Arlene Wright has removed her chain of office in Grey County for the last time.
Wright has been the Warden of Grey County for two years — but the Owen Sound City County Councillor will not put her name forward for a third term.
Tuesday marked Wright’s final meeting of county council as the top elected official.
On December 6th, a new warden will be chosen.
Presently, only The Blue Mountains Deputy Mayor Duncan McKinlay has announced he will run.
Wright says she’s proud to have served as warden and is happy with her achievements — particularly the creation of a strategic plan which is almost finished.
Wright also cites the hiring of Lance Thurston as the county’s new CAO in early 2010 as a highlight.
She says her goals meshed well with those of Thurston, to the point where they seemed to be on the same wavelength all the time.
Wright is also a member of Owen Sound city council, to which she was elected in 2003.
She joined county council in 2006 and was elected warden after a two-person race with Southgate Mayor Brian Milne, who was deputy mayor at the time.
Wright was acclaimed as warden last year.
Wright says she’s looking forward to cutting back on her workload and spending more time with her family, particularly her new great-granddaughter.
But she’ll still be busy as a member of both city council and county council.
Wright is only the second woman to have been warden of Grey County, following Lois Urstadt of the former Sarawak Township in 1982.
She is also the first person from Owen Sound to be the warden since John McQuaker in 1919. Owen Sound was a separate municipality from the county from 1920 to 2000.
