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Is Bill Thake the longest serving mayor in Canada?
Bill Thake became a Westport councillor in 1962
and has been the village's mayor since 1969.
By
Marco Smits
The Review-Mirror
Published May 29, 2008
Hazel McCallion is considered by many as the longest serving mayor
in Canada. The 84-year-old has been at the helm of Mississauga
since 1978, but when the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) recently
aired a radio segment on the extensive political career of McCallion,
the station was inundated with calls from across the country.
As a matter of fact, the CBC stated in a follow-up piece, that
Raymond Lagace of Atholville, New Brunswick could be Canada's
longest serving mayor. He has led his community since 1971.
"Rookies". That's what Westport mayor Bill Thake must be thinking.
Thake was voted into council in 1962 and has been the village's
mayor since 1969, an astonishing 39 years in a row.
Before him, his father (1925-28) and his brother (1953) were reeve
of the village as well.
Thake learned the tricks of the trade from Orville Forrester and
Earl McGregor, who both served as mayor while he was still a young
councillor. He also credits fellow reeves at the Leeds and Grenville
county level for teaching him the ropes.
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Bill Thake May 2008
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"I learned the procedures of council from them. I learned that if you
give your word to somebody, you were not to change your mind about it
the next day unless some real startling evidence came to light," Thake
said.
Three times he was contested in head-to-head elections for the position
and three times he won handily.
"I have always said that I don't want people to feel like I am hogging
the job. I have offered the job to several people who I thought could
do the job well throughout the years," said Thake.
However, his offers were sometimes declined and on other occasions, councillors
pursued other career opportunities. Throughout the years, Thake has faced
many challenging issues and continues to do so.
Waste management is on his mind these days and so is the fresh water supply
for his residents for the years to come. Of course, the issue of poaching
fisherman that has put the village in the spotlight has demanded a lot
from him as well.
A lot has changed since the 1960s. In his early terms, 41 representatives
did the same work at the county level that 10 mayors do nowadays. Preparing
for the meetings has also become more involved and the number of meetings
has grown exponentially. A few years ago, Thake fell ill and councillor
Dan Grunig looked after matters as the mayor recovered. When Thake was
healthy again he offered Grunig the job, but he declined and Thake stayed
on.
"I don't know what will happen at the next election. Look at the US
Elections, McCain is almost as old as I am. I talked to Dan (Grunig) about
it and he seems to think that maybe I should stay one more term. He said,
'Hazel McCallion is 84 and she's doing a good job in Mississauga,
maybe you can stay for a while longer as well'."
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