Taking the reigns of the city

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

You may have missed it, but Oshawa had a new mayor for a day.

Patrick, a Grade 5 student, was sworn in on Nov. 26 after his essay was selected among other Grade 5, 6 and 7s as part of the city’s annual Mayor for a Day contest.

“I’m just happy and excited that I get to be here,” the soft-spoken Patrick said, sitting behind Mayor John Henry’s desk with the chain of office hanging around his shoulders.

The contest, part of Oshawa’s Local Government Week celebrations, sees students submit essays on the things they like about the city and some things they would like to see change.

For Patrick, as mayor for a day, he would think about others in his community and look to help children with special needs.

“I would put a streetlight at every place where there is a pedestrian crossing so the cars will allow pedestrians to cross sooner because they wait for a long time before they can cross,” he writes.

He also wrote that children with special needs should be given discounts at places like Nebs Fun World, and the city should concentrate on rejuvenating its parks and outdoor spaces, and perhaps do something about the dark forests behind some homes.

“I like that there is a lot of trees in Oshawa and that there’s a bike path,” he writes. “I dislike that there’s a little forest behind some houses because it creeps out some people at night.”

And it may have only been one day in office, but Patrick had a full schedule, making stops at city hall, the new consolidated operations depot, a meeting with visiting delegates from China, and a tour of animal services.