Mayor Wade Mills elected 145th Warden of Dufferin County

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Shelburne Mayor Wade Mills has been elected as the 145th Warden of Dufferin County.

Mills was elected to the position, which he will hold for the 2022 term, during a county council meeting last Thursday (Dec. 9). He is taking over the role from Melanchthon Mayor Darren White, who chose not the seek re-election after holding the position for the last three years. 

Prior to the election of the 2022 term warden, White provided advice for the nominees. 

“Take all of the blame and none of the credit,” said White. 

Councillors casted their votes for the nominees via an anonymous virtual ballot. Coun. Chris Gerrits, the Deputy Mayor of Amaranth, and Mills were both nominated for the position as the head of county council, with Mills officially being electing following an 8-6 vote. 

The Warden is the head of Dufferin County Council and acts as the chief executive officer (CEO) for the County, leading Council meetings, and providing representation at functions. 

Concluding his election as the 145th Warden of Dufferin County, Mills was handed the floor to read the oath of office and address his fellow council members before proceeding with the regular meeting. 

“Last year at this time during his inaugural address, Warden White spoke to the fact that the year ahead, 2021, was going to be characterized by challenges,” said Mills. “With the benefit of hindsight now I think without question we can say that he was exactly right.” 

Noting the difficulty of the past 21 months Mills continued, “We as local leaders have been called upon to make some of the most difficult decisions, quite frankly, that many of us may ever have to make in public life.” 

Mills addressed emerging from the pandemic and moving forward with shared goals to collectivity face the gaps revealed over the almost two years. 

“I do not want it to be said of us that we failed to recognize the gaps or the lessons learned by this pandemic or that we squandered this opportunity to reassess and reimagine how we function. Rather, let it be said of us that we chose to emerge from this dark and challenging period with an imaginative boldness and an intention of purpose that laid the foundation for our community's future achievements,” he said. 

With Mills election as the 145th Warden of Dufferin County, he joins a long list of Shelburne council representatives to be elected to the position.

The first Shelburne Council member to hold the role of Warden of Dufferin County was William Jelly in 1885. In 2000, former Mayor Ed Crewson was the last Shelburne council member elected as the head of County Council. 

“It's a tremendous honor to be elected by your peers. To fill that role is pretty humbling, and to know they're putting their confidence in you to lead county council for the next year,” Mills noted. “It's been quite a while since Shelburne had taken a prominent role at the county level.” 

Mills' election also marks a significant achievement as his father Paul Mills, former Mayor of Mulmur, held the position of Warden of Dufferin County in 2018. 

“He certainly left big shoes to fill, he was pretty well respected that level, and I'll certainly do my best to fill those shoes to the extent I can. It doesn't happen very often so it's kind of a neat legacy,” said Mills.

During the meeting, council also selected the four chairs to lead the standing committees of County Council. Orangeville Mayor Sandy Brown was selected as chair of the Infrastructure and Environmental Services Committee, Mono Mayor John Creelman will again lead the General Government Services Committee, Philip Rentsch the Deputy Mayor of Grand Valley will oversee the Health and Human Services Committee, Mulmur Mayor Janet Horner will chair the Community Development and Tourism Committee, and Melanchthon Mayor Darren White was appointed to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Community Advisory Committee.