After two terms on city council, James Gordon is hanging up his municipal politics hat. The Ward 2 representative announced Friday he won’t be seeking re-election this fall.
“Eight years feels like enough,” he said in a letter addressed to “fellow Guelphites” and submitted to GuelphToday, explaining he’s opening the way for someone new to take the seat and offer a fresh perspective. “I hold the hope that the contribution I’ve made in this role has made a positive difference to this wonderful community.”
Gordon was first elected to council in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 as one of two Ward 2 representatives.
“It’s much more than a part-time job if you want to do a good job at council, so it compromised my energies for my work, especially in the music business,” the singer/songwriter said during an interview. “At my age, I’d like to see what would happen if I devote more of my time to that."
The nearly-67 year old has recorded more than 40 albums and performed numerous tours and individual shows throughout his decades-long musical career.
“To be a continued success at that, it needs a fuller attention than I was able to devote,” he said of how political life impacted his art, noting his decision to step away from politics is partly influenced by the recent success of his song Crybabies Caravan. “It felt like there’s more interest in what I have to offer in the arts sector and I’d like to be able to make the most of that.”
Asked what he views as his greatest accomplishments on council, Gordon pointed to a 2021 decision that saw Guelph join the United Nation’s Race to Zero campaign. That motion put’s climate action “at the centre of all urban decision-making,” acknowledges the global climate crisis and commits the city to do its part to help keep global warming below 1.5 C, as urged by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
It also adjusted council’s 2019 commitment of powering municipal facilities and vehicle fleet with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050 to the “2040s or sooner, or by mid-century at the latest.”
“I’ve brought forward a lot of motions like that and somethings they feel like they’re just symbolic or making a statement, but I really can see … every staff recommendation (that comes forward), they’re taking that into consideration and it’s kind of changed how they approach development projects and other infrastructure things, so I think that’s made a difference,” Gordon said. “I’m pretty proud of that.”
The departing councillor said he’d like to see the city’s elected officials more closely resemble the diversity seen in the community.
“We need younger voices, people with different life experiences and backgrounds,” he said. “I feels disingenuous for me to say ‘let’s change the make-up of that horseshoe, except for me.’”
“It’s difficult to unseat an incumbent, so I want to make space for, and support, new candidates who can offer a fresh perspective. It’s time.”
Though records are somewhat limited in scope, there’s no indication Guelph city council has ever included anyone who identifies as BIPOC, clerk Stephen O’Brien recently confirmed.
Below is the full letter from Gordon, addressed to “fellow Guelphites:”
It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the city I love as Ward 2 councillor for the past 8 years. I hold the hope that the contribution I’ve made in this role has made a positive difference to this wonderful community.
It’s been a difficult choice, but I’ve decided that I will not be seeking a third term on council. Eight years feels like enough. Here are a few reasons:
I have long been advocating for a council that looks like what Guelph, in its remarkable diversity, looks like now. We need younger voices, people with different life experiences and backgrounds, and it feels disingenuous for me to say “let’s change the make-up of that horseshoe, except for me”. It’s difficult to unseat an incumbent, so I want to make space for, and support, new candidates who can offer a fresh perspective. It’s time.
I’m now a senior citizen; one who has had health issues in recent years. I’m more conscious than ever of a question that I often ask as I age: “What is the very best use of my precious time?”. Politics was never a career path for me; I first ran for public office after so many of you expressed the belief that my years of advocacy and activism in Guelph would bring value to our governance. I ran for council to find a way to ‘give back’ to a community that has given so much to me. I have another career that still feels vital and rewarding, and I want to devote more of my energies to that. My experience as a politician seems to have informed my work in the arts sector, so you’ll see me being just as political but on a different stage.
I’ve always felt a sense of urgency around making the societal changes that are necessary to ensure that we are leaving the next generation with a sustainable planet. The wheels of municipal government move slowly. I have worked hard to help point us in a direction that would offer us a more equitable society, that offers the quality of life that our citizens deserve, and at the same time I’ve felt in the last year or so that I may have reached a limit on what I can accomplish in the councillor role. I will continue to fight for just causes. I’m not disappearing. I have an excitement around looking for new ways to carry on that work in a different context.
As word has spread about this decision, some have expressed disappointment that I would cease to represent them in a way that has felt valuable. While I’m flattered that some have considered my role to be vital, I also have faith that there are others who can step up to fill that role. I am committed to nurturing and supporting those new voices. I wouldn’t step aside without doing all that I can to assure that those progressive leaders waiting in the wings are given the support they need to be elected.
So, you haven’t seen the last of me. Activism is in my tired bones now, and I’m looking forward to finding new ways to explore that commitment to ‘leaving the woodpile higher than I found it’.
I am grateful to my council colleagues for welcoming me into their midst, even when we had differing viewpoints; to my family for their understanding around the huge time commitment this so-called part-time job entails; to city staff who have always been responsive and co-operative, and I am even more grateful for all the support I’ve received from so many of you. I don’t know what my ‘next chapter’ will look like, and I DO know that it will involve collaborating, creating, and change-making with you. I can’t wait!
