By Mark Squibb
FFAW Vice President and former Bay Bulls councillor Jason Sullivan was 25 votes shy of keeping his council seat in the municipal election earlier this month.
Sullivan was edged out by incumbent Corey Ronayne, who scored 206 votes to Sullivan’s 181 votes in a field of seven in which five seats were open.
Sullivan said that given the popularity of newcomer Johanthan O’ Dea, who placed third in the polls, and his own lacklustre campaign, which he said he didn’t have time to commit to, he wasn’t surprised at being handed a loss.
“I figured I would be the one out,” said Sullivan. “It’s not the end of the world, but it’s unfortunate.”
Sullivan was first elected to council in 2013, expelled late in that term for missing three meetings in a row, then ran again successfully in 2021.
Had he been re-elected this time around, he said he would have worked towards getting the town a new soccer field and improved sports complex.
When asked whether he will ever run again, Sullivan replied, “Not a chance.”
“It’s a volunteer position and a thankless one,” he said.
Sullivan wished the newly minted council the best of luck moving forward.
“Johnny (O’Dea) is a good guy, and the last four years we had a good bunch on council,” said Sullivan. “We have good staff. Ashley (Wakeham) and them are great. I wish them the best and that they continue as they were and that they don’t raise taxes and stuff like that. The only way I’m ever going back on is if they get into a mess like they were before, and I hope we don’t ever get there.”
Interestingly, Sullivan would still be part of council if the Town had not appealed to the Department of Municipal Affairs in late 2020 to reduce its allotment of council seats from seven to five, following several years of difficulty in filling all seven seats during a contentious term of council. If not for that, Sullivan, along with all of the other six candidates who offered themselves this election, would have been elected by acclamation.
Former Bay Bulls councillor Jason Sullivan attributes his election loss to not having had time to properly campaign. Irish Loop Post file photo
