Comment
Remembering Darryl
Darryl Kramp was the consummate retail politician. He was good at it. He enjoyed serving his community. He enjoyed meeting his neighbours and was genuinely curious to know how he could help.
In return, this community rewarded him with four consecutive terms as their federal representative, each plurality larger than the last. His winning streak was only broken by the redrawing of electoral boundaries in 2013 that had detached Madoc (his home) and Hastings County from Belleville and Prince Edward County and hitched them to Lennox and Addington. The voters didn’t know him there. Still, he lost that election by just a couple of hundred votes.
He was a big man. Tall and imposing. Yet, perhaps conscious of his larger-than-life comportment, he was always ready with a big smile and a beefy paw extended to greet, to welcome—instantly and utterly shattering any unease or wariness.
In today’s overcharged partisan politics, to be described as a solid constituent representative may come across as mildly negative. It ought not. Darryl understood who he was and how best to serve his community. And he did it well.
A backbencher in the federal parliament must decide early—will they be a striver? Or a worker bee? (For most, the decision is imposed.) The striver is headed into cabinet or positioning themselves to get there. The worker bee learns their role is to be part of a team—to show up and vote. And work hard at being a constituency person. To work for the community.
Ambition, self-esteem, and myriad other forces can confuse some folks as they enter the Commons for the first time. It didn’t happen to Darryl. He knew who he was. He knew his strengths and his limits. He knew what he had come to Ottawa to do—to represent the folks in Prince Edward Hastings.
Darryl and Carol-Anne Kramp celebrate their third election victory in October 2008. He won the seat that year with just over half of the vote.
He was proud to do it. He was proud of his accomplishments.
Darryl always acknowledged, too, that he was the forward-facing half of a partnership. That his wife, Carol-Anne, was the grounding force—guiding, nurturing, and observant. She knew where the dangers lay and understood who their friends were and who was only seeking to gain advantage. Together, they were a formidable team.
Darryl played an essential role in building a new arena and community centre in Wellington. He was passionate about hockey and had competed in the County as a young man. So when it became clear that the Dukedome had to be replaced, Kramp rolled up his sleeves and worked with the local team to craft a funding proposal. Then, he ushered the bid through the bureaucracy in Ottawa. At his core, he knew the importance of the arena as a community bond.
So it was on a spring day in 2009 in Consecon that politicians and reporters assembled to recognize fresh funding for bridge enhancements on the hamlet’s Main Street. Darryl was distracted on this morning—fidgeting, almost giddy. He had learned the evening before that federal funding for the arena project in Wellington had been approved and further that the province, too, was on board. He was busting to share the news with the assembled council members and media. But he couldn’t, not without the MPP’s agreement.
So he paced across the bridge back and forth for about 15 minutes, waiting for Leona Dombrowsky, his provincial counterpart. When Dombrowsky arrived, a quick huddle followed with the two representatives. Then, both came over to break the news. Darryl beaming. Leona was more reserved— a bit more sensitive to the risks of letting the news out before ministerial blessing. Of wrists being slapped.
But for Darryl, this was the kind of day he lived for. This was why he spent long days—breakfast in Bancroft, lunch in Belleville, and a public meeting in the evening in Picton—doing the hard work of an MP. Or in Ottawa, in the house, in committees sitting through seemingly interminable meetings.
Darryl wanted to help. He wanted to be part of building things. He wanted to make life better.
He ran again in 2018, this time for a seat at Queens Park. He won the seat handily, gathering 50 per cent of the vote among six contenders. In 2021, his daughter Shelby Kramp-Neuman was elected as the federal MP in her dad’s riding.
The pandemic shattered a great many connections. We lost track of Darryl—only recently learning that he suffered from the cruel effects of dementia in his latter years.
But I will remember Darryl on Main Street. Striding down the street, stopping to talk with folks along the way. On Canada Day. At Pumpkinfest. And Harvestin’ the County. This wonderful economic development initiative sought to forge a tangible connection between the community and its agricultural roots. It took the form of a long lunch served on tables arrayed down the middle of Main Street in Wellington on a pretty summer day.
My enduring image of Darryl is serving up the feast in Wellington. An oversized apron, tongs in hand and the biggest smile a human could muster.
Comments (0)