Mayor Ken Boshcoff Retires
by Scott A. Sumner
Mayor Ken Boshcoff is retiring after almost 50 years in public service! I asked Ken some questions recently.
You were born and raised in Thunder Bay Ken?
“ I was born in Fort William and lived on West Frederica Street, Westfort. I grew up with a view of Mt McKay in all it's glory and all it's seasons.”
“ My father worked for CP Rail but he died when I was seven. My mother worked as a janitoress to make ends meet. My brother, Ed, went to night school for grade 10 and then he worked in the daytime in insurance offices and ended up buying them. I also have one sister who is still in California.”
“ I did 2 years at St Pats and 3 years at Westgate. Then it was an honours degree in economics and political science at Lakehead finishing in 1972. Next I went to York University for a Masters in Environmental Studies.”
What was your work career at the beginning Ken?
“ My professor at York was John Livingston who wrote a huge bird book and he said you should go work for national parks. I ended up working for 4 or 5 national parks in ecology and park design. You never had to pay rent and I was getting paid. With those credentials you had many choices for jobs so I picked one here in Thunder Bay in Environmental Planning working for the Federal government.”
“ Near the end of that time we were doing all kinds of fundraising emphazing the word FUN raising. We would organize parties on the Welcome Ship for “ Save the Whales” and had big dances to “Save the Seals”. Everyone was between 21 and 26 years old and it was the disco area. Some say I still like to party but not like they used to be.”
“ Eventually I joined the family insurance firm and became a partner. We then got bought by AON Reed Stenhouse and my brother and I became Vice Presidents for them.”
When did your political career begin?
“ In politics I first ran for the Northwood Ward against Dale Willoughby and Romeo Lovis who were very strong candidates with strong name recognition and also good people. I didn't know that because when you are that young. “ I had like 50 canvessors. At that age, 25 or 26, you had nothing but friends so we knocked on every door in Northwood. I never had to say anything negative. One of the adages for the rest of my live. When I went to the door they would say I'm a Willoughby or Lovis fan and I would say you have two votes and I won because they were close and the vote split.”
So you have been in politics since 1978, almost 50 years?
“ I did two terms in the Northwood ward, ran at large and then became mayor. Everyone wanted to be mayor because they have this idea from American television that the mayor calls Lassie and they rescue people. In the US mayors have more strong powers. In Ontario the mayor has one vote on council.”
You also had some federal political experience?
“ I was elected twice for Federal politics as an MP in 2004 and then 2006. It was only for 4 1/2 years in total and you need 6 years to get a pension. In my first term Paul Martin was the Prime Minister and in the second term Stephen Harper was PM. It was quite interesting. I ran again as MP again but it wasn't to be. By then the conservatives had a majority that was going to last for a long time. That was when I ran for mayor again.”
How have you seen Thunder Bay progress over these years?
“ When I ran for this term the city was on it's knees, everyone was closing shops, people we packing up and not really happy about anything. Now we see almost every week I am going to a new business opening or someone having an anniversary of their business or looking for people to work.”
“ We won an award for Ontario for building more homes which was worth a few million for the city. You can really see the difference from a few years ago when people were really quite depressed. Each year we have seen an improvement. Now things are really zooming here. Almost every week I go to a new business or some celebrating a business milestone. We have three new hotels going up right now.”
How was your role in the growth?
“ What is the role of the mayor. I never had to use strong mayor powers because we were always building so many homes. Strong mayor powers is a valuable tool with the right major but I never had to use it.”
“ The city as a community has got on board which is one thing. The second is in connection with the other mayors in the area we all decided to lay down our guns and lobby for the Northwest. The Association of Mayors of Ontario, Large Urban Mayors, the Great Lakes Mayors, the Thunder Bay District Municipal League - everyone is much more cohesive.”
What is is like being the mayor of Thunder Bay?
“ The mayors job is 70 hour a week, 7 day a week. You are always the mayor. People will see you somewhere, which is a good thing. You have to be prepared for the fact that people want to know they can approach their mayor and talk. People will talk to you anywhere, anytime. I think it is a blessing that people know they can talk to the mayor anytime. Not every week or day you will be working but you will always be the Mayor. You have enjoy it and to me it has always been kind of a secret weapon. This is my city and I am so pleased how far we have come so far in 3 1/2 years.”
You were always very approachable as Mayor Ken?
“ If a citizen wants to meet you they can call ahead and come in for a meeting, or if they want me to come and look at a problem I will. You have to want to do it, you can never be too busy for anybody.”
What has been your most positive achievement as Mayor?
“ The change in community spirit and people now realize we are a big city and we can do what we want. People we're really down on the city and now more optimistic. The South Core Roar is an example and showed community spirit.”
Ken what is on the horizon for you?
“ I would like to do some more travel and see more of the world. There are 200 countries in the world and I have only been to about 106 of them. The world though is much more dangerous now.”
“ More importantly I have to get back to the gym with yoga and weights and that kinda of stuff, including Tai Chi.”
When will you leave the position Ken?
“ My last day is November 19th but the election is much sooner and it depends if the new mayor wants to start earlier. I can show them or help them in transition. They may need a rest after the campaign. If you are a door knocker you will get much stronger because you are going up all the steps and the people will tell you what they think. They are not shy.”
Anything else you would like to add Ken?
“ In summary we could not have achieved as much with out the collegiality and trust of the council and that translates as well to the administration team. In the past some councils may not have got along so well but this one has been pretty good. There is always room for improvement but as long as council votes democratically and administration, administrate everyone knows where there are at and going.”
