Dan Mathieson, five-term mayor for the city of Stratford, will not run in the next civic election.
The decision was surprising for some, who have known only Mathieson as mayor in the Festival City after serving for nearly 20 years. He was a city councillor before that, beginning in 1995.
During an interview at city hall with StratfordToday, Mathieson pointed to a few reasons why he is stepping away from politics (he is not currently planning to run for any other political office).
One of them involves finishing what you started.
The city is getting a new official plan and will soon start public consultations. The new council, to be elected this Fall, will vote to approve it. After working through it, it will have to be operationalized for 10 to 15 years.
So another four years would not be enough.
“Why would I take on the task of charting the course for the city when I am not going to be around to see it through?” Mathieson said.
Another reason was timing. In his early 30’s when he became mayor, an age milestone has recently been reached – and there is a desire to put his energy into other pursuits.
“It was a natural time to say this is a good time for new leadership. After five terms and almost 20 years, have I done everything I can do? Are my ideas as fresh as the person who has new ideas?”
“I started thinking as we were coming through COVID. The last two years have felt like ten. Have you got it in you?
Friends and associates told him to run again.
Mathieson also discussed it with his family, his wife Carolyn, daughter Kaitlyn and son Riley. Being mayor of Stratford is all his children have known. Riley Mathieson had not yet reached his first birthday when his dad became mayor. He is now in his second year at Western University.
“Sometimes leaders need to step out so other people can step up.”
Mathieson led the city through major achievements, though he is quick to point out that many people helped along the way: volunteers, staff members and various branches of government, among them.
Early on in his mayoral career, the Stratford Rotary Complex was built. It was a milestone project for the community: a big enough ‘rink’ to host major tournaments and welcome thousands of hockey players over the years. But it was also a point of pride for community members to have a new facility to call home and show off to visitors.
Getting the project completed required dozens of residents working together.
“I don’t know what we would have done during a pandemic for testing and vaccinations if we didn’t have the Rotary Complex,” the mayor said.
Bringing a university to the Festival City was another big achievement for city council. After a memorandum of understanding was signed and the University of Waterloo determined they wanted the site downtown, millions in funding was secured from the provincial and federal governments and Open Text Corp. to compliment financial commitments from the city.
Now named the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, on St. Patrick Street, it has grown from humble beginnings to just shy of 1,000 students, and the university is looking at expansion.
“It brings identity to the city, younger people. It has helped us attract some technology-based interest.”
“Because of them, the Bradshaw building got redeveloped.”
That building on Downie Street, which dates back to 1903, is an adaptive re-use project, developed by Paul Veldman. It includes 56 residential units and four commercial tenants, among them the University of Waterloo.
Mathieson is particularly proud of the city’s industrial park. The city bought the land in the late 90’s and early aughts, and put in services so the land was ready when businesses came calling. At the time, some thought the city was a little naïve to think they could attract Asian investment, the mayor recalled.
Today, almost 4,000 employees are working at seven Japanese-aligned factories.
Many of the discussions that led to Japanese investment revolved around quality of life. Mathieson said early conversations focused on healthcare and education, the last thing discussed was cost of land.
Over the years, Mathieson learned a lot about healthcare and local hospitals from Andrew Williams, CEO of the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA), and worked with him on several fundraising campaigns.
Williams said city council has strongly supported the HPHA.
“We have been fortunate to receive tremendous financial support from the city. Expansions, redevelopments - the list is lengthy. Dan has always been there for us, making sure the issues we are dealing with are front and centre.”
“Dan always understood that for healthcare and hospitals, specifically, to really thrive, there has to be a very strong partnership with the municipal government. He really set the tone on that.”
More recent projects noted include the Market Square redevelopment, the new Tom Patterson Theatre and Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth. These projects, and others, bring stakeholders together to accomplish common goals that benefit the community.
Mathieson said there have been a few regrets.
The Grand Trunk Community Hub, the former Cooper site, has consumed a lot of city council’s time and energy over the years. The project has recently restarted after a pandemic pause but the mayor said he would have liked the community hub to be further along.
The mayor also wishes the city was further ahead in its industrial land strategy.
“The bulk of services in the community are paid for through industrial commercial taxes, so we need to keep growing that base.”
Mathieson said the city will have to work with private land owners, perhaps partner with them and market the land. When the city bought the last large industrial land area, there was a lot of federal money available, Mathieson said, “where we could buy the land, put the services in and patiently wait for people to come. The cost of land now and servicing is huge, that strategy maybe won’t work.”
Certainly the most controversial project in Mathieson’s time as Mayor was the Xinyi Canada Glass proposal to build a float glass manufacturing facility, creating about 400 jobs.
Critics of the project noted a lack of transparency from city council and little public information, as well as closed-door meetings.
There were also environmental concerns.
Xinyi Canada eventually suspended plans and city council voted to ask the province to revoke a ministerial zoning order (MZO) that would have allowed development.
“Nobody started out that process to have turmoil and stress. Council as a whole believed they were heading in the right direction. As public interest grew, more info came out and the public let us know they were not happy to move forward and the majority of members of council changed course and decided to do that.”
“I don’t think anyone on council would say it was their happiest time in public office. At the end of the day, the public spoke and council reacted. That is what democracy is supposed to be about.”
The mayor is thankful for the many residents who worked alongside council over the years, and those who offered advice or guidance on issues he now better understands.
Mathieson noted some mentors over the years, including former mayor and educator Ted Blowes, former Shelterlink Executive Director Bev Hagedorn and Catherine Hardman, Executive Director at Choices for Change. Mathieson praised his administrative assistant, Pat Shantz, for keeping him connected, noting she knows the goings on in the city perhaps better than anyone.
As far as future pursuits, Mathieson said he has one or two things that could come to fruition, but the focus remains on working as the city’s mayor until his last day in office.
“The first thing might be to take a deep breath and say ‘okay, there is not going to be 250 emails today and a bunch of events and meetings’. I will go on to other challenges and opportunities. I haven’t decided what they are yet.”
