They are admittedly “lifers” in the world of municipal politics.Maybe it’s just out of habit at this point, but long time GTA politicians Milton Mayor Gord Krantz, Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow, Mississauga Councillor Pat Saito, and Markham Councillor Alex Chiu, have all once again registered for the fall municipal election race. Combined, their years in office total nearly 150 years. But with an election coming up in October, they say they aren’t ready to bow out yet.The GTA’s mayoral record holder, Krantz, plans to reuse some of the same lawn signs he has used over the past 20-odd election campaigns.“I still use some of them I have in the past ... even though I have a more mature look now,” he said. “But I do still go knock on doors ... it’s the wrong thing to do to think you are holier than thou and you don’t need to campaign. I have always thought you should be out there as if it’s your first campaign.”Krantz, 81, entered politics in 1965 as a local councillor in Milton, the now-booming municipality.His biography posted on the town’s website proudly proclaims that he beat former Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion’s record when he hit 36 consecutive years in December 2016, taking the prestigious title of “longest, continuously serving Mayor of a major municipality in Canada.”“I’m wearing Hazel’s crown now,” he said. “At the end of this term, I will have 38 years as mayor, and in total, I have 53 years in public life,” he said.For Krantz who started out when Milton was just a small town with a population of around 5,000, the lure of politics was never money or fame. “You make a lot more when you work in the private enterprise than what I do as a politician, so people who think that’s why we are here, is just baloney,” he said. He said his desire to be in politics is about being involved and making a difference i ...
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