Joy Leach, (born 1942 in Nanaimo, died August 2014 in Nanaimo), was a Canadian politician. She was Nanaimo's first female mayor and former president of the BC School Trustees Association and a Nanaimo school board trustee.

Biography

Leach grew up in

Parksville, British Columbia Parksville is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 Census, Parksville's population was 13,642, representing a 9.5% increase over the 2016 Census. Parksville is well known for its large, sandy beaches at Park ...

, where both her father and grandfather were politicians. She was the first female president of Qualicum's high school. In 1977, she was elected to Nanaimo's board of school trustees; over the next seven years, she served as chair three times and became president of the BC School Trustees Association. For a time, Leach lived in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, working on a US army base, before marrying her first husband and living throughout the US and then returning to Nanaimo in the early 1970s. Leach was mayor from 1990 to 1993. Leach was also a long-time school trustee and owned a consulting firm and raised funds for both

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

and

Malaspina College Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and earlier as Malaspina College) is a Canadian public university serving Vancouver Island and coastal British Columbia. Malaspina College began in 196 ...

(VIU). She was elected after defeating long-time mayor

Frank Ney Frank James Ney (May 12, 1918 – November 24, 1992) was a mayor of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, serving for twenty-one years. Ney also served a term as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. He was known for his ...

, with a campaign focusing on community planning. She established the Imagine Nanaimo project, a first attempt at the city's official community plan. She also saw 140 percent increase in water rates, which was to shift water costs to usage instead of taxes. She increased sewer fees 40 percent and also increased property taxes and senior staff salaries. She lost the 1993 election to Gary Korpan. She also chaired the BC Round Table on the Environment and Economy and served on a

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

operations task force, we well as the BC Public Service appeals board. Leach was married to Michael Legge and had four children.

References

1942 births 2014 deaths Mayors of Nanaimo Women mayors of places in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub