MERTON, Carol
Status: Registered candidate for Mayor of Owen Sound.
Relevant background: Carol Merton is a sitting Owen Sound councillor serving her second term. Her City biography describes her as a health care professional in private practice, with management and leadership experience across Grey Bruce and involvement in committees, boards, and community groups.
Phone: 519-477-8192
Email: cmerton@sympatico.ca
2026 platform: Carol Merton’s campaign identifies four main priorities: safe and welcoming neighbourhoods; a vibrant downtown and public spaces; affordable housing and local opportunity; and responsible management of tax dollars. She proposes reviewing operating and capital budgets while maintaining critical and core services, supporting affordable employment and non-profit housing through an Affordable Housing Action Working Group and additional financing tools, and improving downtown cleanliness, rapid response to issues, and business attraction and retention. She also points to her record on City service-review savings, the Green Bin programme, and affordable-housing projects.
Campaign flyer: View the front and back of Carol Merton’s flyer.
Previous positions: In her 2022 campaign, Merton emphasized effective use of tax dollars, a safe and inclusive city, Housing First and affordable housing for lower-income residents and seniors, and stronger municipal involvement in addressing homelessness. She supported active physician and health-care worker recruitment, including a regional recruitment working group and incentives. On economic development, she promoted aging-in-place services, arts and tourism, skills and trades development, and attracting green-energy industries. She also supported stronger short-term-rental regulation, including principal-residence requirements, licensing, a municipal accommodation tax, and enforcement.
Council record: During the 2022–2026 term, Council implemented short-term-rental licensing with a principal-residence requirement and operating limits, closely following the approach Merton advocated in 2022, while the City continued regional physician recruitment and provincial advocacy on access to primary care. Merton also continued arguing that the City has a role in homelessness and downtown safety, and in 2026 moved to restore the Police Service Board’s full requested budget increase. On public participation, she was one of two councillors who opposed the 2024 restrictions on public question period and again one of two who opposed the 2026 committee restructuring that removed public members from the committee overseeing budgets and internal operations.
Sources: City of Owen Sound registered candidates page; Bayshore Broadcasting 2022 candidate profile; City short-term-rental information; Owen Sound Current report on the 2026 Police Service Board budget; Owen Sound Current report on the 2024 public-question-period changes; and Owen Sound Current report on the 2026 committee restructuring.
ZVORYGIN, Andrii
Status: Registered candidate for Mayor of Owen Sound.
Relevant background: Andrii Zvorygin is a local farmer and IT professional, founder and civic information publisher behind HelpOS, Treasurer of Grey Bruce Makers, and a former federal campaign treasurer. He has spent several years engaged in municipal and County policy, particularly rural planning, housing, productive land use, food security, local resilience, government transparency, and service delivery.
Phone: 226-256-1632
Email: andrii@zvorygin.ca
Web: mayorofowensound.ca
2026 platform: Andrii Zvorygin’s campaign focuses on three resident-facing outcomes: affordable housing, lower property taxes, and improved neighbourhood cohesion. His governing approach is based on Transparency, Participation, and Compassion, which shape how the campaign proposes to achieve those results. The platform is continually revised as residents raise concerns, offer suggestions, and contribute practical local knowledge.
On affordable housing, the campaign uses a four-phase approach: Help Now → Keep People Housed → Affordable Living → Voluntary Recovery. Immediate measures include bringing prepared meals and practical support closer to where unsheltered residents stay, including a mobile-meal approach with OSHaRE and other willing providers. Prevention measures include a City tenant-rights resource and a vacant-home tax to return unused housing to active use and reduce avoidable displacement.
For long-term affordability, Zvorygin proposes working through Grey County on Affordable Rural Communities combining modest resident-owned homes, secure productive land tenure, and shared infrastructure where useful, supported by preliminary family-scale planning and costing. The fourth phase would develop one voluntary rural rehabilitation pilot with professional and peer support, meaningful work, community, and pathways toward stable independent living. This sequence connects homelessness prevention, affordable housing, recovery, and downtown conditions into one practical approach. Learn more: helpos.ca/arc
On lower property taxes, Zvorygin proposes making service costs and results visible, reviewing City spending, debt, staffing and management structure, using periodic zero-based budgeting, identifying obsolete recurring costs, simplifying processes, and using modern software and local automation. His current work includes detailed review of City operating and capital spending, debt and interest, wastewater financing, staffing and management layers, service-level accountability, recurring legacy costs, and opportunities for process improvement. Learn more: helpos.ca/tax
On improved neighbourhood cohesion, the campaign proposes seven geographic Wards for Councillor responsibility within Owen Sound’s city-wide election system, smaller Local Areas, Local Representatives, voluntary neighbourhood gatherings, Shared Stewardship, and clearer resident-to-City Hall connections. The aim is to help neighbours know one another, solve suitable local problems together, and strengthen local capacity. This also includes resident reporting and opportunities for local businesses, trades, makers, co-operatives, and residents to help meet local needs. Learn more: helpos.ca/wards
Transparency supports all three outcomes by making service costs, staffing, management, contracts, debt, Council decisions, implementation progress, and measurable results easier to follow. HelpOS is already a working example of that approach through accessible agendas, transcripts, meeting results, public documents, and civic information. Learn more: helpos.ca/clear
Current policy and civic work: Zvorygin has spent several years working with Grey County mayors, deputy mayors, councillors, and staff on rural planning, housing, productive land use, food security, and local resilience. His advocacy has included presentations, correspondence, and work through municipal, County, provincial, and federal channels.
In 2025, Grey County adopted Official Plan Amendment 23, updating parts of its Rural and Agricultural planning framework. Grey County has also approved project-specific approaches such as the Thornbury Acres residential farm co-operative. These developments overlap with rural-planning reforms Zvorygin had been advocating for and provide practical experience for his current Affordable Rural Communities planning work.
Zvorygin also spent several years advocating for local co-creation and manufacturing capacity. Grey Bruce Makerspace was later established at the Sydenham Campus with federal support and County-provided space. He now serves as Treasurer of Grey Bruce Makers and works on its financial, organizational, communications, and technology systems. His broader civic work has included engagement with provincial and federal representatives, government ministries, and organizations including the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
His preparation for the Mayor’s role also includes work on affordable-housing planning, the Ward and Local Representative model, Shared Stewardship, evening-transit costing, infrastructure priorities, and strengthening local productive capacity.
Zvorygin organizes monthly discussions with international scientists and engineers on energy, resources, transition planning, and long-term community viability. Watch the discussions.
Campaign flyer: Read the Flyer
More information: Candidate profile · Full platform · Lower property taxes · Transparency · Wards and Local Representatives · Affordable Rural Communities
Interview: Interview with James O
Sources: City of Owen Sound registered candidates; The Most Relevant Experience for Mayor; Grey County Official Plan Amendment 23; Grey County Thornbury Acres project; Grey County Sydenham Campus and makerspace announcement; Grey Bruce Makers; and the 2026 mayoral platform.
