A while ago, someone noticed that in Russia, there is a pattern in the hair of their leaders. The pattern alternates between bald leaders, and those who have hair, and it has gone back and forth since the 19th century. It continues to this day, where the bald Vladimir Putin and the hairy Dmitry Medvedev have been alternating stints as head of state. The pattern has become a source of comedy in the country, where the pattern has been well known for decades.
In Yorkton, when it comes to mayors, there is a much less obvious pattern, and that is a general trend towards candidates with less hair. If you look back at the city's mayors back to the 80s, you'll notice that there is precisely one with a full head of hair, that being current Mayor James Wilson. Otherwise it's a line that's mostly lacking in follicles.
Three years ago, Yorkton didn't have much choice in the hair department, as both candidates, Wilson and Randy Goulden, had ample hair. No matter who people chose, they were going to break with tradition. It is also interesting to note that Wilson's hair is significantly more closely cropped than Goulden's. While I wouldn't quite credit a haircut for his successful mayoral bit, it was as close as Yorkton was going to get to continuing the long-standing pattern for a mayoral race.
In other political arenas, hair isn't really an assent either. Our MP, Gary Breitkreuz, is bald. Our MLA, Greg Ottenbreit is not, except he does shave his head once a year as part of Brayden Ottenbreit's Close Cuts for Cancer. The preference towards bald, or at least a willingness to go bald for a good cause, is a recent development in those arenas, however, as both of those men replaced people with thick heads of hair. It is only in the mayoral race that there's a clear baldness pattern that has been emerging over decades.
This isn't to lessen the achievements of the many mayors this city has had in the past, just to say that it has been a pattern that has existed and been consistent over the years. Of course, those who might be interested in placing bets on who will take over the mayor's chair might be interested to know that the first candidate to announce is also largely bald. It remains to be seen whether any additional candidates will be similarly bereft of follicles, and whether or not the least hair will win this time around.
The tradition runs counter to Canada as a whole, where being bald seems to be viewed as something of a disadvantage. In fact, as I type this, the only clearly balding provincial premier is Nova Scotia's Darrell Dexter, whose website strategically puts a graphic over the top edge of his head in one shot. In the territories, we have Bob McLeod, but otherwise there is decent coverage. Federally it's the same story, with a lack of bald leaders. While the late Jack Layton was famous for being both bald and mustached, current federal NDP leader Tom Mulclair is among the hairiest politicians working today. Yorkton has been going against the grain in its insistence on voting for the least amount of hair possible among its candidates, or at least was for many years.
Will there be a return to the bald tradition or has the population been convinced that a mayor with hair can still benefit the city? We'll find out in late October.
