Ben Franklin was mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of the city of Nepean, Ontario

Nepean, Ontario

- Recent quantity of snow :- History :Nepean Township, originally known as Township D, was established in 1792 and originally included what is now the central area of Ottawa west of the Rideau River. Jehiel Collins, from Vermont, is believed to have been the first person to settle in Nepean...

 from 1978 to 1997. Nepean became part of the city of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 in 2001.

He was born in Elgin, Ontario in 1942. He graduated from Carleton University

Carleton University

Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...

 with a BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in 1971 and became a high school geography teacher. In 1973, he was elected to Nepean council. In 1975, he ran unsuccessfully as the Liberal

Ontario Liberal Party

The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...

 candidate in the riding of Carleton

Carleton (Ontario electoral district)

Carleton was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1968, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1987...

 in the Ontario general election

Ontario general election, 1975

The Ontario general election of 1975 was held on September 18, 1975, to elect the 125 members of the 30th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....

. As mayor, Franklin established a "pay as you go" policy which brought the city out of debt. He retired in 1997 due to health problems. His executive assistant, Mary Pitt

Mary Pitt

Mary Pitt was a British courtier.Her portrait is one of the Hampton Court Beauties by Godfrey Kneller, comissioned by Queen Mary II of England.-Family:...

, succeeded him as mayor of Nepean after running a campaign that promised to simply continue Franklin's vision.

He received an artificial heart

Artificial heart

An artificial heart is a mechanical device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible...

 in March 2003 but died of heart failure later that month at the age of 60.

Ben Franklin Place

Ben Franklin Place

Ben Franklin Place is a building complex in the Centrepointe area of Ottawa which houses the Centrepointe Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, the Centrepointe Theatre, and a satellite office for the city of Ottawa. It also includes an outdoor skating rink...

 at Centrepointe

Centrepointe

Centrepointe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada and part of the former city of Nepean. The population of Centrepointe is between 4,000 and 4,500 people...

was named after him. He was the first person to be given an honorary key to the new city of Ottawa.