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< ) PAGE A8THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, NOVEMBER 26,2003 www.durhamrcgion.com New trustee eager to get started on her first term Newcomer to council has passion for community Had no interest in politics in his youth BY DANIELLE MILLEY Staff Writer COURTICE - Adrian Foster Foster doesn't come across as a typical politician. He is soft-spoken, doesn't like to talk about himself and uses phrases such as "gosh golly." However, he had what it took to come out on top in the only real race in the municipal election in Clarington. Mr. Foster beat out four opponents opponents to win the local council council seat in Ward 1 in a race where only seven per cent separated separated first from fourth. He says he knew he was going to win. "Yeah, I did. We worked hard. We knocked on 6,000 doors so we covered all of Courtice, much of Solina and Mitchell's Corners," he says. "There were a lot of people who were pulling for us. I figured figured I'd win but 1 knew it would be tough." Growing up with a mother lie describes as "a political junkie," Mr. Foster never had any interest in politics. "I figured 1 had enough of that to last me a lifetime." he says. Instead he opted for career in finance after graduating from the University of Toronto with a BA. Degrees and certificates certificates cover his home office, where he works as an investment investment adviser. He does have a framed copy of the Bill of Rights on the wall too but never considered running running for elected office until recently. recently. "I told everyone that you had to be nuts to do anything like this so no, 1 really had no intention," he says. It was only after Jane Rowe, who Mr. Foster replaces on council, approached him to run that he began to think about it. In the past Ms. Rowe has said she endorsed him because she believed he would serve the community well based on his dedication to the community and his volunteer spirit. After thinking about it for a few months Mr. Foster decided running was a logical decision since he had worked with council council through his volunteer work, which included the Courtice Area Ratepayers Association, ITER community council. Clarington Board of Trade and involvement with Faith United Church. He explains he has two reasons reasons for taking' such an active role in the community. "One is because I work independently independently so there is a social aspect to it." he says. "The other is to do things in the community community - this is where 1 live, where I work. 1 earn a reasonable reasonable amount of money from the community, we should sive back." Mr. Foster made the decision decision to work from home after moving from Pickering to Courtice with his family in 1992. He did it to spend more time with his wife of 19 years, Deborah; and his two sons Lee, 16, and Josh, 13. Any time he has that is not spent working or volunteering is spent with them. "(My) biggest interest is probably dealing with the kids," he says. "We try to make time for family time." Politics more exciting than bake sales for mother of three NEWCASTLE - Cathy Abraham is not your average stay-at-home mom. The mother of three is involved involved in her children's lives and heavily involved in their schools, but she'd rather read government policy than bake cookies. Her husband Dave calls her a professional meeting-goer and she is just line with that label. Ms. Abraham is the new Clarington trustee on the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, a job she is looking looking forward to starting. Although new to the board table, Ms. Abraham brings with her years of experience in education. education. She has served on the Newcastle Newcastle PS school council since it came into existence seven years ago, chairing it for four of those years, and she was on The Pines Senior PS school council last year. "I'm not it real good PTA mom. When people ask me to bake I say M&M (Meat Shops) or IGA," she says. "I've never been a traditional mom, but policy. policy. governance and government. government. those types of things interest interest me." Ms. Abraham took political science at the University of Western Ontario and her interest in education started when the Conservatives introduced Bill 160 - The Education Improvement Improvement Act - shortly after they came to power in 1995. "Education is so important," she says. "It's not just about my kids, it's about our kids." Ms. Abraham moved with her husband from Mississauga to Newcastle 14 years ago to raise their family. She says they couldn't have afforded for her to stay at home with daughters Jessica, Jessica, 14, Christine, 12, and Michelle, 9, if they had stayed in Mississauga. She is also involved with Clarington girls slo-pitch and the Newcastle Community Hall, of which she is the chairman. She also helped start Newcastle Family Connection. "When people say to me 'you're going to be so busy (as a; trustee)' my girls say 'you can'V get any busier,"' she says. "It's going to be busy, but I love it or I wouldn't do it." Running for trustee was something Ms. Abraham had thought about for two or three years, yet she always said she; wouldn't run as long as Bob' Willsher, who was also from Newcastle, was a trustee. "He was the best," she says. ; Mr. Willsher passed away in March. She says she was sad- ■ dened election night that he was-. n't there to share her happiness. ' For Ms. Abraham being im • volved is a family trait. When she was growing up her mother was involved in a dental hygienist hygienist association and her father is • the head of the Masonic Lodge in Ontario. - 1 ' "I come from a family of' people who just do things," she says. The trait is now being passed' 1 on to her daughters. Jessica is oil • the students' council at Clarke ' High School and Christine is ' getting involved too. 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