Murray Gray is new mayor of Moosomin
November 19, 2024, 11:05 am
Kara Kinna
Murray Gray will be the new mayor of Moosomin after winning the mayoral race against incumbent Larry Tomlinson in the municipal election on November 13. Gray won with race with 474 votes to Tomlinson’s 317.
“I was happy, I was sad that we are losing a mayor like Larry, I was proud—it was a lot of emotions. It was a really fun moment for sure and it took a while to sink in and it’s still sinking in,” said Gray last week after winning the race.
Why does Gray think he won?
“I think it was my track record over the last eight years, my leadership in economic development and my ability to think on my feet. I think as well, the winds of change are blowing in the world today where people want different voices and different faces to represent them.”
Gray said going into the race he didn’t know how it would go.
“I had no idea what to expect, to be honest with you. It’s fairly nerve-wracking when you put your name out for a public office so I respect everybody putting their name in, in order to become a councillor or a mayor. I think it’s a lot harder than people realize to have your name out there and have people choose whether they want you to be their councillor or mayor. It’s a humbling experience for sure.”
What are his first priorities as mayor?
“Well we need to have some discussion about the new members on council to get some direction and ideas from them and we have to form committees,” he said. “So those are kind of the first things that we need to do. There’s not a whole big priority for change because I think that things were going okay up until this point. We had a very strong council for the last four years so we’ll continue on that path with some different input—there’s not a whole bunch to fix. I think that the town is in good shape and we’ll continue to build on that.
“I would like to acknowledge and thank Larry Tomlinson for his time as mayor. I think he had three terms and did a great job at turning the community over to me in very good hands. I also would like to acknowledge Chris Davidson, Ron Fisk, and Greg Nosterud, for their hard work in the time that they’ve been on council.
“We need the CT scanner to become front and center for sure as the next big project that we need to work on. Residential development still needs some work and we need to work on some land, but I think those are both projects that are going to take some time and effort. They’re not going to happen overnight.
“I think the daycare is going to need our support going forward so there’s going to be some discussions around the future of the daycare.
“Other than that, I’m sure that through campaigning over the last month or so, I’m sure the community has spoken to all of the members of council now about things that they expect or would like council to achieve, so we’ll get those ideas from around the table. I think all of the councillors have been out talking to the community and it’s really the community that we represent.
“I’m excited for the future. I know what I’m getting into because I’ve been there for the past eight years as a councillor, so there’s not really that excitement for the actual rolling your sleeves up and getting to work part of it done, but I am excited for what the future of our community is and to work towards our goals.”