DAN CEARNS, The Standard
SCUGOG: Lifelong resident and former agricultural business owner Harold Wright is running for the Ward 4 council seat in Scugog.
“I’ve discussed it with other people over the years, in different elections, and I’ve been on boards a lot of my life. In previous elections, I didn’t think I had the time to devote to it, to do the job effectively. But we sold our business a couple of years ago and I kind of retired a year and a half ago. So, when the opportunity came up, I mulled it over and talked with friends, and they thought it would be a good idea and [that] I’d make an effective representative. So, I decided if I was ever going to do it, now was the time,” Mr. Wright told The Standard.
For many years, Mr. Wright owned Wright’s Feeds’ N Needs, before selling the business to Durham Farmers’ County Co-operative in late 2018. “I think the big thing about being in the retail business is dealing with people,” Mr. Wright said. “You see a lot of different people and how a lot of people react [in] different ways to different things. You get to understand people’s needs and desires and how to best look after their needs.”
Mr. Wright has been a past president of the Blackstock Curling Club and has served as part of the Blackstock Agricultural Society and the local Tractor Pull committee.
He spoke about the issues and concerns he’s heard from talking to residents of the ward. “The issues around here, or the concerns from the people I talk to, are around road maintenance and upkeep of road infrastructure, and secondly land use,” Mr. Wright explained, adding the addition of recreational facilities for the area is another desire he’s heard.
The longtime resident is excited about the possibility of representing Ward 4. “It’s something new to take on, a new enterprise,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it, and hopefully, I get elected.”
For more information, Harold Wright can be reached by email, at haroldwright.ward4@gmail.com, or by phone, at 289-385-0556.