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By Shawn Merrithew

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It is the dawn of a new era for the residents in the Florenceville-Bristol area.

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Darrell Giggie

A newly formed town means a new council, and a veteran mayor will take the helm as the town's first official mayor.

Incumbent Bristol Mayor Darrell Giggie defeated Paul Roy 467 to 165 to become the first mayor for the Town of Florenceville-Bristol.

Giggie said he is pleased to be a part of this momentous occasion.

"It feels good," said Giggie, who brings 22 years of experience as mayor to the table. "I have been at this for 10 years trying to get this amalgamation, and finally it went through."

Despite the loss, Roy said he feels good about the results from the election. It was great to see a full slate of candidates running in the election, he said, and he was pleased to throw his name in the hat.

"It has been far too long for our communities, Florenceville and Bristol, not to have a mayoral race," Roy explained. "(The voters) have made a choice, and I think Darrell will do a good job. He is a 20-year mayor with lots of experience, so it is a good thing."

Roy added he was also pleased about the amalgamation of the two communities. Though there will be some growing pains, he said, the new council will move in a positive direction with the leadership it now has.

Giggie said he can hardly wait to assume his new role, and he sees a bright future for Florenceville-Bristol. He added he wants to put the town on the map.

"I would like to see growth," he said. "I would like to see more business and more residential (development).

"I also want to see what I have for a council and see where they would like to go. We will see what their vision is, and we'll sit down probably later this week for a casual meeting to see where everybody wants to go."

Giggie added he is looking forward to working with the other council members who will lead the community into the future.

Joining Giggie at the new council table will be some experienced councillors.

In Ward 2, incumbent Joyce Trafford returned to the council with 187 votes. The former acting mayor of Florenceville said she was pleased with the voter turnout of 60 per cent. In recent years, she said, it has been below 40 per cent. With the results for the mayor race, she noted, Giggie certainly had strong support in both communities.

Trafford added she is pleased to be a part of the first council since the amalgamation.

"We recognize this is the right thing to do," she said. "So it is interesting to be on the first council of Florenceville-Bristol."

Incumbent Susan Bushby also returns to her seat with 202 votes, while incumbent Nancy Whyte-McCauley narrowly edged out newcomers Larry Flemming and Gordon Phippen in a tight race, 158 to 154 and 133 respectively.

In Ward 1, incumbent Karl Curtis dominated with 281 votes, while incumbent Laurel Bradstreet picked up 257 votes. Rookie Duska Curtis rounded out the new council with a 61-vote majority over candidate Iain Dunlop, 236 to 175.

Trafford added she is pleased to see some veteran faces on council. She believes it bodes well for the amalgamation as most councillors coming in have been involved in the process and will understand what has to be done. Having a new face at the table is also good, she said, as it provides the council with a new perspective.

Like Giggie, she wants to see the community grow and prosper for the next four years.

"We certainly need to look at keeping and attracting business," she said. "I think we need to look at what we can do as far as tourism. We have got a bit of a long stretch there off the highway, so we need to attract tourists into both communities. With the combined town of Florenceville-Bristol, we have a fair amount of land for residential development. So we want to keep our communities as vibrant as they have been in the past."

The new mayor and councillors will now take their place in Carleton County history, and Giggie is happy to see familiar faces joining him. He is looking forward to working with the newly-elected councillors, he said, and getting down to business.