A minute’s silence was observed ahead of Monday’s city council meeting to pay tribute to former alderman Gord Campbell.
Campbell passed away Friday at the age of 85.
An employee at the Ford Canada St. Thomas Assembly Plant for over 40 years, Campbell served on council for more than three decades.
He also sat on numerous boards including the St. Thomas Seniors Centre, Police Services Board and the United Way.
As a councillor, he was involved in the decision-making process on two of the more contentious issues in many years: the city’s twin-pad arena (now the Joe Thornton Community Centre) and the new police headquarters on CASO Crossing.
Campbell was not one to back down from an issue he was passionate about – many of them labour related – and back in 2012 he engaged in a legendary – but friendly – war of words with the late Bob McCaig over garbage collection in the city and where the empty garbage cans should be placed.
A bit of that back and forth between the two in 2012 is included below.
To quickly recap, Campbell took heat from city resident Deb Sawatzky over comments he made in council chambers on the quality of service provided by the city’s waste contractor, BFI Canada.
McCaig inflamed matters, in what can best be described in football terms as piling on after the whistle, when he sided with Sawatzky and threw in a couple of solid jabs for good measure.
Campbell, however, bounced back with his sense of humour intact to offer this rebuttal.
“I am going to forgo some advice I received from good friends, that it was best not to respond to articles in the press,” wrote Campbell.
“In response to Mrs. Sawatzky, I’m sorry if she felt that I under-appreciate the work the BFI workers do. I understand they work long hours at a difficult job in all kinds of weather. I just want them to finish the job by putting garbage containers back on lawns instead of the street or sidewalk.”
Campbell continued: “I have a constant list of complaints from citizens that they have to navigate around garbage receptacles on the sidewalk. This is particularly perilous for those with visibility problems, the elderly and those whose mode of transportation are wheelchairs and motorized scooters.
“It is extremely dangerous for them to go out on the road to avoid these receptacles. It is also in violation of not only a city bylaw, but the BFI contract itself. City staff have constantly forwarded those complaints to BFI. ”
As to the matter of McCaig’s personal observations, Campbell advised of progress made over the past couple of weeks.
“As Mr. McCaig puts it, my latest search and destroy mission caught the eye of the district director of BFI, and the appropriate city staff and myself sat down with him in a cool, calm and friendly manner and believe we have resolved many of the issues we discussed, including containers on the sidewalk.
“Finally, Mr. McCaig’s comment about politicians who have never achieved anything in life take great glee in trying to destroy those who have — Bob, I take that insensitive remark as a slam against me. I am quite happy with my accomplishments in life and have to consider the source of the remark.
“I guess if you are comparing bank balances, you’re right, there is no contest. But, I want you to know I don’t spend a lot of time pondering the biblical parable about a rich man passing through the eye of the needle either.”
As an aside Gord, I think Matthew refers to a camel passing through the eye of a needle as more likely than a rich man entering into the Kingdom of God, but the argument is well taken.
Campbell continued, “The other point about grandstanding for votes, I thought I made it clear some months ago I was on my last term. However, I intend to do my job until that time. I guess one of the reasons for retirement was expressed by another friend when asked why he (Campbell) was quitting politics.”
Campbell’s response: “I’m tired of always being wrong.”
A note about the photo above from 2012.
Campbell is pictured with a Shamrock Shuffle T-shirt given to those who participated in the Inn Out of the Cold walk/run fundraiser that year.
Look carefully and you’ll see his name, on the same line as that of Bob McCaig, at bottom left.
The two were embroiled in a dust-up after McCaig implied the good alderman was an underachiever.
Campbell notes the T-shirt is proof underachievers, like himself, can reside next to overachievers, like McCaig.
