It's Not Easy Being the Mayor

There is a lot of media attention on Canada's mayors these days. Toronto and Montreal's civic leaders are in the daily newspapers for all the wrong reasons. We here in HRM can certainly relate to the impact of having a former mayor embroiled in scandal and controversy.

But what about all those great hard working mayors, those who have worked tirelessly to improve their communities. What are their stories?

Joseph Zatzman: a life in business, politics, government and community service (M) 
by Betsy Chambers

Local author Betty Chambers penned this short biography in 2000, chronicling the life and accomplishments of Dartmouth's 29th mayor.  The former grocer is perhaps best known as the founder of the Burnside Industrial park, but he was also instrumental in many other advancements in Dartmouth. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1997.

Dave Bing: a life of challenge (M)
by Drew Sharp

"What kind of person loses sight in one eye and then through dedicated practice and honed skills becomes one of the top 50 NBA players of all time? What kind of person, with limited business experience, builds a start-up company into a thriving corporation and is recognized as one of the world’s most successful black executives? What kind of person, while running a $350 million business, takes the time to reach out to black youths lacking father figures and provides counsel and support? And what kind of person, instead of enjoying a well-deserved luxurious retirement, chooses to become mayor of a large city that many long ago had written off as dead? Dave Bing, that’s who. " - publisher

Leadership (M) 
by Rudolph W. Giuliani

"New York's controversial and outspoken former mayor reveals what it takes to be a leader and lets readers know that his brand of leadership did not just begin with the attacks on 9/11 and the following recovery efforts but was a lifelong ambition." - Library Journal

A Chosen Path: from Moccasin Flats to Parliament Hill (M) 
by Frank Oberle

"In A Chosen Path, Frank Oberle continues the amazing story of his remarkable rise from self-educated immigrant to national politician and Cabinet minister. The bestselling first volume of Frank's autobiography, Finding Home, recounted his turbulent youth in Nazi-run Germany and his post-war immigration to Canada. After working for a year and a half—as a baker, logger and miner—he earned enough to bring his future wife, Joan, from their homeland. They eventually settled in the brand-new community of Chetwynd, BC, where he began his political life as a village councillor and later became mayor." - publisher