Farewell Mr. Mayor

By Carolyn Sloan

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

John Kinsella had been a resident of Annapolis Royal no more than eight months before he decided to run for public office.

Fourteen years later, he has served three terms as councillor and more than seven years as mayor of the town, a position he has proudly held until recently, when he submitted his resignation due to health reasons.

At a reception for Kinsella on May 2, a large group of well-wishers and municipal leaders came out to honour the former mayor for his many contributions to his community and the surrounding area.

Acting mayor for the town Jane DeWolfe spoke of Kinsella’s many accomplishments, including chairing the Mayors’ and Wardens’ group for the last five years, and seeing the town through a successful Port Royal 400th anniversary in 2005, for which the mayor actively sought corporate sponsorship, as part of the corporate sponsorship campaign, in the amount of $40,000

Other achievements of the town under Kinsella’s leadership include the Most Liveable Small Town in the World award in 2005, the implementation of the Zero Waste program, the designation of Annapolis Royal as a Cultural Capital of Canada, the top prize for Communities in Bloom at the national level, the Prince of Wales Award, and most recently, the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award.

“We are very pleased that all of you could join us this evening to pay a suitable tribute to a man who has represented out town very well for many years and who has dedicated himself to our service,” DeWolfe told the guests. “I’m sorry you had to leave for health reasons, [John]. Nobody regrets it more than I do,”

Warden Jim Thurber of Digby offered his own words of praise. As it happens, he explained, he was elected as warden the same time Kinsella became mayor.

“From the first time I met him (Kinsella),” said Thurber, “I thought he’d been at it for years because he was so professional.”

Bridgetown’s Mayor Art Marshall thanked Kinsella personally for the guidance he has given him as a new mayor.

“I also want to pay tribute to you,” he told his former colleague. “I’ve only been mayor for a year and a half and your encouragement and support has certainly been good for me.

“You’re one of the best ambassadors this community has.”

Warden Peter Newton honoured Kinsella by speaking of the personal sacrifices made by local elected representatives.

“This past week, we celebrated our volunteers in our communities,” he said. “Although the position of mayor is compensated, it’s not compensated nearly enough for the time and effort you put into the job.”

Touched by the show of gratitude, Kinsella finally got a chance to address his fans.

“It has been a pleasure to have served this community, and to have worked with all of you over the years,” he told them. “Some people are motivated to serve in public office because of a particular issue, or group of issues. Others may be encouraged by friends or family.

“ I chose to run because I saw it as an opportunity to serve the community…a chance to give back something of myself to a great community. The job needed doing, and by golly, I felt I could get it done.”

Kinsella cites his proudest accomplishments as helping to create a joint water supply of for the town, Granville Ferry, and Lequille so that citizens had good quality drinking water, and securing stable, fair tax revenues from Nova Scotia Power for the Tidal Power Generating Station.

The mayor also cited the cooperative efforts of the Mayors’ and Wardens’ Group, which has established the extension of Kings Transit service into Annapolis and Digby counties, as well as worked on a number of cooperative projects in terms of tourism, recreation, and economic development.

“The level of cooperation achieved stands us head and shoulders above other regions,” said Kinsella.

Finally, the former mayor thanked the staff he has worked with over the years for making “council’s vision and policies a reality,” and assured guests that the deputy mayor would do an excellent job as acting mayor until the general election.

“I am pleased that deputy mayor Jane DeWolfe agreed to take on the role of mayor until the general election in October of this year,” said Kinsella. “She brings excellent experience and dedication to the position, and will serve this community well.

“In closing, I would like to restate that I very much enjoyed serving on council… Everyone was very kind to me, and I will miss the staff, council, and elected officials.”