business Development Centre on White Point Road.
“We could have built a lovely library, it would have been open by now. For one reason or another, things went sideways. Council couldn’t agree on a location.”
Another frustration for Norman over the past four years is the concentration of municipal resources in the Liverpool, Brooklyn and Milton areas. She says council needs to find a way to improve services in other areas of Queens County, such as north Queens and areas outside the so-called urban core of Liverpool.
“Our biggest assessment areas are in rural Queens. … I look around at north Queens, east and west, people are paying incredible tax dollars in those parts of the county, despite people in the town of Liverpool who think they’re paying the biggest tax dollars. I’m just finding it really difficult with the Region of Queens and trying to find a balance with specnding in rural as well as central.”
She said building new accessible washroom and change room facilities at Beach Meadows Beach was council’s way to try to spread some municipal dollars outside the Liverpool-Brooklyn-Milton core.
“Those are good things, those are really positive things for Queens. … There have been so many more benefits than disappointments.”
And even though the region still struggles with staffing shortages, she said she’s very proud of what municipal employees have been able to accomplish. She said the region has only two building inspectors and one planner, at a time when development is on the rise. And she said their bylaw enforcement division is also understaffed, while complaints increase.
“People are so quick to criticize the staff of the Region of Queens and I really wish that perhaps people like that could be the mayor for a week or a month and actually sit in my chair and get a good understanding of how much work they do, because our staff work hard.”
Norman said another reason she won’t be reoffering in October’s municipal election is the abuse she said she’s received on social media.
“The cruel, the unkind, the unjust things that are said. And all people have to do is pick up a phone and they’ll know that all those rumours aren’t true. I tend to bite my tongue and … almost cut off my fingers not to write back some things on some posts that I’ve read. But it’s just not what I was prepared for.
“And I just don’t want it anymore. I’m a really good sleeper and when I don’t sleep at night because of stuff at council or things going on, I have too many people my age dropping dead and I want to do positive things that have positive results and are not attached with any negativism.”
She says she’s not sure what she’ll do after October. But it will include spending more time with her young grandson in Shelburne. And she plans to volunteer in her community of Port Medway and work on some of her art projects.
“I’ll find something to do. … I’m interested in helping my community of Port Medway. … I’m artistic, I might just discover who I am again. But I want to get out and do something that I want to do that doesn’t have the stressors that being the mayor does.”
Regardless of some of that stress, she says she’s grateful for the opportunity to be mayor of the Region of Queens for the past four years.
“I’d just like to thank the people of Queens for poviding me this wonderful privilege to represent Queens County,” she says. “And it is a privilege. We are a wonderful county, we have some of the best people in the world. And we are very attractive to people around the world who want to live here. So let’s welcome newcomers, regardless of what country or what culture they are. Diversity is wonderful for us. It makes us stronger. Thanks to the people of Queens.
“And I’m here for a couple of more months if there’s anything anybody needs any help with.”
The municipal election is set for Oct. 19. Former teacher Terry Doucette and business consultant Scott Christian have already announced their campaigns for mayor. People have until Sept. 10 to file their nomination papers.
For the first time, voters in Queens will be able to make their choices by traditional ballot or by phone or online.
Liverpool resident Terry Doucette declared his bid on Tuesday for mayor of the Region of Queens. (Rick Conrad)
A former teacher wants to be the next mayor of the Region of Queens.
Terry Doucette retired in 2015 after 37 years as a teacher and school and school board administrator. He declared his intention at a council meeting on Tuesday during the public comments portion.
In an interview afterward, Doucette, who lives in Liverpool, said he’s running because he wants to see a number of concerns and priorities addressed in the next four years.
He said some of those are housing, senior care and the environment.
“In addition to that, we have a new mill being proposed through the province of Nova Scotia. And I’m excited about the potential for that. That will create the need for environmental sensitivity as well as labour-related benefits for our community. I watched Bowater Mersey over my time. … I know people who worked there with good wages. And I think if it comes this way … if they can assure us it’s going to be an environmental plus, I think the community would support that.
“And I realize that housing is the No. 1 concern for our residents. Seniors, young people, the demand for more apartments, the increase in rents has created a crisis.”
So far, the only other person running for mayor is Scott Christian. He announced in November that he was vying for the top elected spot in Queens County.
Christian is a business consultant who is also the former chairman of the Queens Daycare Association.
Another candidate had declared his intention to run, but has since thrown his support behind Christian. James Grant, a former business owner from Milton, said he would drop out of the race if somebody else ran that he could support.
Queens Mayor Darlene Norman has not said whether she will seek re-election.
For his part, Doucette said Tuesday that there wasn’t one single issue that made him decide to run. And he declined to assess the job of the current council.
“I know there are always dissensions when people are in the position to govern locally or provincially or federally. As a mature person, I believe in communication, I believe in moderation, I believe in conflict resolution. I have a lot of leadership skills from my past. People have to come together and share their views and this is a place on the council to share those views. At the end of the day, we’re all here and running for the same reasons, which is to respect what the people want.”
In his time as an educator, Doucette says he’s lived and worked all over Queens County. He’s also volunteered with the board of Queens Manor and run a property management company.
“I’m not running against anybody, I’m running for something,” he said. “I’m running for the people in North Queens, I’m running for the people in South Queens, I’m running because I’ve been into all the communities. I’ve worked with the people, people know me and I’m asking for a chance and some support.”
There’s still lots of time for others to join the race for mayor and the rest of council. The election is on Oct. 19, with the second Tuesday in September, or Sept. 10, set for candidates to file their nomination papers.
This year, for the first time, people will be able to vote in person, online or by phone.
