Royce Richardson retires from Shawville council: Long time Shawville councillor Royce Richardson will be stepping down from council and leaving his seat open. 

Richardson, 67, said that after 20 years on Shawville Council he wants to leave because of health reasons. “I am a recipient of a heart transplant and I have to look after my health,” said Richardson, who received a heart transplant five years ago at the Heart Institute by Dr. Wilbert Keon. “I think that it is time for me to step down.”

As well as health concerns, the veteran politician has other reasons for stepping down. “You get negative when you stay too long on the job,” said Richardson.

Richardson, who has never lost an election in five tries, said that he has a lot of fond memories of being on council, but said he couldn’t really point out anything specific. “I have enjoyed every minute of it and there was never a time I didn’t like the job,” said Richardson.

One accomplishment he said that he is proud of, is that he was part of a council that helped make Shawville debt free. “We used to have to borrow money, but we managed to pay off our debts and now Shawville is debt free and things look hopeful,” said Richardson.

Richardson was out of municipal politics for eight years, until he returned in 1995, during the Quebec Referendum. “I was chairman of the No referendum committee in Shawville because I wanted to keep Pontiac in Canada,” said Richardson.

Overall, Richardson said that municipal politics has its ups and downs, but you have to stick to who you are. “You can’t be everything that everyone else wants you to be,” said Richardson. “You have to be your own man.”