Dr. Michael Eamon doesn’t subscribe wholly to the widely held notion that nice guys finish last.
On self-reflection, the 53-year-old Brockville native is fine with the “nice guy” part of that equation but, as a candidate for election as Peterborough mayor, he wants nothing to do with the “finish last” part.
“If nice guys don’t run for office, then we’re really in trouble,” noted Eamon during a recent sit-down with kawarthaNOW at a downtown coffee shop.
Bringing a fresh perspective to municipal politics
On Friday morning (May 1) at Peterborough City Hall, the first-time candidate filed his nomination papers, making official his bid to be elected mayor for a four-year term.
“If we expect politicians to be mildly corrupt, mildly obtuse, and mildly not engaged, then our expectations are low,” Eamon said. “What I’m trying to bring is something fresh. I see myself as a non-politician politician.”
With Eamon acknowledging there’s relatively little time between now and the October 26 municipal election for voters to get to know him, his views on where the city’s at, and his plan to move things forward, he’s chomping at the bit to get out on the campaign trail sooner than later.
As principal of Trent University’s Catharine Parr Traill College for the past 12 years, and as an Ottawa-based federal civil servant before that, Eamon says running for public office has always been on his mind.
“Elected service isn’t something that I’ve sought or done, but it’s something I’ve always thought about — that maybe it’s something I could do,” he said, adding “I kept feeling I’m not doing enough; that I could do more for the public than I’m doing.”
“Then, over a week last September, three people approached me. One was kind of conservative, one was an NDPer, and the third was a Liberal. Each came up to me, independently, and said I should run for mayor. I thought ‘If three people so diametrically opposed believe in me as a path forward for this community, I can’t turn that down.’ So, I talked to my wife and family and decided I’m going to do this.”
Building consensus and dealing with dysfunction between council and city staff
Describing himself as “a consensus-builder,” citing the revitalization of Traill College over the past eight years, Eamon said his style of political leadership would feature nurturing consensus as its centre.
“From the sidelines, I see the city floundering,” he said. “I see a dysfunctionality where councillors are not getting along with city staff and city staff are not getting along with council. Instead of taking bold steps forward, council and city staff are looking inwards.”
“People need to know what lane they’re supposed to be in. Council is supposed to set the direction — set the vision — of where we’re going and then leave it to staff, who are the experts, to put together a right path forward. if council doesn’t agree with that path, then it’s council’s role to say ‘Take it back and work on it again, but here’s the vision.'”
In light of what he was seeing, Eamon added, he couldn’t remain on the sidelines.
“I couldn’t sit here and say ‘Oh my gosh, what a mess.’ I felt a need to step in there and actually do something.”
Eamon is adamant that his career path has positioned him well for his run at political office.
When he was a federal civil servant, first with Parks Canada and then with Library and Archives Canada, Eamon learned and honed his budgeting and management skills. When his wife, who’s from this area, was hired to teach at Trent University, he joined shortly after, securing a contract job in 2009 as a history teacher at the university before moving to an administrative role with Lady Eaton College.
In July 2014, Eamon was named principal of Catharine Parr Traill College and Trent’s Director of Continuing Education. One year later, he assumed the chairmanship of the international advisory board of Collegiate Way International, a worldwide association of university colleges founded in Durham, England. He remains in all three roles.
Creating the right environment for jobs and restoring civic pride
While he maintains “jobs, not just any jobs, but good-paying jobs” are among Peterborough’s most pressing needs, Eamon comes back to his perception that the city simply isn’t working and, as such, remains unattractive to businesses and people looking to relocate here.
“I’ve been to a couple of the Alto (high-speed rail) events,” he said.
“At one of them, I met a fellow who said he’s against the Alto project. Curious, I asked ‘You’re against high-speed rail?’ He said ‘No, no, no, I’m an engineer. I’ve been to Japan and been on the bullet train. I’ve been to France and rode the high-speed train there.’ Now I’m really confused. I asked ‘Why don’t you like the Alto plan?’ He said ‘Michael, Peterborough doesn’t deserve good things.’ That, I think, is the height of despair.”
“Externally, I think there are people who see Peterborough for the value that Peterborough offers. But, internally, a lot of citizens are starting to lose hope. They shouldn’t. Some of the greatest people I’ve ever met are in this town. They bust their humps working hard, be it at their jobs or by volunteering. There’s a lot of success here but there’s the perception that people here aren’t proud of Peterborough.”
“We need to turn that around and give people a reason to pump up their chests. We need some wins. It doesn’t sound super sexy, but the biggest win is to rid ourselves of that lack of function between city council and city staff. Wins will come if we first fix the fundamental problems.”
Eamon notes he’s encouraged and motivated by there being “so many great people” working for the city and also for non-profits, noting they “want a better community, but they feel disempowered and disheartened because the results (of their hard work) just aren’t there.”
The key, said Eamon, is simple in name but a challenge in practice: more jobs.
“No one mayor and city council can create jobs, but they can create the right environment for jobs to flourish,” he said.
“Let’s work on doctor recruitment. Let’s work on the arts and culture scene. Let’s make this place a lot more attractive. Maybe there’s a way we can better integrate tourism into all those things. We’ve long been considered the gateway to the Kawarthas. I want us to reestablish that and regain the tourism crown.”
Committing himself to public service: ‘I’m going to give up Trent if I win’
As for the obvious question — why is he seeking to become mayor instead of a councillor for his first run at public office? — Eamon first referred to his leadership experience.
“I feel, with my 30 years of public service, I have a lot of experience in managing people and I have a lot of experience working in unionized environments and managing those environments, as well as chairing board meetings,” he said. “I have 30 years of experience that can be brought be bear.”
He also said that, if he’s elected to council, he wants to fully commit to it — and the only full-time job on council is the mayor’s.
“My current job role at Traill College is a 50-hours-a-week job. There’s no way I could be a part-time at Traill and a part-time councillor. Both roles deserve full attention. I’m someone who jumps in with both my feet.”
“I’m going to give up Trent if I win. It has been the last 15 years of my life. I love the people there. I love the students. I love being in an educational environment. It’s a comfortable life too, but I’m willing to take a bit of haircut on pay.”
Any potential pay cut for mayoral candidates like Eamon who plan to leave their existing jobs will be far less than it would have been in the past, given that the new term of council will see the mayor’s pay rise by 60 per cent. Last April, council approved a staff recommendation that the mayor’s base salary be increased from the current $90,318 to $147,631 as of December 2026, while the base salary for councillors will increase by 52 per cent from $36,185 to $54,991.
Meanwhile, speaking to his widespread reputation as a genuinely nice guy who rarely, if ever, has an ill word to say about anyone or anything, Eamon advises that he can spar with the best of them when circumstances dictate.
That said, he admits that possessing a thicker skin would be a benefit.
“Most people now who come to me who are upset, they’re not mad at me. They’re upset at the system or they’re upset at something external. I like to help them through that. I know that’s going to be different as mayor. There will be people who are just angry, and they’re going to be nasty. You can’t please all the people all the time. I think that’s going to be the biggest adjustment for me, but if you believe you’re doing the right thing, that helps.”
Now, his nomination papers filed, Eamon plans to hit the ground running, meeting residents where they’re at and hearing their concerns.
“I’m not running against anyone because I dislike them or anything like that,” he pointed out. “I’m running because I want to give people a different way of doing things.”
“But you also run because you think you’re the best person for the job. I think I’m the best person, and I think my way of doing things is the best way of doing things. We need somebody who’s a team builder. We need somebody who’s mayor, not king.”
