After over a year of sitting on the Village of Glendon Council, Deputy Mayor Peter Doonanco is stepping down.
“I hate to say this but us old guys should get out of the way,” said Doonanco. “We did a good job when we were young. We worked our buns off and had enthusiasm, but now…you got to have that fire in your belly to want to do it and it is just not there anymore.”
Doonanco says his deteriorating health was a large factor is his decision to resign as a member of Glendon Council. After recently visiting a doctor, Doonanco was informed that sometime over the past year he had suffered a big heart attack.
Although he doesn't remember feeling the heart attack, the news of the event forced the longtime Glendon resident to reconsider what we was doing with his life.
“I'm 73-years-old. You never know when your picture is going to be in with the Obituaries,” said Doonanco. “I was sitting there (at council) listening to someone complain about their neighbours dog and someone complain about their grass not getting cut enough or getting cut too much. I thought ‘wow! Is this life?'”
Doonanco says that his position on council was not what he thought it would be, as he hoped to be making bigger decisions and dealing with larger projects than he did in his first year.
“We are putting out fires rather than actually building something. We haven't had much time as a group to sit down and trade ideas.”
Even though he didn't accomplish what he thought he might, Doonanco was still proud of his 12 months as a member of the Village council.
He originally ran for a spot on Council after being unhappy with the previous councillors.
“It seemed like we needed a different council in there because it was stagnated,” said Doonanco.
Topping his list of accomplishment was getting the ATV usage reinstated in the Village, so people could come into town on their quad to run errands.
“(Resigning) was a tough decision to make, because I enjoyed working with council,” said Doonanco. “But I was looking around town and realized there were other guys who are good and should be on council. They are younger, stronger and just starting their life rather than ending it.”
Living in the community for the better part of seven decades, Doonanco has been involved with his fair share of local committees and boards. He sat on committees to help bring in the curling rink and skating rink and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce among other things.
He doesn't want residents to feel he is abandoning the Village, as he still plans to be involved when he can be. He just wants to open the door for some younger blood to take over on Council.
“It was good to work there, it was just too much for me at my age,” Doonanco added. “We need a younger guy in there.”
A by-election will be held in the near future to replace Doonanco's spot on council. An official date for the election has yet to be announced.
