MacCulloch wins Ward 1 byelection

NEW?GLASGOW - Troy MacCulloch, a print manager at Advocate Printing and Publishing, won the Town of New Glasgow's Ward 1 byelection on Saturday.
MacCulloch beat former deputy mayor Ken Langille, who finished second, North Nova Eduation Centre guidance counsellor Roseanne MacGregor and Shane Pitts, a teacher at New Glasgow Junior High School.
"It's very satisfying. I was born and raised in ward one, I moved home to Ward 1, and over the years I've been trying to get more involved in the community. This is going to allow me to get involved at the next level."
MacCulloch, who ran for the Liberals in the 2006 provincial race but lost to Pat Dunn, admits this win came as a surprise.
"I wasn't expecting this, especially going up against someone like Kenny, with all of his past experience."
MacCulloch will fill the council seat left vacant after the passing of Norman Paris last October.
MacCulloch won with just 142 votes, while Langille trailed behind with a total of 109 votes. MacGregor earned 104 votes and Pitts had 97. There are 2,912 eligible voters in ward one.
"It was a very poor turnout," notes MacCulloch. "I think possibly people weren't too concerned about this one knowing the general election is coming up. Maybe that kept them away on Saturday."
Now that he's won, MacCulloch says there are certain issues he would like to focus on.
Specifically, he says he's concerned about the fact that there are no sidewalks on McGregor Street and McColl Street.
"In the winter, we're just pushing our residents out into the street," he said. "This shouldn't just be a budgetary item, this is a safety issue and should be dealt with immediately."
Another issue high on MacCulloch's priority list is the lack of public transportation in Pictou County. The need for public transportation is something that should be addressed as soon as possible, he says. "Public transportation isn't just about jumping on a bus to go to the mall, it's about access for people that don't have access to their own vehicles," he said.