Doug Craig (politician)

A schoolteacher by profession,"Craig lays out his mayoral campaign platform". Cambridge Times, September 12, 2000. he first served on Cambridge, Ontario City Council as an alderman from 1976 to 1980,"Cambridge city council gives nod to mall plan". The Globe and Mail, December 9, 1986. and then served on other municipal boards and committees before being reelected as a city and regional councillor in 1991."Council newcomers settle into Cambridge seats". Waterloo Region Record, December 3, 1991. He was reelected to council in 1994"Fairless joins 3 incumbents as Cambridge councillors". Waterloo Region Record, November 15, 1994. and 1997,"'New reality' awaits some old faces on council". Waterloo Region Record, November 12, 1997. before running for mayor in 2000 after Jane Brewer announced that she would run for a regional council seat rather than another term as mayor. He won the mayoral election,"Cambridge mayor wins by 30". Waterloo Region Record, November 14, 2000. although his victory was subject to a judicial recount due to his margin of just 30 votes over second-place finisher Greg Durocher."Cambridge must pay $1,300 toward recount". Waterloo Region Record, November 30, 2000. The recount narrowed his margin to 26 votes, but confirmed his victory."It's official for Craig: New mayor is glad recount is finally over". Cambridge Times, December 8, 2000.

In his maiden speech at the first meeting of the new council, Craig noted that he supported a formal collaboration process between the municipal councils of Waterloo Region, but that he would not support the full amalgamation of Cambridge with Kitchener and Waterloo."New mayor gives notice 'no amalgamation talks'". Waterloo Region Record, December 12, 2000. In 2001, he supported the expansion of GO Transit service in Cambridge as an alternative to a controversial new highway construction proposal that would have disrupted the city's Cruickston Park."Mayor seeks plan to ease heavy traffic without new bridges over Grand River". Waterloo Region Record, October 22, 2001.

Early in his term he scored a significant achievement for the city, successfully lobbying the University of Waterloo to establish its new School of Architecture campus in a vacant factory building in Cambridge."Craig a deft diplomat". Cambridge Reporter, January 3, 2002. Around this time, Brewer and Fred Kent, the city's regional councillors, were facing some scrutiny for often voting differently at the Waterloo Region council level from the wishes of Cambridge's city council, but Craig earned himself a reputation as a "diplomat" for refusing to participate in the criticism of Brewer and Kent; instead, he took personal responsibility for a lack of communication between the city and regional councillors, caused by the provincial government's recent separation of the two roles.

Craig was reelected in the 2003 municipal election, winning 75 per cent of the vote over his sole challenger."New but familiar faces for regional council". Cambridge Times, November 14, 2003. During his second term, he was noted particularly for his work on improving the city's transportation network,"Traffic issue drives Cambridge voters". Waterloo Region Record, September 30, 2006. as well as the city council's decision to build a significant expansion onto city hall."Civic building approved; Controversial $25M offices will link to Cambridge's historic City Hall". Waterloo Region Record, April 5, 2005.

Margaret Barr, Craig's main challenger in the 2006 municipal election, harshly criticized the new administration building as evidence that Craig was running city hall in a closed manner that was unresponsive to public opinion."Stop ignoring public, Barr says". Waterloo Region Record, November 9, 2006. Craig was successfully reelected, albeit by a significantly narrower margin than in 2003."Region: Strickland wins seat". Waterloo Region Record, November 14, 2006.

In his third term in office he advocated for Cambridge to be included in Waterloo Region's rapid transit plan, which had initially included only Kitchener and Waterloo,"City not sold on rapid transit". Cambridge Times, April 11, 2008. and supported a plan to replace many traffic lights on the city's Franklin Boulevard with roundabouts."Round and round we go; Cambridge considers traffic alternative for 11 intersections on Franklin Boulevard". Waterloo Region Record, October 22, 2008.

He was successfully reelected to a fourth term in 2010, and to a fifth term in 2014.

In the 2018 election campaign, McGarry, formerly the city's Member of Provincial Parliament, announced following her defeat in the 2018 provincial election that she would run for mayor.[https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8749276-kathryn-mcgarry-running-for-mayor-in-cambridge/ "Kathryn McGarry running for mayor in Cambridge"]. Waterloo Region Record, July 18, 2018. She alleged in her campaign that the people of the city were no longer satisfied with Craig's leadership style, and pledged to run city hall in a more communicative and consultative manner. During the campaign, Craig was forced to apologize to McGarry when his campaign staff edited her out of a photograph of a public event they had both attended while McGarry was still sitting in the Legislative Assembly.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/doug-craig-kathryn-mcgarry-cambridge-mayoral-altered-photo-1.4824049 "Cambridge, Ont., mayor apologizes after image of political rival edited out of campaign photo"]. CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, September 14, 2018. On election day, McGarry defeated Craig for the seat, and Craig became the first mayor in the city's history to be defeated in a re-election bid.[https://tvo.org/article/current-affairs/how-these-former-liberal-mpps-found-new-life-in-municipal-politics "How these former Liberal MPPs found new life in municipal politics"]. TVOntario, October 23, 2018.

Craig returned to politics in 2022 when he was elected to Waterloo Regional Council.

{{reflist}}

{{Mayors of Cambridge, Ontario}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Doug}}

Category:Mayors of Cambridge, Ontario

Category:Living people

Category:1946 births

Category:21st-century mayors of places in Ontario