Ron Van Horne, former chief administrative officer for Lambton County, came out of retirement to serve as interim CAO for Warwick Township
Ron Van Horne, former chief administrative officer for Lambton County, came out of retirement to serve as interim CAO for Warwick Township.
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Mayor Todd Case said Van Horne started work this week, filling a vacancy created when Amanda Gubbels resigned in June as township CAO and clerk to be CAO for the municipality of Southwest Middlesex.
“I feel, in all honesty, like we hit a homerun,” Case said of Van Horne agreeing to the interim job.
Van Horne will retire in early 2023 after more than three decades of working for Lambton County.
“We feel very fortunate that Ron Van Horne has decided to come on as our interim CAO for whatever time it may be,” Case said. “It could be the next six months, eight months” while township council decides how to proceed with hiring a permanent CAO.
Warwick Township has about 3,600 residents and includes Watford and Warwick Village.
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Case said he reached out to Van Horne following Gubbels’ resignation and the former county senior administrator agreed to take on the post.
“I don’t think you’d find a better solution when you’re looking for an interim (CAO) than having somebody who understands our municipality well, and also understands Lambton County,” Case said.
Van Horne joined the county in 1991 as its solicitor and served as its CAO for about 20 years.
“I know we’re getting a quality individual — a very good man who understands the world of politics and administration really well,” Case said.
Van Horne grew up in London where his father, also named Ron, was an MPP.
He went to work for the City of Sarnia legal office before taking a job with the county. Van Horne was named acting CAO in 1999. He was appointed to the position permanently the following year.
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“That kind of opportunity just doesn’t come along every day when somebody has just recently retired from running a very large county and is agreeable to coming and helping us out,” Case said.
Having an interim CAO will give township council time “to decide what the next steps will be” in the hiring of a permanent senior administrator, he said.
“We are right in the midst of recruiting another public works manager,” Case said. “We hope to have somebody new in the next little while, in that role.”
Van Horne will assist township council in determining “what we want in our next CAO,” Case said.
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