Karen George

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Karen George is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. She served as the mayor of Brantford from 1987 to 1991.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Ontario Province of Canada

Ontario is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province accounting for 38.3 percent of the country's population, and is the second-largest province in total area. Ontario is fourth-largest jurisdiction in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are included. It is home to the nation's capital city, Ottawa, and the nation's most populous city, Toronto, which is also Ontario's provincial capital.

In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town.

Contents

Private career

During the 1970s and 1980s, George co-owned a company that operated two day care centres, originally started in 1949 by her mother Beryl Angus. She was appointed to a federal small business consultative committee in 1986. [1] In 1992 she entered the field of Financial Planning, starting as an associate with Bright and Associates and in 1994 opening an office "George and Edmison Partners" in partnership with Ken Edmison. She obtained her Certified Financial Planning Certificate and her Level 2 insurance licence.

Municipal politician

George was elected to the Brant County Board of Education in 1976 and was re-elected in 1978, 1980, and 1982. During this time she served as Board Chair for two consecutive years. She was elected to the Brantford City Council in 1985, winning the first seat in the city's third ward.

The Brant County Board of Education is a former school district in the Canadian province of Ontario. In the late 1990s, it was amalgamated with the Norfolk County Board of Education and the Haldimand County Board of Education to create the Grand Erie District School Board.

She argued in favour of restoring the death penalty at a 1986 meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. [2]

The first meeting of an enduring municipal association was held in Hamilton on September 6, 1899. The name "Ontario Municipal Association" was chosen, and it was agreed that there would be annual meetings, or "oftener if need be, upon the call of the executive committee", so that both appointed and elected representatives of municipalities could discuss common concerns. A constitution for the organization was drawn up, officers elected and the mandate decided ‑ to establish regular meetings between the association and the government to speak to, and to influence legislation.

Mayor

George was chosen as mayor of Brantford by a council vote in September 1987, after Dave Neumann resigned the office by virtue of being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. She defeated rival candidate John Starkey by a vote of six to four. [3]

David Emil Neumann is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the mayor of Brantford from 1980 to 1987 and served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990. After several years out of politics, he was elected as a city councillor for Brantford's fifth ward in the 2010 municipal election.

Legislative Assembly of Ontario single house of Legislature of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is one of two components of the Legislature of Ontario, the other being the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The Legislative Assembly is the second largest Canadian provincial deliberative assembly by number of members after the National Assembly of Quebec. The Assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.

George was mayor of Brantford when Massey Combines Corp. closed down operations in the city, throwing 425 people out of work. [4] Describing the closure as a terrible blow to the community, she worked with federal Member of Parliament Derek Blackburn to find new employment opportunities for those affected. [5] Later in the same year, she worked to obtain a grant from the provincial government to construct an industrial park in the city. [6]

Derek Nigel Ernest Blackburn was a Canadian politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1971 to 1993. He represented the electoral district of Brant as a member of the New Democratic Party.

Industrial park area for development of industry

An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, which has offices and light industry, rather than heavy industry.

Re-elected to a full term in 1988, George criticized the federal government's cuts to Via Rail service in late 1989. [7] She unexpectedly lost the mayoralty by a significant margin in the 1991 municipal election. [8]

George was instrumental in the decision by Council to construct a new Police Station and to turn a downtown department store into an award-winning library. She worked with a community committee to obtain $2.5M from the Provincial and Federal Governments to complete the restoration of the historic Capital Theater. This restoration led to the newly renamed Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts being awarded the Prestigious “Theatre Preservation Award” presented by the League of Historic American Theatres. She was also instrumental in obtaining $7M in Federal and Provincial Funding to complete the construction of the Icomm Centre which has subsequently become the home of the Brantford Charity Casino.

In 1999, George chaired a citizen's committee that examined payment for councillors, police board members and appointees to Brantford Hydro. [9] She supported Mike Hancock's successful bid to become mayor of Brantford in 2003 and his bid for re-election in 2006. [10]

Federal and provincial politics

George was initially a member of the New Democratic Party, but later joined the Progressive Conservatives. [11] She opposed a suggestion, made in 1996, that her party should merge or cooperate with the Reform Party of Canada. [12] In 1984 she contested the nomination for the Progressive Conservative Party, losing to Rick Sterne. After the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the Canadian Alliance in 2003, she joined the resultant Conservative Party of Canada. [13] In the 2008 federal election, she was an organizer for Conservative candidate Phil McColeman. [14]

In the 1999 provincial election, George was the campaign manager for Progressive Conservative candidate Alayne Sokoloski. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ "Who's who on small business committee," Financial Post, 31 May 1986, p. 45.
  2. ↑ Jim Byers, "Capital punishment backed by delegates," Toronto Star, 27 August 1986, A16.
  3. ↑ "FOR THE RECORD NEW BRANTFORD MAYOR," Globe and Mail, 23 September 1987, A15.
  4. ↑ Kevin Donovan, "Workers shattered by Massey closing," Toronto Star, 6 March 1988, A1.
  5. ↑ "Politicians plan to help Massey workers find jobs," Globe and Mail, 14 March 1988, A13; Richard Brennan, "Massey 'family' copes with demise: 'It's tough to start out all over again' Series: The Death of an Industry: Massey-Ferguson," Windsor Star, 26 March 1988, E1.
  6. ↑ "Brantford to get $10-million grant," Globe and Mail, 29 September 1988, A11.
  7. ↑ Don Lajoie, "The Via Rail blues: Trains follow Tory tracks," Windsor Star, 29 September 1989, A1.
  8. ↑ "New Brantford mayor shocked by victory," Hamilton Spectator, 13 November 1991, B10.
  9. ↑ Ross Marowits, "Councillors' costs up 6%," Brantford Expositor, 6 March 1989, A3.
  10. ↑ Michael-Allan Marion, "Hancock: 'It's time': Challenger for mayor calls for a change in the city's leadership," Brantford Expositor, 10 October 2003, A1; Michael-Allan Marion, "Where are the challengers for mayor?", Brantford Expositor, 10 April 2006, A1.
  11. ↑ Dan McCreary, "Don't count the NDP out of Brant race," Brantford Expositor, 26 April 1999, A3.
  12. ↑ Jim Brown, "Alliance proposed by right-thinkers dies quick death," Ottawa Citizen, 28 May 1996, A4.
  13. ↑ "Brant Tories pick new board, executive," Brant News, 20 April 2009, accessed 7 October 2010.
  14. ↑ Michael-Allan Marion, "Tight race for Brant again?", Brantford Expositor, 2008, accessed 7 November 2010.
  15. ↑ Dan McCreary, "Tories set to top Grits," Brantford Expositor, 18 January 1999, A3.
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