ELLIOT LAKE—Politics runs deep in the Farquhar bloodline and standing on the firing line of public service is the lifeblood of former Carnarvon Township reeve Tom Farquhar. Mr. Farquhar announced his candidacy for mayor in the Elliot Lake municipal election during a July 10 public information session he hosted at the Moose Family Centre.
Mr. Farquhar has more than 35 years of experience in municipal politics under his belt. He began his career winning a seat on the municipal council of Carnarvon Township (now part of Central Manitoulin) in 1978. Two years later he moved to Elliot Lake to work in the family business, returning to the Island in 1986 and running for the position of reeve, which he filled for two terms. An active participant in municipal politics, Mr. Farquhar served as president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities and sat on the executive of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Mr. Farquhar served as executive assistant to former Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown for two decades, living in Sault Ste. Marie and then Elliot Lake to better serve the western and south-central ends of that riding. During his sojourn in that office, Mr. Farquhar said that he dealt with 37 municipalities in the riding.
Mr. Farquhar ran for a seat on the Elliot Lake municipal council during the last municipal elections and secured his place at that council table just in time to meet the biggest challenge to be faced by that community since the closure of the uranium mining industry in that town, the catastrophic collapse of the Algo Centre Mall that took two lives and devastated the local economy.
An experienced hand at all things political, Mr. Farquhar said that he never takes anything for granted, but with hard work, clear thinking and good planning, most things can be accomplished.
“I am dedicated to Elliot Lake,” he told those attending the public information meeting. “I love a challenge and we are facing lots of them. I think working cohesively as a unit, respecting our volunteer boards and each other and those coming forward with new ideas is the first step in making good things happen.”
