Achi news desk-
Halifax mayor Mike Savage is retiring from politics after 12 years in the job and says it was “the best job in the world.”
Savage has already indicated he will not seek re-election this fall and on Thursday delivered his final ‘State of the Borough’ address to more than 800 people at the Halifax Convention Centre.
The Halifax Chamber of Commerce hosted the lunch event, which drew the largest crowd they have seen for the mayor’s annual address.
“He’s done a great job as mayor and I think people want to hear about what he’s done,” said Halifax Chamber president and CEO Patrick Sullivan.
Mayor Savage had a different take on the record crowd, joking, “I think it means people are happy to see me go.”
Savage was wowed by the crowd and was emotional at times during his speech, which reflected on his career in municipal politics.
“It was very encouraging,” said Savage. “When I walked into the room I couldn’t believe it. It was a lot of people.”
During his speech Savage spoke about some of the victories and challenges he and the council faced over the past three terms, saying that there is no manual on how to do the job.
Early in his first term, Savage said the goal was to attract more people to Halifax and grow the population, which was in decline at the time. Since then he has seen a surge in the population in his last years in office and a lower average age.
“In recent years Halifax has accounted for about four-fifths of the population growth in the province (of Nova Scotia),” Savage said. “If that is true we should expect Halifax to have gained about 27,000 people last year, pushing our population to about 510,000.”
Savage expressed his gratitude to those he worked with and became emotional when talking about his family and the staff who have been by his side.
“I never won an argument in 12 years,” he joked. “But the respect they have for the office of mayor, the residents they serve, and myself personally, led by Shaune (MacKinlay) but with so many others, it’s almost beyond my ability to understand.”
The crowd gave the mayor several standing ovations.
Savage spoke about the challenges, such as the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, which he called the most important issue for the government to deal with today, and asked all levels of government to work together better to find solutions .
He spoke about climate change and the challenges it poses to the borough and the work that needs to be done to reach clean energy targets.
Sullivan recognized Savage as a talented leader, great communicator and arguably the greatest champion the city of Halifax has ever seen in the mayor’s office.
“He was empathetic, he was inclusive, he was enthusiastic, he was positive, he was a real boost to the city inside and outside the city,” said Sullivan.
Former Nova Scotia Liberal Premier Stephen McNeil said Savage was a unionist and passionate politician.
“Mike is a collaborator, he brings people together, from different perspectives and different backgrounds, to find a situation and bring it to the council and move it forward,” said McNeil. “It was so unifying in many ways, at the time, to be honest not only here, but all over the world, where division seems to be the flavor of the day, Mike was always able to unite people.”
The job was busy and always challenging says Savage, “and sometimes frustrating and crazy…but it’s the best job in the world.”
