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Project on Gary Bennett
By: Eric
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I chose Gary Bennett because he is the Mayor of Kingston. I have seen him in the local news (i.e. CKWS) quite often because of the upcoming municipal election. I am interested in local politics and I intend to interview Mr. Bennett sometime before the week is through (October 23-29, 2000). I wanted to find out Mr. Bennett's opinion on different issues, such as the 2008 Sailing Olympics and his background experience which lead up to him becoming Mayor.
Gary Bennett was born and raised in Kingston and is so far a lifetime resident and is married to Cheryl-Anne Dorey and they have two kids. Gary Bennett is the fourth generation of his family to serve on Kingston City Council and he has over 12 years of municipal experience in The City of Kingston. He was the first (and only) of the four generations to become Mayor of Kingston. Gary Bennett was educated at Loyalist Collegiate and is a graduate of Queens and a former pilot. Gary Bennett was voted Citizen of the Year for his calm leadership as Mayor during this Kingston's worst natural disaster, The Ice Storm of 1998. As Mayor of our city, Gary Bennett has always supported and helped our city's charity groups, including Eastern Seals. During his first term, Gary Bennett established the Mayor's Awards for Youth Volunteerism.
Gary Bennett was first elected on to City Council in 1988.
He currently serves on these communities interests:
Police Services Board
Hydro Electric Commission
Board of Control
Emergency Planning Agency
Rural Affairs Advisory Agency
Rural/Urban Liaison Agency
Kingston Economic Development Corporation
Corporate Policy Committee
On Saturday, October 28th, 2000, I conducted a telephone interview with Mayor Gary Bennett. These are the questions thatI asked Mayor Bennett.
I introduced myself to Mayor Bennett and told him that I had chosen to do my project about him. He said he would try to help by answering the questions as best as he could.
The
interview began,
Q: I have heard Block D
mentioned in the news. Why is it so important?
A: Block D is the last vacant waterfront property in downtown Kingston and the City of Kingston must decide on what is the best way to use this piece of property. This property has been vacant for 30 years.
Q: Do you have any part time jobs other than being mayor?
A: Being the mayor of Kingston is a long and tiring job. I work about 60-70 hours per week, so I don't have time to have any other jobs.
Q: How is your campaign currently going? (Mayor Bennett is running for re-election for Mayor for the City of Kingston in the November 13th, 2000 Municipal Election).
A: Right now, the candidates are quite busy campaigning. Being Mayor and campaigning at the same time, gives you very little time with your family. I would like to win again this time, as the Mayor of the New City of Kingston.
Q: If you lose the election for mayor, will you still be on City Council?
A: I am not quite sure at this time, if I would come back to be on City Council.
Q: If you win, what are your future plans?
A: First, I would like to spend some money on road and sidewalk maintenance, and secondly, I would like new businesses to be created for graduating university students. I would also like to update the sewer system in Kingston.
Q: If Toronto Ontario is chosen for the 2008 Olympics, Kingston maybe used in the sailing events. What are your thoughts on that?
A: Good question, Eric. If the City of Kingston got chosen to host the Sailing Olympics, It would give Kingston lots of international pride. It would also be good for the economy and it would also increase the publicity for Kingston. We are trying to convince Toronto that Kingston is the best place to have the sailing events. Toronto has plenty of other cities that it must consider before deciding where the Sailing Olympics will be held.
Q: Could you talk to me about your political steps taken to become Mayor of Kingston?
A: My great grandfather and my grandfather and my father were all members of City Council, so one day I decided to become a part of City Council and one day I considered becoming the Mayor of Kingston.
Q: Do you have any interest in running for Mayor for a fourth time, if allowed?
A: I would love to run for office for a fourth term. I would be allowed to run next time.
Q: Do you like the Flag of the New City of Kingston?
A: Yes, I do like the new flag because I feel that it represents the former City of Kingston and Townships and New City of Kingston.
Q: Did you have anything to do with having the flag approved by City Council?
A: Yes, because I am part of the City of Council, I voted to approve the new flag. Someday, I would like to see every school in the City of Kingston have the flag flying in front of their school. I would hope that this would happen next year.
Q: I hear that we only have three ambulances for the entire City of Kingston. Do you have any plans for adding more ambulances?
A: Unfortunately, I have no say in this matter, as the Provincial Government of Ontario makes decisions about this.
We concluded our interview by me thanking the Mayor for taking the time to speak with me. He wished me luck on my project and I asked if he would like me to pass on my mark given for this project to him. He responded that he would be pleased if I could inform him of the results. I wished him Good Luck in the upcoming election on November 13th, and I said that if I could vote, I would vote for him. He added that if I ever wanted to become Mayor of Kingston, give him call and he'd come to my campaign headquarters. He thanked me for the "Vote of Confidence", and this concluded our interview.
My resources for information were:
Personal interview with Mr. Gary Bennett, Fall issue of "Kingston Life Magazine", and Gary Bennett's Campaign HomePage. (http:/ /www.garyformayor.com )
A little help from my friends:
My Mom for typing it up, and Gary Bennett for interviewing me.
My project is all finished. My interview was a success. Here are some things that I learned about Mr. Bennett: Mr. Bennett was the first generation of his family to become Mayor of Kingston (out of four).
Mr. Bennett has always has lived in and never hopes to leave Kingston. Mr. Bennett was first elected to City Council in 1988, over a decade ago. He also first became Mayor of Kingston in 1994, winning two consecutive elections.
I also learned a bit about what it was like to be Mayor. You work 60-70 hours a week just in the Mayor's Office, as well as attending City Council meetings every second Tuesday. Now in his short spare time, he is out campaigning. You have to have a lot of energy to keep going 10 hours a day. I am really enjoying learning about the government, maybe I could become a leader in politics. Maybe a mayor, of course, maybe Prime Minister. Mr. Bennett said that if I ever wanted to become the Mayor or even just part of City Council, give him a call and he would come straight to my campaign HQ. That really encouraged me to be in politics. If I did, it would be great to have the Former Mayor of Kingston on my campaign team.
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