Enniskillen Mayor Kevin Marriott is Lambton’s 161th Warden

Marriott was acclaimed at a ceremony steeped in tradition in the Lambton County council chambers Wednesday.

Marriott told reporters while he’s ready for the challenge he is a bit nervous because of some of the major issues the county faces.

“We made affordable housing and homelessness our number one priority, so that’s going to continue to be the main focus. But we’ve got lots of issues now, and they’re all financial, so the budget that we’re working on now is probably the most challenging,” Marriott says.

The warden says he’s made some good connection with both federal and provincial housing ministers in the last few years. “I’m hoping that we finally break through with both levels of government for support, because we need to build more. And that’s my number one hope that I’ve made some good connections with the Federal Minister of Housing, and we are on a first name basis with the provincial ones, so I’m hoping that that eventually shows some success.”

On the budget, Marriott added; “We have to still be responsible to the taxpayer and inflation has come down; so it’s not going to feel good having a tax increase higher than inflation if it needs to be,

“It makes me nervous because I taxpayer myself, and I know the pain that people are going through right now.

At the end of his two year term Marriott will be Lambton’s longest serving Warden, one year longer than former Enniskillen Mayor Jim Burns and Plympton-Wyoming’s Pat Davidson.

St Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar will be the Deputy Warden for the next two years.