George Canon, Adirondack legend, has died

NEWCOMB — George Canon, a lion of Adirondack politics, has passed away. Canon died early Sunday morning, June 18, at Glens Falls Hospital. He was 78 years old. His wife, Monica Young, announced the news on Facebook. "I sent my sweetie on his way at 3:15 a.m. today," Young wrote. Fred Monroe, executive director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board, confirmed Canon's death late Sunday in a statement. Canon was Newcomb supervisor from 1990 to 2015, serving 13 terms in office, including two stints as chairman of the Essex County Board of Supervisors. When he retired, Canon said he planned to "have a garden, fish, play a little golf." POWER BROKER Perhaps no person has been as singularly responsible for advocating on behalf of Adirondack Park residents than Canon, a giant in state politics. Canon entered the political sphere after retiring as a manager of the National Lead titanium dioxide mines in Newcomb's Tahawus hamlet. Canon quickly fought to put Newcomb — a tiny hamlet in mountainous south-central Essex County — on the map, whether be through securing state and federal grant funding or amplifying the voice of local residents to ensure their needs were adequately being represented. "He always wanted to have people included in the equation, and the impact on the people in the communities," Monroe said. In addition to serving on the Review Board, the counterpart to the Adirondack Park Agency, Canon served as the president of the Adirondack Associations of Towns and Villages for nearly a decade, an organization he co-founded with Monroe and other regional officials. Prior to that, recalled former state Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward, there was no platform to bring leaders together to maintain a sense of balance in the Adirondack Park. "He was definitely Mr. Adirondack," Sayward said. Canon also served on the Northern Forest Lands Council Advisory Committee, the four-state coalition working to achieve balance in environmental policies in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, Monroe said. He also served as president of the Association of Towns. Canon, recalled Monroe, was instrumental in ending the state practice of seizing land through eminent domain for inclusion in the state Forest Preserve. He also worked with state Sen. Ronald Stafford to ensure the state could not use monies from the Environmental Protection Fund to purchase Forest Preserve land if local governments objected. "He was a mentor to all of us, whether at the AATV or for Adirondack issues — period," said Gerald Delaney, the group's current chairman. "He had tremendous influence. George knew everyone, and everyone seemed to know George." Canon also used his cachet to lead efforts to preserve Camp Santanoni, the historic Great Camp in Newcomb, as well as ensure the railroad tracks from North Creek to Tahawus remained intact after the railway ceased operations. Other efforts, including a push to reopen Tahawus mining, failed to materialize. "Any Adirondack issue there was, he was involved in it — and he was very effective in doing it," Monroe said. "Whatever progress we made is in fact due to his efforts." 'A WONDERFUL MAN' "George was a wonderful man, a great leader for Newcomb and a fierce advocate for all of the residents of the Adirondacks," said former Gov. George Pataki. "All of us who knew him are saddened by the loss of our friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with Monica and his family." Former Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Randy Douglas called Canon a mentor and a "wonderful, wonderful" man. "He knew everybody, he knew how to treat people, and he knew how to get things done," Douglas said. Douglas recalled when Canon took him under his wing as a newly-elected lawmaker in the early-2000s. The pair went to Washington, D.C. and met with then-U.S. Rep. John McHugh. "Hey John, I need you to help my buddy. He's a rookie, and he's got a problem," Canon told McHugh. Two weeks later, Douglas was notified the Town of Jay had received $500,000 for a water project in Upper Jay. On another trip, Canon brought Douglas to an ice cream shop, where he knew the owner. The pair bonded over a hot fudge sundae. "And we became damn good friends ever since," Douglas said. Hamilton County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Farber recounted a trip to Albany when Richard Brodsky, the chairman of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, asked Canon on the floor of the Assembly what he was willing to give up when negotiating airport issues in Hamilton County. "I might as well give you the shirt off my back, because it's the only thing you haven't already gotten," said Canon without missing a beat. That story entered into AATV lore, as did countless others. Canon, said Farber, had incredibly intuitive people skills that allowed him to understand the politics of both Albany and the Adirondacks alike. "The Adirondacks and North Country have lost a great leader of a generation," Farber said. Before Canon, the Adirondack Park had zero clout, recalled Sayward. "The people in the Adirondacks didn't have any, and George would go toe-to-toe with the attorneys and the environmental groups," Sayward recalled. Canon, said Douglas, was beloved by everyone. "I know (Gov. Andrew Cuomo) thought the world of him," Douglas said, citing a phone call the governor made to his hospital room as Canon convalesced after an illness in 2014. "Everyone liked him." Monroe recalled Canon used to cook chili and venison whenever AATV meetings were held in Newcomb. "He very much will be missed," Monroe said. "George was a great friend to all who knew him, whether they agreed with him on the issues or not. He was liked and respected." Sayward, a former Willsboro supervisor, said Canon served as her mentor when she joined the board, and remained a dear friend. The very first time she entered the Old County Courthouse in Elizabethtown, he said, "I think I'm going to call you powderpuff." "He had a wonderful sense of humor," she said. NATIVE SON Born on Nov. 11, 1938 in Indian Lake, Canon graduated from Newcomb Central School in 1957. He moved to Newcomb after National Lead relocated the village of Tahawus in 1963. More than 70 buildings, most of them houses, made the 10-mile trek across Route 28N. "I hated the thought of having to move out," Canon told the Sun in 2013. "For whatever reason, call it stubbornness or whatever, I didn't go anywhere near much of the move. Obviously I'd see it as I went to work every day, but my place was at the Upper Works." But Canon eventually moved to Winebrook Hills, where he made his home among the former Tahawus residents on Marcy Lane. Canon lived to see the Adirondacks transformed from an Albany afterthought to a place with deep state investments designed to brand the region as a premier tourist destination, from the Adirondack Challenge to the upcoming project designed to transform the former Frontier Town in North Hudson into a tourism hub. But despite the progress, Canon never took his foot off the gas when it came to warning against adding more Wilderness to the state Forest Preserve, arguing recreation and access was critical to the ongoing survival of the local economies in the central Adirondacks, including the Five Towns of Newcomb, Minerva, North Hudson, Long Lake and Indian Lake, who came together and forged an alliance this past decade. LATER YEARS More recently, Canon played a leading role in brokering the deal between the towns and environmental groups to include snowmobile access on the Essex Chain Lakes area. He continued to stay involved in local issues, including the ongoing debate over how Boreas Ponds should be classified. As discussions mellowed over time, Canon, who had a quick wit, remained a warrior from a more divisive era, when the Adirondack Park was polarized during the heated land use debates that characterized the early 1990s. He was known for being outspoken against environmentalists, and never shied away from offering a strong soundbite. But as the mood governing discourse in the Adirondack Park shifted in recent years, Canon showed he, too, could change with the times. Canon became a reliable presence at the Common Ground Alliance, the annual pow-wow of stakeholders seeking solutions to local issues, where he found himself sitting across the table — literally — from his polar ideological opposites to discuss issues like clean water infrastructure and combatting the spread of invasive species. The lawmaker retired at the end of 2015, capping more than three decades of public service. He appeared at an APA public hearing at Newcomb Central in November, where he called the multi-use snowmobile connector trail between the Five Towns a "long-time dream" he hoped to eventually see realized. "It's encouraging to see the state encourage compromised relationships between different views or thoughts — and that's what this thing is," Canon told the Sun before leaving office in late-2015. Canon said he would have liked to have more recreational access, and predicted the case would likely end up in court. "I'll be watching this from the sidelines," he said. TRIBUTES Condolences poured in on Sunday. State Assemblyman Dan Stec called Canon "one of the most respected and thoughtful Adirondack policy makers in recent times." "His knowledge of the park's issues and history was matched by his passion for the beauty of the Adirondacks and the well being of its residents," Stec said. "His passing is a tremendous loss for the North Country and for all of New York State as well as a personal loss to me, my family and all who had the good fortune to have known him." Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Willsboro) said: "Saddened to learn that George Canon passed away this weekend. He was a tireless advocate for the Adirondacks and will be deeply missed." "The legend of the Adirondacks left us for a higher calling," wrote Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Randy Preston on Facebook. "I cherish the time I spent with you my friend!" Former Essex County Board of Supervisors Clerk of the Board Debbie Palmer said Canon will be missed. "(He) held a place in our hearts for many years," she said on social media. "It is with a sad and heavy heart we have to say good-bye but the memories will live on." Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague also praised Canon. "He will be missed dearly," she said. "A great man indeed." The Essex County Board of Supervisors, where Canon had served for a quarter-century, is expected to honor Canon on Monday. In addition to his wife, Monica, Canon is survived by Brad (Chris) Canon of Tupper Lake, Charlene (James ) Gibb of Chestertown, Charles Canon of Newcomb, Diana Canon of Glens Falls, his stepdaughters, Consuelo (Alvin) Davis of Glens Falls, Melissa McDougall of Chesapeake, Va., and Chief Petty Officer SabraRenee (Josh) Arnold stationed in Falls Church Va., his sisters Annie Canon and Anne Pecor of Rochester, and Kathryn Canon of Bennington, Vt. He is also survived by very close friends Lowell and Linda Stringer, Robert "Red" Winslow, Charlie Stickney and several grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and cousins. — Lohr McKinstry contributed reporting

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George Canon, Adirondack legend, has died

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