Dave Dale

A heart-wrenching story out of Moncton, New Brunswick last week caught my eye and it made me think about its twin city – North Bay

'The one thing over the years that I found is you know the people who've been elected they do try to do their best and I think ... if I can give anybody any advice that this is not personal ...'

'I thought I’d pitch in and help solve a small problem or two and raise a bit of revenue for those expense-challenged public coffers – who knows, maybe add another infill residential property to the tax roll'

“Where we are in North Bay, we’re pretty insulated from all that stuff, so we always have to remind ourselves that we’re lucky to be bitching about these little things. The rest of the world doesn’t have the same luxury as we do, so we are really extremely fortunate."

It boils down to a singular truth – the only way to test a person’s character is to give them an option between courage and convenience.

Congratulations on winning an exciting election to be North Bay’s mayor heading into the city’s centennial celebration in 2025

All in all, this is the most interesting North Bay council election I’ve witnessed in decades. The depth of the 29 candidates seeking a seat in the chamber – both new and familiar – gives me hope no matter who gets elected

I was convinced veteran councillor Mac Bain was ready to be relieved of civic duty to make room for new energy and a fresh set of ideas ... but now I'm not sure.

All Johanne Brousseau had to do is demand more detail from mayoral candidate Peter Chirico and force him to expand on vague points and she would have gained more ground

If you are clearly behind six candidates, giving support to another four might help one or more of them upend your top choices – but hedging your bet can pay dividends too.