Less than 24 hours after being sworn in as mayor of the Town of Lourdes on Thursday for yet another term, Henry Gaudon stepped down and offered his resignation to council on Friday afternoon.
He cited personal reasons and would not elaborate on them when asked.
Deputy Mayor Anne Bullen, who will now serve as mayor, said on Tuesday it was certainly a shock for her to hear the news.
“It’s too bad. Henry was a good mayor but I guess we (council) have to respect his decision and thank him for his service to the town for the past two decades.
Gaudon, who is 71 years of age, was recently re-elected to council in the Sept. 26 municipal election and garnered 83 per cent of the vote.
Although he expressed some regrets on leaving suddenly, he said the overwhelming support of the voters assured him they were satisfied with his accomplishments on their behalf during his several terms as mayor.
Gaudon said while there was always more that could have been done, the availability of clean, safe drinking water was provided to every resident of the town, a new town hall and fire department and town fitness centre were but a few of the projects completed during the past six years.
He said negotiations and studies were also underway to determine the feasibility of providing water and other services to the local service districts of West Bay and Piccadilly.
Bullen said her council has a regular meeting scheduled towards the end of this month and they will see where they go from there.
“We have a good council, which had the same people that served in the previous four years, so they are all familiar with the workings of a town council,” she said.
Bullen, who also has about 20 years of experience on council, said she was always a councillor and had no desire to be mayor or deputy mayor in the past but this time she thought she’d step up and got acclaimed as deputy mayor.
She said she never thought ending up as mayor would happen.
Gaudon said he sees serious times ahead for rural councils as they will be required to remain vigilant to protect the interests of their residents during the finalization of the Provincial Waste Management Strategy for the Western Region and proposals of various models of regional governments that could seriously impact small towns and local service districts.
The former mayor expressed his gratitude to all the residents of the Town of Lourdes for the privilege of representing them during the past 20 years.
Short bio on Henry Gaudon
- 29 years Canadian Forces Regular
- 19 years Canadian Armed Forces Reserve
- 25 years as Chair of Regional Youth Justice Committee
- 20 years municipal politics
- Recipient of Queen's Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals
