Are there members of city council considering their options this far ahead of the 2018 municipal election?

By Pepper Parr

February 26th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

Is there anything to the rumour that Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven does not plan to run for office in 2018?

One Gazette reader popped us a note saying he got the information from two sources.

Another contact, a friend of Craven’s, is not getting his telephone calls returned.

Rick Craven: Best committee chair the city has; not big on the warm fuzzy stuff through.

Another media advised us that they were not on the council members “friendly media” list.

The Gazette hasn’t been able to get a word out of Craven for more than a year. He took offence to the story we did on his asking for city hall security to walk him to his car; at that time he was apparently worried that he would be physically harmed by Beachway residents when the debate on clearing out all the homes in that community was taking place.

Rick Craven knows his Ward, understands what his constituents need and they appear to think he’s great. Is there a life beyond city hall for Craven?

There was a point when as publisher of the Gazette I would have lengthy lunches with the council member. We once went on a long drive through Craven’s ward during which he pointed out what made the ward the community it is.

In the past we have described Craven as the most effective Standing Committee chair the city has. He kept people focused. He is still a very good committee chair.

He can be very hard on people who are delegating before city council and was one of the council member who actively promoted getting the delegation time allocation reduced to five minutes.

Brittle he is.

Councillor Meed Ward sit looking a little glum before she responds to Councillor Craven’s personal attack and asks that he stick to the issue and stop belittling residents, delegations and her as a council member. There is no love lost between these two.

He has an acidic relationship with ward 2 councillor Marianne Meed Ward; a woman he once beat when she ran against him in the 2006 election. Meed Ward, who lived in Tyendaga community at the time, moved into ward 2 where she beat Peter Thoem for the Council seat.

There is a nasty police based complaint out there somewhere that we don’t believe has been resolved.

Craven has served the city as a city council member for more than 16 years and has served on the Police Services Board for some time.

Craven studied Communication Arts at Mohawk College and graduated from McMaster University. His previous work experience included five years as a news reporter and two decades as a manager with Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.

Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven with Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward and Liberal candidate in the 2010 provincial election Karmel Sakran doing a media event outside city hall.

He identifies himself as a Liberal and took a long look at running for office in the 2010 provincial election. He would have been running against Jane McKenna and could probably have beaten her.

Craven was at one point a radio announcer. He is a graduate of McMaster University. At a meeting of the Conservation Authority Craven, while the public was waiting outside the meeting room during a CLOSED session, Craven said that he was giving some thought to running for Mayor.

We will have to wait until at least May of 2018 before we know what Councillor Craven plans to do.