New Sault Ste. Marie council sworn in

Sault Ste. Marie’s new mayor and four new councillors, along with the rest of city council, took their respective oaths of office Tuesday night.

A full gallery greeted the 11-member council as they filed into the chamber for the first time.

Indigenous song and drumming preceded the new council as they took their seats for the inaugural meeting. Mayor Matthew Shoemaker was the first to speak, outlining the issues facing the city, such as the opioid crisis, housing and infrastructure.

“Everybody is looking forward to moving the community forward and putting forward their ideas for improving the city and hopefully we’ll be able to work collaboratively to get there over the next four years,” said Shoemaker.

There were four new faces at the council table.

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Sonny Spina, a two-time federal Conservative candidate in Sault Ste. Marie, said he is ready to get to work.

“This first meeting was great for us to meet the public and really introduce ourselves as a city council to the public,” said Spina. “I’m excited that next week, right away, we get down to work, we start talking budget and we get down to really what needs to be done for the city.”

Angela Caputo, a local business owner, said despite the learning curve, she’s “ready to rock.”

“I love learning, I love facing new challenges, and I think I’ve always done so with a brave face and a certain degree of excitement,” said Caputo.

“It’s been a really great day,” said retired teacher Ron Zagordo.

“I was looking forward to this first meeting and it was wonderful meeting everybody and it looks like we’ve got a really great team here to work together with.”

Stephan Kinach, a dentist and third-generation Saultite, said he’s ready for the next four years.

“I understand that it’s going to be a lot of responsibility, and I look forward to it and I’m hoping to do a good job and to represent my area and my constituents well,” he said.

Rounding out the council table are Sandra Hollingsworth, Lisa Vezeau-Allen, Luke Dufour, Marchy Bruni, Corey Gardi and Matthew Scott.

The new council will have its first regular meeting Nov. 21.

Read more about how municipal governments work in Ontario here.

Find out how population density affects municipal budgets here.

CTV News spoke with some outgoing and former politicians in northeastern Ontario. Here is what they learned from their time in office.