Ron Dupuis looks with interest as the results are tabulated after the polls closed on election night. With him are, from the left, Karen Mallette, Mike Mallette and Roy Brideau, three of Ron’s dedicated campaign workers. For Dupuis, the evening marked the end of a gruelling campaign of knocking on doors, attending candidate nights and speaking to hundreds of residents about their concerns and priorities. In the end, Dupuis received the support of almost 3000 ratepayers, representing about 20% of the popular vote in Ward 3 - good enough to earn him a seat on the first Council of the City of Greater Sudbury.

Dupuis has served on the Valley East City Council for the past three years and is looking forward to his new responsibilities with the new City of Greater Sudbury.

“I think this will be good for Valley East and I will make sure that we don’t  allow our identity to be lost in the larger City of Greater Sudbury. We have a lot of great people in this community and I know they won’t let that happen,” stated Dupuis, who, as a businessman himself, has also expressed a desire to make it easier for companies to set up and establish a base of operation in this region.

Ron Dupuis, 49,  is a  Blezard Valley resident who is very much involved in a wide variety of community projects and activities. He is married with three children.

At the Louise Portelance campaign headquarters, Louise is shown looking at the results as they were posted on the internet during the evening. Her son, Joel, took charge of the cyber communication function and kept everyone up to date with the latest results. Portelance managed to maintain a slim lead over Andre Rivest to end up victorious and will join Ron Dupuis on City Council for the next three years.

Congratulations must go out to all of the candidates who put forth their names in the Ward 3 race, which was the most contested election in the region. Besides Rivest, who finished in third place, Joe Niceforo, Maurice Lamoureux, Marc Landry, Roger Trottier, Len Zivny and Nicky Doyon competed and finished in that order.

Portelance was extremely pleased with the support she received from Valley East and New Sudbury, “The people know what I stand for and they know that I will work hard on their behalf. We have a great community with a lot of great people who care about our future.”

Portelance has been on Regional Council for the past three years and is well aware of the workings of that political arena. It is her past experience which should serve Valley East residents well in maintaining our priorities and continued development over the next three years.