Rafe Mair

Political career His electoral career began with his election to Kamloops city council in 1973. he won re-election in 1979 by 3,309 votes. He subsequently swapped portfolios with Jim Nielsen in December 1978 to become Minister of Environment, before being re-assigned as Minister of Health in November 1979. During the negotiations to patriate the Constitution of Canada, he was BC's chief delegate on constitutional matters from 1977 to 1980.

He held the Kamloops seat until leaving politics in 1981; the seat was taken over by fellow Socred Claude Richmond. He left the station in 1984 over a proposed salary cut, and was replaced by former premier Dave Barrett. He switched to rival CKNW, initially hosting the late night slot, then moved to the prime morning slot by 1988. Until his death, he was a regular columnist for a chain of community newspapers as well as for the online magazine The Tyee, and often appeared nationally as a political commentator for several outlets including CBC Radio One. Disillusioned with the three mainstream federal parties, he became a significant supporter of the Green Party urging people to vote for them in recent federal and provincial elections.

In 2009, Mair publicly stated that he voted NDP in that year's provincial election.

Mair was the spokesperson for Save Our Rivers, a group organized to fight private run-of-the-river hydroelectric developments.

Personal life Mair was a Type II diabetic and publicly announced his experiences with depression in 1995 while working as a broadcaster.

Mair authored several books on Canadian politics, including his memoirs, and was a regular columnist at the online newsmagazine The Tyee. He was a principal contributor until his death to The Common Sense Canadian, a news and opinion site with a British Columbia focus.

While attending law school, he married his first wife Evelyn MacInnes, with whom he had one son and three daughters; their marriage ended after their daughter Shawn died in a car accident. 1993 – B.C. Association of Broadcasters "Broadcast Performer of the Year" 1997 – National Canadian Mental Health Association Media Person of The Year (shared with Pamela Wallin) 1998 – BC Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association "Media person of The Year" 2003 – Bruce Hutchison Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Jack Webster Foundation 2005 – Inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame 2005 – Named by readers poll of Georgia Straight (78,000 responses) as best talk show host in Vancouver