Herb Epp

Herbert Arnold "Herb" Epp (born August 31, 1934) is a retired politician from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1977 to 1990 and is a former three-term mayor of the City of Waterloo.

Political career

He was successful in local politics, serving as an alderman in Waterloo from 1968 to 1974, and two terms as the city's mayor from 1975 to 1977.

Epp ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the 1968 federal election as a Liberal candidate in the riding of Waterloo, finishing second to Max Saltsman of the NDP in a tight, three-way race.

Starting in 1977, he was elected four times to the Ontario legislature, representing the constituency of Waterloo North, and winning each time by a healthy margin. Epp was re-elected in 1981, and again in 1985 when the Liberals formed the government and Epp served as parliamentary assistant to the treasurer from 1985 to 1987. Epp was re-elected in 1987, defeating future Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Elizabeth Witmer, but was not named to the cabinet of David Peterson. He served as chairman of the Liberal caucus from 1985 - 1987 and retired from the legislature in 1990.

In 1996, he supported Dalton McGuinty's successful bid to lead the Ontario Liberal Party. ["Windsor Star", December 2 1996]

Re-entering politics after a 13-year break, Epp was easily elected to a third term as mayor of Waterloo in November 2003, receiving double the number of votes cast for incumbent Lynne Woolstencroft. He ran for re-election in November 2006, but was defeated by political newcomer Brenda Halloran.

Among the many contributions during his last tenure as mayor of Waterloo, was to bring a new optimism and stability to the city. Morale among employees and the public was significantly improved. In addition to the multi-million dollar development of Waterloo Square in the core of Uptown Waterloo, a multi-million dollar library/YMCA project on University of Waterloo lands on the west side of the city was also initiated during his term in office. This 98 year land lease included lands which would favour multiple sports fields to serve primarily the youth of Waterloo. "Mr Waterloo", as he was often affectionately referred to, stood tall after 26 years of public life.

Personal

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Ontario, Epp studied political science and history and received his BA degree from Waterloo Lutheran University in 1961. He went on to receive a Masters of Education degree from the University of Toronto in 1972. Epp worked as a teacher and guidance counsellor for fifteen years with the Waterloo County Board of Education [ [http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=181 Mayor Herb Epp, City of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada] , City of Waterloo website, accessed May 25 2006.] and worked occasionally as a supply teacher after finishing his career in provincial politics.

Along with teaching, Epp sold real estate starting in 1978 and maintained his realty licence through his 13 years at Queen's Park. During his absence from politics from 1990-2003, Epp returned to real estate and was an associate broker for Re-Max Realty in Waterloo.

Footnotes