Please note that we tried to contact or get information from all of the other candidates running for mayor of Circleville before the election. Since this was the only candidate we were able to speak with we decided to hold this article and not post it until after the polls closed.
Every face you see has a story, they have things, interests, and stories that make them all unique. How often do we stop to listen to those stories? To pay attention to those interests?
Truth be told, there are just times when we have no clue who a person is beyond a name, title and role in our community.
For our local politicians, this applies.
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How well do you know the people behind the issues, behind the endless yard signs, and the name on a ballot sheet?
We were able to sit down with the current Mayor of Circleville, who was running for office again, Don McIllroy. We talked for a while over the little things, and then asked about a few unique things to help you to get to know him better as a person.
Here are a few of the unique questions we asked to help you get to know a bit about Mr. McIllroy…
“What was your first automobile?” kicked off the interview, and it certainly was an interesting tale to tell. Don smiled, as he recalled the earlier days of his life.
“Going to school in Northern Minnesota, I’m a sophomore and my friend had a 1949 Dodge. It had a push-button, and I thought that was great. We were in Fargo, North Dakota one time, and they had a 1949 Plymouth. I bought that car for $25.”
Could you imagine buying a working vehicle for less than a couple hundred, let alone, $25? That confession brought out a surprised laugh as he continued on with his story: “We called them Porky and Petunia. That was a fun car. In fact, my brother lives in Battle Creek Michigan, he still has that car in his garage.”
I decided to take the questions a little further back, focusing on some of Don’s earlier days – his childhood. Growing up we watched a lot of cartoons, so I thought it would be cool to inquire about his favorite show growing up.
“I think it was probably Speedy Gonzales.” he admitted, adding: “Really liked Speedy Gonzales, I don’t know why – but I think it was the music that caught my attention.”
While cartoons are still a big thing – superheroes are currently all the rage. In 2019, ten superhero movies were released – a record for the movie genre. When asked about which superhero he would be, Don had a more personal response: “I would probably be my parents. I was adopted when I was five years old, actually – I was put up for adoption at five, then I was adopted at seven. My brother and sister were also. We think we were the first multiple adoptions in the state of Michigan. So those were my real heroes.”
After touching on such a personal, moving topic – Don decided to humor us and answer on what comic book superhero he’d be interested in being…
“If it’s a superhero, then it has to be Superman – because that’s the one that I remember most. I remember going to the first Superman movie where he actually flew, I thought that was pretty cool.”
Outside of movies and superheroes, video games are also a big rage today – and the variety of consoles to choose from is astonishing. When you picture anything from the humble Atari to a system such as the X-Box, where do you feel Don’s preference would be?
“There’s only a couple [consoles] I recognize, but Atari is probably – I know more of it than anything else. In speaking of television, I remember we were the first house to get a television on our block. That was back in the 50s. Black-and-white, three channels.” he admitted with a grin, flashing back to televisions earlier days.
In speaking of earlier days, everyone often reflects on a previous timeline or year that they would love to swing back in time to visit. While time travel isn’t a reality, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a little fun…
For Don, having time travel would mean getting to spend some time in a familiar era that he grew up in.
“I’d go back to the 1950s. It’s just a great place to grow up, to live. Neighbors were neighbors, and people were people. The 50s were just a great, great time to grow up.”
While we were focusing on growing up, we decided to close out with this simple question: “What is your best childhood memory?”
You are probably guessing it has something to do with his adoption story – and with that, you are partially right. However, Don’s answer is simple, sweet and endearing.
“Other than being adopted, I think it was probably learning how to change a flat tire on my bicycle,” he stated with a chuckle.
I hope this article helped to get to know the man behind title – and encourages you to realize that each candidate is more than what you see on the surface. Each one is a person, with a unique set of answers to life’s most simple, encouraging, and deepest questions.
Please note that here at the Dimple Times we don’t really get into the political or controversial side of things. We are Interactive, Inspiring and Informative. We seek to find the positive side and with this article we hope to shed light on the fact that those with political aspirations are real people too. We may or may not agree, but they are still a “real person”.
If in the future you or someone you know is running for office please feel free to contact us. We would love to speak with you! Just remember that while our questions may be a little stranger than you are used too, the bottom line is we will treat you like a “real person”.
