Ashmore announces run for mayor this October, promising a Walmart and reduced development charges
Ward 6 Coun. Ron Ashmore has announced on Facebook he is running for mayor in the fall municipal election.
Invoking populist-style messaging – including a guarantee of Walmart appearing next year – the Omemee-area councillor says in his message he will be the “people’s mayor.”
Among his promises, as listed on Facebook, will be to complete all roads in the queue by 2030.
“The great people of Kawartha Lakes have been here for me and my challenging last 15 months and I felt that this is the time to make the move while I am in good shape and have the energy and stamina for the job,” he writes, a nod to the tragic death of his son, Michael, who was killed in an ATV accident.
Another key promise from the Ward 6 councillor is to reduce development charges “that have placed you out of the housing market,” he writes. He also notes he will bring “back business and employment to our communities.”
Development charges fund water, sewer, roads, transit, and emergency services. Most municipalities rely heavily on these and cannot eliminate them without a replacement revenue source. A new federal–provincial program encourages partial reductions.
His Walmart promise is further fleshed out in his statement, noting he will work with developers now “and I will personally go to Bentonville, Arkansas USA at my own expense in winter 2027 to secure it if elected.”
Ashmore says he will also support farmers, GO Transit to Lindsay, and a “Kawartha Lakes Civil Defense” for when an emergency arises.
Mayor Doug Elsmlie is widely expected to announce he will be retiring after this term. Ashmore and Ward 8 Coun. Tracy Richardson were the two councillors most cited by municipal news watchers as most likely to run for mayor. Ward 3 Coun. Mike Perry has already stated he will not be running for mayor in 2026.
The opening move in Kawartha Lakes’ 2026 mayoral race has been set by Ron Ashmore, who is campaigning on faster road repairs, lower development charges, and attracting major retail investment such as Walmart.
These themes reflect real local frustrations, but they also raise a key issue: what municipal government can realistically deliver versus what campaign messaging suggests.
Development charges fund essential infrastructure like arterial roads, water, and emergency services. Reducing them without new revenue would shift costs to taxpayers or slow growth-related infrastructure. Similarly, major retail decisions such as Walmart location are driven by private-sector strategy, not municipal guarantees. Local government can encourage investment but not compel it. Road renewal is another constraint: accelerating a large backlog of infrastructure work would require higher taxes, borrowing, or cuts elsewhere in the municipal budget.
Elections in Kawartha Lakes are shaped less by promises than by turnout and geography. Rural wards seem to have higher turnout and stronger consistency. Urban centres like Lindsay and hubs such as Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls hold significant population but historically lower voter participation. Population growth in Lindsay is shifting the rural-urban split more urban since the last municipal election.
In a first-past-the-post system, this creates a structural reality: a unified rural vote can compete with—or outweigh—a divided urban vote.
Urban voters are not a single bloc, but their influence depends on whether support consolidates behind one candidate or splits across multiple contenders. Consider, for example, if figures such as Tracy Richardson, Pat Warren or potentially Mark Doble all split the urban progressive vote for the Mayor’s chair.
Turnout differences amplify this dynamic. In a low-participation election, small shifts in engagement can determine the outcome.
The Kawartha Lakes Mayoral Race is likely to be shaped less by individual promises than by turnout levels, geographic cohesion and the ability to build a broad coalition across a divided municipality. Multiple urban centric candidates splitting the vote would hand Ashmore a decisive victory. Conversely, the vote Ashmore is counting on could be split if Councillor Yeo enters the mayoral race competing against Ashmore.
In Kawartha Lakes, elections are rarely decided by who proposes the most—but by who best understands where the votes actually are, and who shows up to cast them. In 2026 that means a team, a database of municipal addresses, and an organized campaign structure for reaching out to every address and elector in the City. That’s at least two pairs of walking shoes, and lots of kilometers for the candidate.
We anxiously await the next mayoral candidates disclosing their candidacy to better understand the dynamics of this municipal election cycle.
Both Doble and Warren have already registered with the City to run for council seats, so they won’t be splitting any urban vote. And Richardson represents Pontypool so she can’t really be regarded as having any special urban appeal. I would hope Kawartha Lakes residents cast their votes based on the issues at stake and on the integrity of the candidates. Can we trust our candidates to respect and protect municipal democracy, to eschew corruption, to respect expert knowledge, and to be fair and open and honest with residents? Whoever becomes the next mayor must have a realistic and positive vision for our community, given our population will double during this decade.
That’s great news,and don’t forget a home depo