of Sudbury's city council. Civic Square was renamed Tom Davies Square in 1997 following the retirement of longtime regional chairman Tom Davies. History In the 1976 municipal election, the first municipal elections held after the creation of the regional municipality, voters in three of the suburban towns rejected the new level of government. The strongest opposition was in Onaping Falls, with the vote running against regional government by a margin of 20 to one. Despite the opposition, however, none of the towns was released from the regional government structure. Amalgamation On January 1, 2001, all of the seven incorporated municipalities, as well as the Regional Municipality itself, were amalgamated into the United City of Greater Sudbury. The former municipal names remain in informal use to designate the different areas of the city. The name "Sudbury" itself may be ambiguous, however — depending on the context, it may denote either the old city in isolation, or a shorthand name for the entire amalgamated city. In addition to the former Towns and Cities of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury, the unincorporated townships of Dill, Cleland, Fraleck, Parkin, Aylmer, Mackelcan, Rathbun and Scadding were also annexed into the new city. The townships of Cleland and Dill encompass the communities of Wanup and St. Cloud, while the townships of Fraleck, Parkin, Aylmer, Mackelcan, Rathbun and Scadding comprise a wilderness area on the northeast side of Lake Wanapitei which contains only a few recreational properties. However, the annexation of this latter area into the city resulted in Lake Wanapitei supplanting Ramsey Lake, near downtown Sudbury, as the world's largest lake contained entirely within the boundaries of a single city. Regional Council chairs Prior to the 1997 municipal elections, the regional chairman was elected to the position from within the regional council — in that year, the position became generally elected by all voters in the regional municipality. Peter Wong, a former mayor of Sudbury, became the region's first elected chair, but died after just seven months in office. Following Wong's death, councillor Doug Craig served as interim chair until he was succeeded by Frank Mazzuca, a former mayor of Capreol, in a 1998 by-election. Don Collins, 1973–1975 Joe Fabbro, 1975–1977 Doug Frith, 1977–1980 Delki Dozzi, 1980 George Lund, 1980–1981 Tom Davies, 1981–1997 Peter Wong, 1997–1998 Doug Craig, 1998 Frank Mazzuca, 1998–2000 References External links Greater Sudbury Heritage Museums Municipal government of Greater Sudbury History of