Gary Lee Wright is an American-born Canadian politician and writer. An anti-Vietnam War protester, he emigrated to Canada in 1968, renounced his U.S. citizenship, and went on to become mayor of New Denver, British Columbia, a town with a population of 504.
Early life and emigration
Wright's father was a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. He grew up in Lacey, Washington, as well as at various military bases around the country. He attended North Thurston High School, graduating in 1964. He recalls his childhood self as a geek and a political conservative — a member of the Young Republicans and a supporter of Barry Goldwater. He went on to the University of Montana, but when some friends of his there were expelled for a snowball fight, he stood up to defend them, attracting negative attention from the university administration as a result. Having lost his scholarship, he had little choice but to withdraw from the university. This meant that if drafted under the Selective Service System, he would not have the possibility of a student deferment. Knowing that he could be drafted at any time, Wright became more interested in opposition to the Vietnam War. He joined the anti-war protest group Students for a Democratic Society, as a member of which he volunteered to bring medical supplies to Vietnam. In 1967, he made his first attempt to emigrate to Canada, but was rejected by Canadian immigration authorities. Soon after, the Department of State, which already had a dim view of Wright due to his anti-draft and anti-war activities, revoked his passport. However, the following year, he was successful in his efforts to gain admission to Canada as an immigrant. His father gave him $500 despite his unhappiness with his son's chosen path, and Wright loaded his possessions into his 1957 Chevrolet and drove it across the border to Alberta.
Life in Canada
Wright's college sweetheart soon followed him to Canada and married him. In his new country, Wright worked as a psychological researcher at the University of Western Ontario, as a supervisor at a centre for at-risk youth, and as a marriage counselor, the latter job not particularly successfully. He renounced his United States citizenship and in 1974 naturalised as a Canadian citizen. In 1975, Wright and his wife moved to New Denver, hoping it would be a good place to raise a family. They would go on to have two children there; however, their marriage ended in divorce. Wright later remarried. He got involved in local politics in New Denver the mid-1980s as a member of the village recreation commission. He was elected to the village council in 1988, and soon after when Mayor Ken Casley stepped down due to ill health, Wright ascended to the mayorship in his place. He would go on to serve in that position for more than two decades. As mayor, his accomplishments included improvements to the local water system, the declaration of the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre as a national historic site, and reductions in fees charged for refuse disposal service. He also supported efforts to prevent mobile phone service provider Telus from building transmission towers in the village, citing concerns over mobile phone radiation and health. Outside of his mayoral duties, he wrote articles for various newspapers and magazines. In 2004 he took up an additional post as chairman of the board of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, which he held until 2010. In 2010, Wright announced that he would not run in the 2011 mayoral election; he stated that he felt it was time to move on from politics, joking that he had just been re-elected by the votes of some young adults who were not yet born when he first became mayor. Wright retired in 2011 as scheduled, and in recognition of his public service received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. His memoirs were published in 2012, with an extra chapter from fellow American emigrant Corky Evans.
