Mike Smith is a former

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 Colchester County,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada.

Early life

Smith was born in

North River, Nova Scotia North River is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Colchester County near Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shir ...

Political career

In 1994, Smith was elected as a Colchester County councillor. Re-elected in 1997, he became Colchester County's last Warden during his second term. In 2000, Smith was elected as the county's first mayor. He was re-elected in 2004. One of Smith's accomplishments as mayor has been the Mayor's Challenge. The Mayor's Challenge is a fitness program aimed at inactive children but has also attracted the interest of adults. He was a candidate for the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

of the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Zach ...

in 2007. He placed third of four candidates on the first ballot. He dropped out and endorsed

Diana Whalen Diana Caroline Whalen (born November 20, 1956) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Halifax Clayton Park in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003-2013, and Clayton Park West from 2013-2017, as a member of the ...

, who lost on the second and final ballot to Stephen McNeil. In August 2007 Smith agreed to a request from Truro Pride to fly a flag celebrating gay pride in front of the administrative offices. Colchester County's offices are ''"just down the road"'' from

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at ...

's City Hall, where Truro council had turned down a similar request 6 to 1, and Truro's mayor Bill Mills had explained his decision on biblical grounds. Smith, on the other hand, agreed to the request, without hesitation. Smith attended the flag raising, and attended a rally supporting Gay rights in Truro's Victoria Park. ''

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

'' characterized Truro's council as old-fashioned: : Smith did not run again for mayor in the 2008 municipal election. He also declined to run in the 2009 provincial election in Colchester North, as had been widely expected.Smith Says ‘So Long’ to Politics
''The Truro Daily News'', February 2, 2008. In 2011 Smith was extensively quoted about his decision to resign from the Liberal Party after he learned that

Karen Casey Karen Lynn Casey (born April 24, 1947) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Colchester North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, first as a Progressive Conservative (2006 to 2011), and then as member of the Lib ...

, formerly a member of the rival Progressive Conservative Party, had crossed the floor, and been accepted into the Liberal Party caucus. Smith told the ''

Truro Daily News The ''Truro News'' is a weekly newspaper in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, covering Colchester County. The paper is currently owned by SaltWire Network, and is sisters with '' The News'' in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia and the ''Cape Breton Post''. See ...

'' he was ''"startled"'' to learn Casey was now a Liberal because she was ''"so partisan"''. Smith described being disturbed by Casey's ''"old school of throwing money hell, west and crooked to pander after votes"''

Personal life

Smith is married and has three children

References

External links

Municipality of Colchester County website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mike Mayors of places in Nova Scotia People from Colchester County Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nova Scotia Liberal Party politicians