I suggest that her legacy is problematic mostly based upon her efforts regarding Elmira's water situation. Yes I am aware that the Woolwich Observer and others have been warning taxpayers here in Woolwich Township for decades about profligate municipal spending. Those folks have also likely suggested either empire building or at least unnecessary municipal hires which further add to the Township's financial burden when wages, benefits and long term cost of living increases are all included.
It is also possible that there are other issues such as local development both in Breslau and Elmira that may have offended many citizens. I do not however pretend to be either an expert on the intricacies of development nor on waste water infrastructure. I do have considerable knowledge however on water supply including both municipal, regional and even individual wells on private residences.
For myself there is one other major area of recent dispute that Mayor Shantz possibly cleverly avoided at all costs and that is the Region of Waterloo's mishandling of Wilmot's water supplies. Keep in mind that Mayor Shantz has also been a regional councillor for the past twelve years and should have stepped up and provided some leadership within regional council. Absolutely none was heard or reported upon at regional council meetings that multiple media have been attending vigorously for at least the last six months.
I have a colleague here in Elmira who has resoundingly been repeating the following mantra namely that Ms. Shantz's actions and decisions over the last eleven years have guaranteed the now universally accepted failure to clean up the Elmira Aquifers by 2028. While the "cleanup" has been irregular, inconsistent and inadequate for decades, the last chance to turn things around was in 2015 after the previous year's election which made Ms. Shantz mayor. Unfortunately, likely with bad advice (Brenneman & Bauman), she did absolutely everything wrong to restore the public's aquifers and everything right to minimize the polluter's environmental expenses and to polish Chemtura's and Lanxess's public images.
She has announced that she won't run in this fall's election. While that is a long overdue blessing I am not sure that local powers that be will not have multiple replacements waiting in the wings to solidify their influence generally at the expense of the public interest.
