City cuts ribbon on Joe Kushner Park in honour of longest-serving St. Catharines councillor

The City of St. Catharines celebrated its – and reportedly Canada’s – longest-serving municipal councillor on Saturday with a ribbon cutting at the new Joe Kushner Park.

Last July, St. Catharines City councillors passed a motion to rename Woodgale Park to Joe Kushner Park in recognition of what will be Kushner’s 50 years as a St. Andrew’s Councillor at the end of this Council term. New signage was unveiled at the event on May 10. Two new signs mark Joe Kushner Park at 153 Glendale Ave., which has a soccer field, lit tennis courts and passive open space.

Mayor Mat Siscoe expressed enthusiasm at Council’s decision to name a park after Kushner’s historically significant St. Catharines City Council representation and his equally longstanding service to the community.

“I am happy to see that Council made the decision to rename Woodgale Park to Joe Kushner Park to recognize Councillor Kushner’s many decades of public service to the residents of St. Catharines,” Mayor Siscoe said. “Councillor Kushner’s unwavering contributions as an educator at Brock University, philanthropist, and volunteer with the Greater Niagara Humane Society, the Niagara Symphony Board, among others, have led to countless positive changes in our City and we are happy to celebrate his legacy, alongside Joe and his family with the renaming of the park.”

Kushner said the public recognition took him by surprise.
“It was quite a shock, to say the least,” Kushner said, noting he used to play tennis at the park. “It’s certainly going to be enjoyable.”

On Saturday, Kushner and his wife Yvette welcomed 20 guests to the park unveiling and reception afterward, including their three adult children, daughters Nicole and Tanya and son Jeffrey, and seven grandchildren, to celebrate the park renaming, as well as the naming of the Yvette and Joe Kushner Discharge Area at the Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catharines.

In April, Kushner’s St. Catharines City Council career was celebrated with the launch of the new book, “Canada’s Longest Serving Councillor Joseph Kushner,” by economic historian and retired Brock history professor Wesley Turner co-authored by Kushner, during a special event at Niagara Artists Centre (NAC) in St. Catharines. Kushner matched book sale proceeds, which were donated to NAC.

Turner’s research showed Kushner’s municipal council representation is the longest in Canada. Since 1976, Kushner has won every municipal election and served with seven mayors.

Kushner attributed his longstanding election success to how he has represented St. Andrew’s Ward and its constituents.
“I’ve been fiscally very prudent,” Kushner said. “I spend taxpayer monies as I would my own.

“I’ve had no ulterior motives, such as running for higher office,” he continued, in reference to running for mayor or for MPP or MP. “When I was first elected, I wouldn’t accept any donations. I did not want to be beholden to anybody, including developers. I finance my own campaigns. In my latter years, I’ve been donating the money to various causes in the community.”

Kushner offers advice to new councillors in his book, including the advice his Ukrainian-born father gave him.

“I always remember what my dad says, in broken English, ‘Jove, always serve the pooblic,’” Kushner said. “That means the taxpayers pay your salary, therefore, you have to represent them. Don’t disappoint them.”

Kushner’s decades-long commitments extend to his personal and professional lives. Since 1969, Kushner has been an Economics Professor at Brock University. Since 1976, the year he was first elected to St. Catharines City Council, he has also volunteered with Humane Society of Greater Niagara. He has been a member of several community groups and boards of directors over the decades. Kushner is also a renowned philanthropist and co-owner of Cats Caboose restaurant in St. Catharines.