Background

John Gray was raised in Whitby, Ontario where his love for politics began; on various occasions, local neighbours would telephone Gray's parents to alert them of his unusually regular attendance at local council meetings.

Gray graduated from Henry Street High School in Whitby, Ontario and went on to study financial accounting at Centennial College in Toronto, Ontario.

The majority of Gray's pre-political career was spent in the accounting field, namely as the financial controller for ANDEC Manufacturing Ltd.

John Gray is married to Bonnie; together, the couple have two children - J.J. and Heidi. The family live in Oshawa, Ontario.

Politics

Gray served as a Councillor for both the City of Oshawa and the Regional Municipality of Durham for nine years prior to being elected as Mayor in November 2003. The 2003 election was a benchmark for Gray - not only had he unseated a four term mayor (Nancy Diamond), but he had also pulled in more than 40% of the vote in a 5 candidate race.

Gray was re-elected for a second term on November 13th, 2006 with a sweeping majority. He was later defeated by local businessman, John Henry on October 25, 2010.

Upon leaving the mayor's office in December 2010, Gray collected a severance payment of $110,821. Severance payments are made to all politicians who serve two or more consecutive terms. In January 2011 Gray had accepted employment as a solar energy consultant.