Drummond calls it quits

Drummond calls it quits: Popular mayor won’t be seeking another term
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Sept. 8, 2002

Burnaby mayor Doug Drummond is stepping down from civic politics after 27 years of service.
"I am not going to seek the nomination for mayor from the Burnaby Citizens' Association," Drummond said Thursday morning. "I would just really like to thank the people of all political stripes who approached me in the last three months trying to get me to run another term. I really appreciate that."
Drummond has been one of the most successful politicians ever to serve the city. He was elected to council a total of 10 times, starting with a second-place finish at the polls in his very first election in 1977.
After more than a decade as the top-vote getter on city council, he took over the mayor's seat when his predecessor and friend Bill Copeland retired. He has served two terms as mayor.
Initially elected on a campaign that focused on clean air, particularly in the neighbourhoods closest to Burnaby's three former oil refineries, Drummond emerged as a policy maker who liked to work quietly behind the scenes on long-term solutions to the problems facing city hall.
He served as a director with the Greater Vancouver Regional District for many years and was instrumental in setting up the regional air quality committee.
When asked about his proudest accomplishments, Drummond pointed to the first park dedication bylaws approved by the citizens of Burnaby in 1976, prior to his formal entry into politics.
"I have nothing but pride at what's been accomplished in the past three decades in Burnaby from a recreational point of view and from a parks point of view," he said. "But as I always say - no one person ever accomplishes anything by themselves. It's always a group of people who work together."
A high school math teacher by profession, Drummond was described as a "visionary" by his long-time political colleague Celeste Redman.
"Doug never looked to the short-term," Redman said. "He is one of the principal reasons why this city has the amount of park space, greens space, urban trails and the very livable community that we have today."
Redman admits that she often disagreed with Drummond over the development of new business parks in the city, however, hindsight has proved the mayor correct.
"He's always had good business sense," she said. "For example, he was the chief pusher behind our successful business parks. At one point I really thought that we were overdoing it on the amenities, but watching these companies choose Burnaby over other communities tells me we didn't compromise and we did the right thing.
"He always had a strong sense that you couldn't do what you want if you don't have your finances in order."
Redman also said that keeping Burnaby Hospital open was the last great campaign undertaken by the mayor, and believes Drummond might have stayed on for another term if he believed the provincial government might follow through with more cutbacks to the local acute care facility.
Coun. Gary Begin, a long-time political rival and friend, said Drummond lived up to his commitment to make Burnaby a better place to live and work.
"During his tenure as mayor, Doug moved beyond civic party politics and provided a strength of leadership for all of us," said the man who was elected a school trustee the same year Drummond was first elected to council. "He never had an easy job because he followed a very popular mayor in Bill Copeland, who was just absolutely loved by everyone.
"Doug had to find his own opportunity to shine, and I think he did that by working with young people and in particular with the business community," he said. "Our business climate has really shot up during his tenure."
And there are those who believe that Drummond is stepping down only temporarily.
"I'm sure Doug is not going to entirely drop out of civic matters," said BCA president Lorraine Shore. "This is entirely a personal decision on his part and, you know, I think people in politics are entitled to a private life and that's what Doug has decided to do.
"I'm grateful for what he's done, and i think he's left the city in good hands, and it's no as if there's nobody to step into Doug's shoes."
Drummond was also known for his friendships with politicians of all stripes. As mayor, he was known to enjoy the company of Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who frequently visited the city during Drummond's six year reign, and he was an ally of past BC Liberal party president (and former Burnaby Board of Trade president) Sonja Sanguinetti.
A long-time resident of the Westridge neighbourhood overlooking Burrard Inlet, Drummond and wife Jean have two grown sons, Colin and Michael, who is an executive assistant to federal cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal.