The next municipal election is more than two years away, but already Essex Mayor Ron McDermott says he has no plans to run for a fifth term. "There's a member of council presently -- his intentions have always been to run for the mayor's chair one day. He has said as long as I was running, he wouldn't run against me," says McDermott. "And I said 'well, when you're ready to run, I could step aside. Well, that's happening." He won't name the councillor saying he doesn't want to "speak out of order," and Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche won't confirm that he's the councillor. McDermott says his kids convinced him the time is coming to retire. "They're always after me. Why don't you just relax. Retire. Enjoy life." McDermott says he never followed politics before his first campaign, deciding only to run when no one else from northern Essex would. While that's changed over the past 15 years, McDermott says he has no interest running federally or provincially.
Essex Mayor Ron McDermott holds up a mini version of his towns new flag, May 13, 2015. (Photo by Mike Vlasveld)
