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Another hat thrown in Trail mayor’s ring

City of Trail: Jones, Doug – Mayor Candidate. Retired union president joins race

Former Local 480 President, Doug Jones, has openly declared his intent to file the necessary paperwork to enter the race to become Mayor of Trail in the coming municipal elections this fall.

The 61-year-old Jones retired from his position with the Steelworkers union a year ago but says he feels passionate about the area and the community and is willing to set aside his golf game to take on the demands of running for the mayor’s job.

“There’s a lot that can be accomplished and it’s a challenge I’d like to take on,” said Jones. “Of course I’m not taking this lightly, I’ve had conversations with friends and family and I feel I’ve got support.”

Jones said that a mayoral run isn’t a new idea for him but is something that has been in the background for some time.

“This goes back further than this election,” he said. “I was approached a number of times before the last election but had already committed to staying on through bargaining.”

He said that although he had a full plate with his union position, keeping tabs on civic politics was something that always drew his attention, largely because people were encouraging him to consider that course.

“I think the reason people are interested in seeing me run is I know all the players in the area, although a lot of that could change after the election,” he said. “I have a lot of experience in negotiations at high levels, I believe that I could bring some peace to this area.”

In spite of the fact that the only other individual who has openly declared an interest in the mayor’s position is Mike Martin, the retired general manager of Teck Metal’s Trail operations who would have sat across the table from Jones during negotiations at the area’s largest employer, Jones maintains that his current goal has nothing to do with his former position or any kind of unstated rivalry.

“I want to immediately dispel any kind of union versus company thoughts right now,” Jones said. “Both Mike and I have moved on, we retired from those positions and, truth be told, he and I worked through a lot together at Teck. This is more about what I bring to council and the community, it might be a different approach than Mike but this has nothing to do with political parties or old arguments. This is civic politics and what we can do for this area.

“I want to make a difference for the community and for the surrounding area. I was born and raised here, my whole family was raised here, my sisters are here, and my daughter owns a small business in town. I want to make it better for everyone.

“I think that building integrity and trust in some of the relationships may be the biggest challenge but we need to get the community moving forward.”