Douglas Richard Reycraft (born March 9, 1943) is a former
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
in Ontario,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. He was a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
member in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...
from 1985 to 1990 who represented the southwestern Ontario riding of Middlesex. From 2001 to 2014 he was mayor of
Southwest Middlesex
Southwest Middlesex is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.
The restructured municipality of Southwest Middlesex was incorporated on January 1, 2001. This amalgamation joined the Village of Glencoe and the Village of Wardsville wi ...
.
Background
Reycraft was born and raised in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
. He attended London Teachers' College and the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
, and worked as a teacher.
Politics
Reycraft was a councillor, deputy reeve and
reeve in the Village of
Glencoe, and served as a warden of
Middlesex County.
He was elected to the Ontario legislature in the
1985 provincial election, defeating
Progressive Conservative incumbent
Bob Eaton by 810 votes in the rural riding of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
.
The Liberal Party formed government following this election. He was re-elected by a greater margin in the
1987 election.
He served as
Chief Government Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
from September 29, 1987 to August 2, 1989.
The Liberals lost the
1990 provincial election to the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
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, and Reycraft lost his riding to NDP candidate
Irene Mathyssen
Irene R. Mathyssen (born August 16, 1951) is a Canadian politician and was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 until 2019. She was previously a New Democratic Party Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario ...
by 520 votes.
He attempted a comeback in the
1995 election, but lost to
Bruce Smith
Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
of the Progressive Conservatives.
Reycraft returned to municipal politics, and was elected
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Southwest Middlesex, Ontario
Southwest Middlesex is a municipality in Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.
The restructured municipality of Southwest Middlesex was incorporated on January 1, 2001. This amalgamation joined the Village of Glencoe and the Village of Wardsville wi ...
in 2000. He was returned in 2003 by only 26 votes over challenger Tom Jeffrey, and was re-elected in 2006 and 2010. He lost re-election in 2014 by 17 votes to Deputy Mayor Vance Blackmore.
Reycraft also served as chair of the London-Middlesex Board of Health, chair of the London Middlesex Housing Authority, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, chair of the Board of Directors of the Municipal Employers Pension Centre of Ontario and co-chair of the National Municipal Rail Safety Working Group of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
His son
is a television writer and producer.
["Prime Time: Citizen writer Tony Atherton follows a group of students taking a crash course on writing for TV". '']Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
'', May 27, 1999.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reycraft, Doug
1943 births
Living people
Mayors of places in Ontario
Ontario Liberal Party MPPs
Politicians from London, Ontario
University of Western Ontario alumni