Eager not to miss the opportunity to chase a good rumour, I had lunch the other day with Micheal Eamon down at Smitty’s (a.k.a. “The Office”).

When his name popped up recently as a possible candidate for mayor, I was intrigued. A while back, I had spent an evening at a mutual friend’s with Eamon, his wife Jennine, and their two handsome sons, Sam and Will.

We talked a lot about history that night — both senior Eamons are historians — and the challenges of running Trent’s downtown campus, Catharine Parr Traill College, where he has been principal for the last 12 years. We didn’t talk about politics.

A few weeks ago, another friend told me that Eamon is thinking about running for mayor.

I found out over Smitty’s bacon and eggs that the answer is “yes,” he’s thinking about it.

Why, I asked, would an optimistic, enthusiastic person like him want to jump into the cauldron that is today’s municipal politics?

Why would he want to expose himself to critics like me, never mind all the vitriol regularly on social media?

“I love Peterborough, and I think I have transferable skills that could be useful right now,” he replied.

“Well, I’ve been running a college with a $300,000 a year budget,” he answered. He was also acting director of Trent International, with its $1.1 million budget. All of which means he knows how to read a balance sheet.

Eamon also points out that as principal of Traill College and, prior to that, Lady Eaton College, he is intimately involved in community and consensus building, as well as fundraising.

Further exploration reveals that he has certified training in, among other things, workplace violence and harassment, customer service, and “working together.”

It’s bound to be helpful, too, that he’s a terribly nice guy — a characteristic he shares with another potential mayoral candidate, businessperson Neil Morton. 

Eamon teaches a couple of courses in addition to his responsibilities as college principal.

What, I wondered, do his students think of him? I checked online.

“Hands down, the best professor Trent has to offer,” wrote one.

“The most genuine guy you could meet,” said another.

Eamon has a life beyond Traill College. He’s been a Cub Scout leader (33rd Peterborough troop), is on the United Way’s campaign cabinet, is a member of the Peterborough Singers, plays in the Peterborough Concert Band, and is a member of the Peterborough Historical Society. I have undoubtedly missed a few, but that is enough to show he is not anyone’s vision of “a stuffy academic.”

A graduate of Queen’s University, and the University of Cambridge, Eamon held various positions with the federal government before finding himself in the classroom. This was after a childhood marred by tragedy — his father dying suddenly when Eamon was 12, and his mother contracting MS the following year. He knows what it is like to struggle and to hurt.

Unlike many municipal candidates, Eamon doesn’t have the backing of any particular political party. He doesn’t belong to one. My sense talking to him is that he is very much a centrist.

So far, there is only one declared candidate for mayor — long-serving councillor, Keith Riel. Morton’s intention to run is fairly well-known, and there is a woman not yet ready to announce. Mayor Jeff Leal won’t say what his plans are, although, in fairness, he soon should.

Stay tuned for further updates.

© Peterborough Examiner