Jim Downer, former Midland Mayor and town councillor, has passed away, but he left an indelible mark on the Georgian Bay town.
Having joined as a Midland councillor for the 1995 term of office, Downer became deputy mayor from 2001 through 2006 before successfully running as mayor between 2007 through 2010. His short absence from politics was met with a return as town councillor since 2018.
Midland Mayor Bill Gordon spoke highly of Downer’s presence in council.
“Even before I was in politics, he was a guy that always looked for the facts and looked out for the best interest of Midland residents,” said Gordon. “That's all you can ask of any elected representative. He really epitomized statesmanship.”
Gordon noted that Downer’s influence on the community was prominent. “His fingerprints are pretty much on anything that we've done over the past 30 years in Midland.”
“He had a really, really good sense of humour, you know. He’d put on this sort of stoic face, and then you'd catch him giggling or making a joke at council; so many times he's cracking people up. And then you look again and he's got the stoic face back on. He was like a little kid sometimes,” said Gordon, “a lot of fun to work with.
“He could be a man of very few words, but when he did choose to speak people listened. You know that he definitely commanded a presence, and he had the respect of so many people in the community,” Gordon added.
Former town councillor Judy Contin connected with Downer during the early 2000s regarding their discussions on public space smoking bylaws. Contin noted that both she and her late husband Jack had “forged a close friendship with Jim and Dawn.”
From Contin, she shared: “Jack and Jim shared many rounds of golf, their banter echoing across the fairways as they combed through the rough in search of lost balls. Meanwhile, Dawn and I found common ground in our shared curiosity about what one might do with an unexpected windfall of 5,000 golf balls.”
Contin described Downer as “a true friend” and praised his “unwavering integrity and deep commitment to the community.”
Residents may recall Downer having worked at the downtown Mr. Grocer (later Valu-Mart) for years, as well as being the owner of the SerendipiTea business on the corner of Dominion and King.
Scott Campbell of Grounded Coffee, and former BIA chair, remembered Downer from those occupations and shared that they would often direct preferred tea or coffee beverage patrons to one another as needed.
“When he made a recovery, I would always see him come down to the shop and we’d be able to go over some of the exciting things that were being presented to council,” said Campbell. “I would always try to make an effort to spend 10 minutes with him to get his opinions on what was going on, and then he would let me bend his ear and listen to what my opinions were on things. We had a lot of similar beliefs as to the direction that the town should take on issues like the downtown.”
Campbell’s interactions with Downer on a BIA level were limited, he said, as Downer’s tea shop was winding down as Campbell’s role as chair took hold.
“For an older guy on the block, I think some of his ideas for the downtown were more progressive than regressive; sometimes the old boys like to stay stuck in the past, but he saw that there was a good future for the downtown,” Campbell praised.
Last March, Downer collapsed after suffering a heart attack in a council meeting.
“Jim's been struggling, obviously, with his health conditions since he had that heart attack at council.” Gordon said that Downer had been “working diligently” for Midland residents at home due to the procedure policy allowing for remote work. “I heard that he was working right up to the last minute; he had his laptop and was answering people's emails, which is what he does. He's just such a dedicated public servant.
“It's another void in our council which is going to be really impossible to fill. Just shy of 30 years of service to Midland in every capacity that you can, politically; and countless committees and boards. He was just a wealth of knowledge,” said Gordon. “No matter what we do with filling the vacancy ultimately, losing Jim is just losing decades of experience and knowledge.”
Gord McKay defeated Downer to become the town's mayor in 2010. As a councillor during the previous term, McKay remembered then-Mayor Downer as a team player.
“He was very quiet,” said McKay. “Jim didn’t really jump into a lot of issues confronting the town, but he thoughtfully reflected on them and he was there with a good vote. He voted sometimes against where council was headed, but a lot of times he understood it was for the greater good and he participated.
“I quite appreciated having Jim on my council.”
Downer’s concerns at recent council meetings were focused on boat launch access for residents as he related grandparents who went fishing with their grandchildren, and his hearty support of town security through police, fire, and emergency services.
However, his strongest and final push on council was for the safety of children due to excess speeding along Howard Street, as he petitioned fellow council members to explore traffic calming measures in that area.
Flags have been lowered to half-mast at the Midland town hall.
