George Minakakis has been declared the mayor of Milton by several news sources, beating out Gord Krantz, the country's longest-serving mayor.
Krantz was the longest-serving mayor in Canadian history, having been in office for 46 years, since Dec. 1, 1980. Prior to his mayoral role, he was a town councillor for Milton from 1965 to 1980.
Krantz has served a total of 61 years in municipal politics, securing 21 consecutive terms.
Minakakis served as the Ward 1 town councillor in Milton for just under one year, winning the Ward 1 by-election in 2015.
He previously served as a senior executive, Country Manager, and CEO in Canada, the U.S., and China for Fortune 500 companies, as well as a Chair of Milton Hydro and Action Milton.
In an interview on Oct. 9 with YourTV Halton, Minakakis said he was “scratching his head” while working at Milton Hydro, wondering why Milton’s municipal government was not changing and economically developing as the community was rapidly growing.
In the interview, he addressed affordability, infrastructure and traffic, safety and community, and unity and leadership.
Minakakis pointed towards encouraging large companies to operate in Milton, growing the non-residential tax base faster and seeking appointment on the police board to address these issues.
Minakakis also said he plans to move towards a motion called ultravirus, a method that ensures the municipal government is focusing on issues that are important to Milton, which he said will improve unity.
The election marks the end of Krantz’s historical mayoral tenure, but Minakakis said in the interview that the town needs “leadership that takes us into the new era.”
