Biff Gigg has known Jack Burrows for 70 years, so he has pretty good idea, he says, about what sort of person North Bay’s departing mayor is.
Gigg was among hundreds of people who came to city hall Tuesday to bid farewell to Burrows, who leaves public life after 27 years of service.
“He’s a very easy person to meet and talk with, he’s very fair and honest, very steady and very cooperative with other people to get things done,” said Gigg, 83, a long-time Burrows family friend.
Though Burrows is a few years younger, Gigg said the two of them got on well in high school and also played organized sports together.
“Jack was a good athlete, a very competitive person, but fair,” said Gigg, pictured here with Burrows. “He was a nice, honest sportsman.”
Performed well Gigg knows what it’s like to be a part of city council, having served as a councillor from 1949 to 1954.
He said Burrows performed well on council.
“Jack has that steadiness and I think he grew into the position, and the longer he was there the better he was fitting into the job,” said Gigg, who had once been the city’s purchasing agent and also worked on Burrows’s three mayoral campaigns.
William Ferguson, chairman of the North Bay Police Services Board, had also worked on Burrows’s first mayoral campaign.
“The city really benefited from him and he’s done a lot for North Bay,” Ferguson said.
“Jack’s a straight shooter, and we’ve had a very good working relationship over the years.”
Remembered for tough decisions Former Nipissing MPP Al McDonald, who was elected deputy mayor in 2000 before going into provincial politics, said he doesn’t think the average North Bay citizen knows how hard Burrows worked.
“Jack has made decisions that will benefit the city 20 years down the road, and he’s probably being criticized in the short term,” McDonald said.
“But I believe his vision for the future will hold out and he’ll be remembered for the tough decisions he made. He’s a gentleman, an ambassador for the city, and somebody I was very proud to serve along side of.”
Cold and snow Burrows, who was accompanied by his wife Elaine and their children and grandchildren, called his send-off “quite an emotional evening.”
“A lot of old friends came out to see us this evening, and we’ll miss all that. It’s been a great nine years as mayor,” Burrows said.
Burrows said he and Elaine will be driving to Arizona and the American southwest soon after the new year begins.
“The trick is to get out of the cold and snow,” Burrows said.
“We’re looking at the start of a new chapter in our lives, and I’m leaving public life with contentment and no regrets.”
Monday nights will feel different A city councillor for six years before being elected mayor, Burrows recounted what his first meeting in charge was like.
“I didn’t really know where the thing was going to go. You look around and see five people sitting there on either side of you, you look at the agenda and you wonder how you’re going to get through it,” Burrows said.
"When you’re in the chair it’s different because you’re the guy who’s going to make it or break it and the buck always stops with you.”
While he’s looking forward to retirement, Burrows said Monday nights will feel different for the first little while.
“I’ll be thinking I should be putting on a shirt and tie.”
