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Mayor fields questions from elementary students

“Did you always want to be Mayor? What is the hardest part about your job?” Those were just two of the questions fielded by mayor Gerry St. Pierre at a special Q&A with Barrhead Elementary School Grade 6 students Nov. 2. The 9 a.m.
Town of Barrhead mayor Gerry St. Pierre answers questions from Grade 6 students at Barrhead Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
Town of Barrhead mayor Gerry St. Pierre answers questions from Grade 6 students at Barrhead Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

“Did you always want to be Mayor? What is the hardest part about your job?”

Those were just two of the questions fielded by mayor Gerry St. Pierre at a special Q&A with Barrhead Elementary School Grade 6 students Nov. 2.

The 9 a.m. session, which ultimately focused on municipal and provincial governance, gave kids a chance to find out what that meant and how they could participate.

“You have to be committed to spending a lot of your time to help make decisions to benefit the community and not everyone can do that,” he said, in reference to a question about the electoral process.

“I myself was retired at the time and felt I could do so. The process is not very involved. You have to be 18 or older and you have to fill out a nomination form that has at least five different people’s signatures in support of your decision to run for council or mayor.”

Once the paperwork is filed, he said, people have one month to campaign.

“You have to convince hundreds of other people in the community to vote for you,” he said.

St. Pierre said there are numerous ways to help get your message out.

“You can advertize in the local newspaper, put signs on people’s lawns, hand out pamphlets and knock on doors,” he said, adding that is what he did.

The job is not a full-time position, St. Pierre said.

“I answer phone calls, meet with people and sign cheques. The only person that reports directly to me is our chief administrative officer, Martin Taylor. Most days, I go home and I’m happy with the work that has been done and I’m satisfied we are on the right track. Some days, I can’t sleep at night because of the frustrations of the day.”

For the most part, he said, being mayor is a good job.

As mayor, St. Pierre told students he receives $2,400 per month, adding his expenses for attending conferences and conventions are paid for.

“There are seven people on council and even though I am the mayor, I don’t have any special powers,” he said, adding council makes decisions that benefit the community as a whole.

“Our biggest expenses, with regards to the money we use from your taxes, are in roads and the infrastructure underneath. Our second is in recreation — operating the arena, the pool, the curling club and parks. In some cases these expenses are big enough to rival our road work projects.”

In reference to a question about having regrets, St. Pierre asked students if they read the Barrhead Leader and were aware of the issues between the town and the county.

“The most difficult challenge I have had over the last three years is in working with the other municipal government in our community and trying to collaborate, especially financially, on shared services, particularly with regard to recreation.”

He said it wasn’t all bad.

“I do regret having to deal with some of the issues we’ve had to simply because of a lack of communication and understanding, but I don’t regret the things we [town] have done together as a council.”

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