Several outgoing Owen Sound councillors were recognized by the city and their colleagues as their tenures as elected officials comes to an end.
Deputy Mayor Brian O’Leary and Coun. Richard Thomas were defeated in last month’s municipal election. Coun. John Tamming did not run for another term.
During Monday night’s council meeting, all three were recognized for their service. They each made some comments and expressed gratitude for their time on council.
O’Leary served two terms on city council, from 2014-22, and spent the last four years as deputy mayor.
Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy credited O’Leary for “advocating for and convincing county council to add a one per cent budget increase annually dedicated to housing.”
“I think that should be the thing he’s most remembered for,” Boddy says.
O’Leary congratulated Coun. Scott Greig, who defeated him in last month’s election and will be the city’s next deputy mayor. He also thanked city staff and his council colleagues.
“You know that friendships are important to me. I know that when we’re in this council chamber it’s all business and it gets serious and a lot of times we don’t agree,” O’Leary says. “But, I’ll always cherish the times when we weren’t in here … and we’d go out after a (meeting).”
Tamming served one term as a city councillor and opted against running again. Mayor Boddy described Tamming as a “strong advocate” for reducing city operating costs and the tax burden on Owen Sound citizens.
“I think he should be remember as instrumental as leading the charge to sell the airport and reducing that annual operating cost for the city,” Boddy says, referring to the $1.5-million sale of the Billy Bishop Regional Airport the city completed during the 2018-22 term.
Tamming gave a lengthy speech and quoted several passages from the work of American sociologist Robert Nisbet, saying the ropes of “faith, family and union have largely dissolved. And in the words of Nisbet were are now rendered loose and we turn to government for support.”
“And people write letters to the editor demanding city council fund this, or that. And many have attended this chamber and stood at this very podium and asked quite appropriately for our support, financial and otherwise,” Tamming explains. “And all of that is good and well. But government cannot begin to make up the difference for those who have been loosened, for those who have fallen between the proverbial cracks. There will be enough money. There will never be enough social workers to ensure civic mental health. Or money to house all of our homeless … there will never be enough property taxes to come close to funding the kind of society I’ve heard many people demand that we deliver.”
Tamming then welcomed the new councillors and offered them this advice: “Remember that the hardest word for a politician to say sometimes is ‘no.’”
Thomas, who lost the mayoral race to Boddy in October’s municipal election, served on council for two terms from 2014-22. Boddy thank Thomas for his service and says he was instrumental in advocating for the waiving of development charges in Owen Sound.
“Which has resulted in the large investment we’ve witnessed in residential development over the past several years,” Boddy says.
Thomas spoke to Tamming’s remarks and says they touched on so many things he’s learned as a councillor.
“One of my greatest concerns moving forward in the future is that we’ve really lost sight of what it means to be a community. In Owen Sound, we still have that. But in some many places it’s gone,” Thomas says. “And I think we need to cling to that. I encourage the new councillors to make that a priority. We need to come back to being a strong community.”
He then thanked the residents of Owen Sound for allowing him to act as their representative on council for the last eight years: “It has been fun. It has not been fun. It has been heart-wrenching at times. It has been uplifting. But always, always, always, it has felt good to be sitting in this chamber and working on behalf of my community. Because I love Owen Sound. And we all do. We’re all here for the same reason. We’re all here to make our community a better place.”
The inaugural meeting for the next term of council is Monday, Nov. 21.
