McCleary was born and raised in Shawville; he graduated high school here “and never left.” Out of high school he worked at Canadian Tire then went on to work at the Consolidated Bathurst pulp mill in 1981 and worked there until it closed. From there he went on to work at Canada Post until he left due to health issues in 2017. He was co-owner of Bean’s service station from 1987 to 1999.

McCleary believes his years of work experience, coupled with his more recent time on council, make him qualified to be mayor. “I know about leadership, I know about finances. I know mechanical things, streets, sewers, and water from my experience at Portage as well as my experience on council,” he said.

Currently he is head of the arena committee and works on the water, sewage, streets and finance committees. “Over the years I have been on library, parks — there probably aren’t too many of them that I haven’t been on over the course of eight years,” he said. During his first term he was pro-mayor.

He has be been married for 42 years, raised to two boys has one grandson and a couple of step-grandchildren.

McCleary has a residence in Shawville which he shares with his son, but “where I spend most of my time is Richardson Lake” in Clarendon. This, he admits, is a bone of contention in this election. “The current mayor and my opponent are trying to say that I’m not entitled to run because I don’t live in Shawville,” he said.

Under Quebec’s municipal rules for candidates, in order to run for mayor or council in a particular municipality the nominee must qualify as an elector, meaning be eligible to vote in the municipal election and they must “have resided, continuously or not, in the territory of the municipality for at least 12 months on September 11 of the calendar year in which the general election takes place,” according to a document published by Le Director Général des elections du Quebec titled, “Running as a Candidate for Municipal Elections.”

McCleary maintains that he has sought a lawyer’s legal opinion and was cleared to run.

He has lived in the area for 65 years and says he knows just about everything in the community. He used to be the type of person would sit back and criticize but not really get involved. Over time, he realized if things were going to change. “I should be there making the decisions,” he said. “I decided to step up and be part of it.”

Jobs

Stimulating growth can be challenge for a small municipality, but McCleary believes ministers, as well as the federal and provincial levels can play a role. He intends to push MNA André Fortin and newly elected MP Sophie Chatel to bring government to the community. “Please bring us something, not necessarily Shawville, but to the area.”

McCleary explained an example when the maritime economy was decimated in the ‘90s, the government setup the official offices of the gun registry there, he said. Something similar can be done in the MRC Pontiac, he maintained. “There is no reason we can’t have some sort of federal or provincial office here.” Even a small office would have an impact.

Ageing Infrastructure

Many communities have issues with their infrastructure. It is a constant struggle to maintain, water mains, sewage and keep roads serviceable. “There’s always lots of places to spend it but not as much to spend as you would like,” McCleary said.

All these issues have costs and it is very difficult to bring in money by raising taxes. “You get very little extra money by raising taxes.” So the solution is grant money. The municipality has to do whatever it can obtain grants, he said.

Attracting younger families

Shawville, McCleary explained, is kind of a retirement community. “We have to do things to attract younger families and younger people. The last year has been good for the community as younger people have been attracted to the affordable housing in the area.” But he believes the community should be doing more to attract people, for example building places for their children.

One way to reach a younger population, McCleary said, is through actively marketing to the community. “This is what we have, these are our housing costs, our tax rate is low. Please have a look at us.”

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