Ring to carry on as Chamber boss after electoral defeat

“It was a well fought battle between two different styles of leadership.”

That from Rory Ring after falling short in his quest to unseat Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Christian Provenzano in Monday’s municipal election.

Provenzano garnered more than 15,200 votes, with Ring in second place at just over 5,100.

Ring took leave from his job as Sault Ste. Marie Chamber CEO to run for mayor, calling for more jobs and lower taxes.

“I’ve talked to almost 8,000 people during the campaign and they were looking at a lot of the things that were in my platform, but with myself being relatively new to the Sault there’s a comfort level with the incumbent,” Ring said, speaking to SooToday after Provenzano sailed to victory and a second term as mayor.

Undaunted with his defeat at the polls, Ring, who said he intends to carry on as Chamber CEO, stated “we will continue to work hard with all levels of government for our community, to bring prosperity to Sault Ste. Marie.”

There was some spirited disagreement between Ring and Provenzano on municipal taxation levels during the campaign.

That, along with the fact Ring has hosted several Sault Chamber of Commerce question and answer sessions with Provenzano, and, because that will continue during Provenzano’s second term, the term ‘awkward’ comes to mind.

That didn’t seem to bother Ring.

“We’re adults, and you have to have respect for those who have put their name forward to be head of council, but obviously we’ll continue to advocate for the business community, and we do need to take action on some things here in Sault Ste. Marie. We just need to make sure we’re respectful in how we move forward with those things.”

In continuing to be an advocate for more jobs and lower taxes locally, Ring said “we need greater focus on how to make it easier to start a business in Sault Ste. Marie, easier to stay in business and easier to grow a business. Those elements have been advocated by the Chamber of Commerce not just since my arrival but before that.”

“We need to address permits and bylaws, to make it easier to create private sector growth in your own backyard, but obviously we’ve seen our business community and population shrinking. Those are issues we need to address.”

Provenzano, when first running for mayor in 2014, said he was inspired by former Mayor John Rowswell, who often travelled to other communities to attract businesses to Sault Ste. Marie, and stated he would do the same if elected mayor.

“Part of my platform was to be a full time mayor that would allow me to do just that. Wait and see. The ball’s in his (Provenzano’s) court now,” Ring said.

The municipal election marked the first time Ring ran for public office.

Ring served as the president and CEO of the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce before being selected to be the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce CEO in Feb. 2016.  

He worked as a financial services professional and entrepreneur,  with an MBA from Queen’s University and a BA in political science from the University of Western Ontario.