Gerry McIntaggart takes over Joe Cimino's Ward 1 seat

Ward 1 in Greater Sudbury now has a new city councillor as Gerry McIntaggart beat out 12 other potential candidates for the job.

The decision was made Tuesday at Tom Davies Square in a nomination committee meeting.

The seat was left empty by Joe Cimino, who recently won the provincial seat of the Sudbury riding.

McIntaggart was a city councillor in the 1990s.

The new councillor said he doesn’t plan to run in the upcoming municipal election in October.

“Well, what I’d like to do is sit down with Mr. Cimino and see what he had on his list of accomplishments to complete,” he said. “It would only be with respect to work on his initiatives.”

McIntaggart said he decided to venture back into politics because he missed the debate. He also said conversations with current councillors influenced his decision.

“I’ve gotten involved in hearing from several of the councillors here about the late evening calls and the lack of respect,” he said.

“This council deserves respect. They’re working their hearts out. They’re giving all their time, away from their families to do the best they can for the community.”

He said he found it "disturbing" that some councillors are being disregarded by many members in the community.

Best decisions for the whole community

McIntaggart said he wanted to share his past experiences with Sudbury council, including the difficult times.

"When I did the tobacco bylaw, a 2 [and] 3 a.m., people were calling my home, cursing and swearing at my family,” he said.

“So you have to make the best decisions on behalf of the whole community, not on behalf of several voters or several businesses in the community."

He said not everyone agrees with the decisions council makes, but added compromise needs to be found with people or groups who may be opposed.

"We did reduce the impact with the tobacco bylaw because more people can attend the bars now in a smoke-free environment,” he said. “More people can sit outside and enjoy the clean air."

As for his priorities this time around, McIntaggart said he plans to work with current councillors to accomplish as much as possible.

"I will not be putting forward any large initiatives, but working on council with their initiatives and hopefully getting those passed,” he said.