A good man is a good man regardless of the politics

I was pleased to read in today's SP (Mar. 11/11) that the USSU honoured Roy Romanow by renaming a space in his honour. I think too often we quickly forget about people who have served our society and wait until they have passed on before recognizing their contributions.

I think it would be an understatement to say that I am not a supporter of Roy's political party. However I think all of the parties have good and not-so-good members. I believe all of the parties make some good and not-so-good decisions. Although I didn't always agree with decisions he made during his tenure, I didn't always disagree with him. People of the right wing persuasion thought he was too left thinking. Left wing supporters thought he was too right in his views. Sometimes I thought of him as an appeaser. Maybe he was just centered. But to my mind, Roy was one of the good guys. And whatever any of us think about him individually, no one can deny that he gave many decades of service to our society.

I remember Roy when he was a baby lawyer with the now defunct law firm of Walker, Romanow, Ching. He was a good lawyer. I was not one of the many that seemed to enjoy his fall in the election of 1982 to the relatively unknown Joanne Zaselenchuk (sp.), although at the time I was happy for a change of government. After that election Roy could have gone on to make a pile of money practising law, but instead came back to a life in public service.

I hope some of our civic, provincial or federal leaders see fit to set partisan politics aside and follow the lead of the USSU. Perhaps he should be considered in the naming game for the new South bridge.

I will end with "Thank you Roy for your service."