At the December 10 inaugural meeting, Lennox and Addington County Council elected their warden and deputy warden for the year 2026. County Council elected Nathan Townend, Deputy Mayor of Loyalist Township as Warden and Jim Hegadorn, Mayor of Loyalist Township as Deputy Warden. Warden Townend and Deputy Warden Hegadorn also served in these positions in 2025.
The Warden’s Declaration of Office was administered by His Worship Judge Geoff Griffin.
Warden Townend has served on county council since the spring of 2022. As a member of county council, he has been actively involved in public health, first serving on the board of KFL&A public health, where he was also appointed to the South East Transition Team, and was active in achieving the merger of three public health units in eastern Ontario. Warden Townend now serves as a board member of the newly formed Southeast Public Health. In addition, Warden Townend serves on the boards of ROMA and AMO, having been elected to rural caucus at AMO in 2024, and he is currently completing a Masters in Political Management (MPM) at the Clayton H Riddell program in political management at Carleton University.
Deputy Warden Hegadorn has been a member of county council since 2018. During that time he has served on various committees including the Seniors Outreach Services, Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Lafarge Community Liaison Committee. Deputy Warden Hegadorn currently works for the Ministry of Transportation. Jim, his wife Kim and their two children live within the family farm network, which includes a century farm north of Odessa. He is the fifth generation to live in the area and maintain the farming lifestyle.
In his inaugural address, Warden Townend thanked fellow councillors for putting their trust in him and said he is “humbled to serve as Lennox and Addington County Warden for 2026.” Warden Townend went on to say, “Now more than ever… we need to maintain the important work of ensuring our citizens are safe, housed, healthy, and happy.”
