And it may well be that relatable imperfection that has led to Krantz’s re-election over and over as Milton’s mayor for the past 36 years.

Throughout his decades in public life, the mayor has strived to just be a regular old Miltonian, forgoing the bells and whistles that sometimes come with holding a major political office. He can be spotted driving himself around town, whether to an official event or just to the grocery store for some milk, or throwing on his coveralls and rain boots to jump right in to a messy situation.

“I do things a bit outside the box,” he said. “People don’t want some stuffed shirt politician, and I don’t either. I don’t think of myself as any better or worse than anyone else. Not this guy — what you see is what you get.”

• • •

Krantz was born in 1937 and grew up in Milton Heights alongside four sisters and two brothers.

During his teenage years, he played with his fellow “country kids” in the local baseball league on the Milton Brick team. It was then that he met his wife, Olive, who was friends with one of his sisters and came out to watch the games.

The two started dating, frequenting the two restaurants that were in Milton at the time. They married in 1958 and settled down in a house on Main Street, going on to have two children. (The Krantzes now also have six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.)

While Krantz started out working for Trinidad Leaseholds in the oil sales field, he soon decided to open his own oil business and managed to amass a customer base of 400 to 450 customers.

In 1960, Krantz joined the local fire department and proceeded to move through the ranks over his 21-year tenure to ultimately become a captain. He even had the chance to serve briefly with his son, Dave.

He was officially sworn in a member of council in November 1965 and continued to serve as a councillor for 15 years before being elected mayor for the first time in 1980.

• • •

While Milton has had its share of growing pains over the years — and Krantz has taken some heat for it — the mayor expressed no regrets for being elected way back in the 1960s as a councillor on a pro-growth platform.

“I did have a degree in a common sense, and I knew that if we were going to move forward, we couldn’t just stay stagnant,” he said. “You’ve got to be moving progressively ahead, and the only way to move ahead in society in Canada or North America is growth.”

While his list of accomplishments as a politician over the decades is certainly a lengthy one, Krantz said he’s most proud to have run the municipality like a business and keep Milton’s tax rate among the lowest in the GTA.

So what does Krantz think his key to success has been over all of these years?

“Being open, as cliché as it might sound,” he said. “You have to be open, honest and right up front. When people come through this door here, I say you’ve got one of two options — I can tell you what you want to hear, or I can tell you the truth. Your choice. They might not like to hear it (the truth), but they’re going to get it from me.”

While most likely haven’t met Krantz’s devoted wife, Olive, as she “doesn’t care for the limelight,” the mayor said she has always been very supportive of his political career.

She has turned the basement of their King Street home that looks onto Town Hall into what’s jokingly referred to as the “Krantz museum,” with every wall covered in pictures of the mayor with his various council colleagues over the years, framed declarations of office, old ‘Krantz for mayor’ election signs and firefighting memorabilia. A large cabinet houses volumes upon volumes of scrapbooks that she’s compiled over the decades that document Krantz’s political career.

Olive’s touches have even spilled over into his office at Town Hall, where the famous jelly bean jar she gave him on December 1, 1980 — his first day as mayor — still sits today, full of fresh jelly beans.

“You can imagine how many jelly beans have gone through that jar with the amount of kids I have come through my office,” he said, referring to the school tours he helps guide at Town Hall. “That jar has been here for as long as I’ve been.”

Krantz’s office is full of other unique collectibles, such as his “Mayor Bear” — a bear dressed up in a suit and chain of office that he received at a grand opening of an arts and crafts shop 20 years ago.

“I have trouble with the mayor bear from time to time,” quipped Krantz with a smile. “I have to send him home sometimes because I don’t want us to be dressed the same.”

He has since added a small scroll to Mayor Bear’s hands so that he can tell children who pass through, “If the mayor can graduate, so can you.”

• • •

On the eve of the mayor’s big milestone, one question is on everyone’s minds — will he run again in the 2018 election?

“If I had to make the decision today, I probably would. I’ve been blessed with reasonably good health. I still have the energy for the job and I still like what I do,” he said. “But the election is two years away. I’ve always been fair to the public, so they’ll know where I stand six months prior to any election.”

For now, Krantz is content navigating the good ship Milton as it heads into the waters of even more growth, always striving to keep the best of town and country for his residents.

“My Milton family is growing all the time. It’s grown from 4,000 people to 130,000 people,” he remarked. “But Milton still has that small-town feel and effect, and it’s not artificial. It’s the people who make it work.

“We’re all in this together.”