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Continued from page 41 He progressed through a number of schools, eventual- ly as Principal in north Bowmanville. Here, he first tasted political success as MPP in the riding of Durham ‘i was elected in 1975,” he laughs, then contin- : “Then I was un-elected!” "The couple settled in Toronto’s Beaches area when Doug chose to leave the classroom for a satis- fying 17-year career with United Parcel Service. Then, a dream-purchase, a historical (1847) stone cottage, brought them to Scugog. Not only did this relocation offer both a dramatic lifestyle shift from big-city living, the move afforded Saun- dra the luxury of pursuing her personal passion. ———_—_@——_ Anactive artist who works with paints and pottery, she was able to create a gal- lery (Unicarvel) in her “I've never been bashful about speak- ing up. If you have an new home. opinion you have to Aseries of events be prepared to get _ then rekindled 235 Doug’s political up and state it. flame. .. Doug Moffatt “Scugog Township pro- a posed to bring a construc- tion-trade training school near where we were living,” he remembers, still bristling slightly at the memory. “In my opinion, putting the school there offered no benefit to the MS 170 Gas Chain Saw 30.1 cc / 1.3 kW FREE (}OODAARO™ kiir with the purchase of a AN $85 rticipating STIML Chabr Saw? VALUE! *see dealer for details VALLANCE EQUIPMENT ITD. 4179 Simcoe St. N., Oshawa (just 10km 5: 905-655-3291 * 1-800-575- 5656 44 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2010 Mayor Doug Moffatt - 1998 local economy, no spinoff industries. My involvement with that issue encouraged me to run for council.” And the outcome of his campaign against the pro, ? “Eventually, the school chose a location near Kingston, where they turned the land-scape into moon-scape, then went bankrupt.” Asingle term on council led seamlessly to a pair as Scugog’s Mayor. Taking office in 1998, his administration faced some immediate and criti- cal challenges, as his term coincided with significant “After the election, I sat down with the coun- cillors to sort out our next-steps. On top of routine community needs, we had a lot of roads in dire need of repair. Scugog’s geography presents unique complications, with a system of roads on the island as well as both shores.” Their handling of this problem, he recalls, was par- ticularly satisfying because its resolution was unprec- edented. “We convinced the Minister responsible, Chris Hodgson, to give us a 2% cut of the Casino’s revenue, which was unheard of at that time. We'd anticipated half a million and wound up with $1.4 million that first year. Council established a fund with the money to improve roads, as well as replace some very outdated township trucks and equipment.” He points with pride to other initiatives he and his councils passed during the years he serv “We brought about the new municipal building, a new pool and second ice pad.” Doug's mayoral work had become his full-time pursuit. Beyond those responsibilities, he served on Durham Regional Council, as well as the Police Service Board, a group he ultimately chaired. “We had interesting discussions there!” he recalls with a twinkle. “They wanted to add more officers but cut expenses and taxes at the same time — you can’t do both!” “You do the best you can, recognizing, you'll never really satisfy everyone.” Doug Moffatt Stepping aside as Scugog’s mayor in 2002, at the conclusion of a self-imposed two-term maximum, Doug harbours no regrets. “People comment on the Mayor’s job, that you're always getting complaints about one thing or the other.