Born in Toronto and educated at York University,[1] Hancock worked for Dun & Bradstreet of Canada as an analyst and then manager from 1961 to 1971.
[1] From 1971 until his retirement in 1998, he took a series of senior positions in the federal government's employment department.
[citation needed] Hancock was first elected as Ward Three city councillor in 1988, and re-elected continuously until his mayoral run.
[1] Hancock took a fiscally conservative position on municipal tax levels and advocated for the reduction of the city's debt, which was eliminated.
[1] In his 2003 Inaugural Address, he identified council's top challenges as developing new industrial lands, and revitalizing Brantford's downtown, especially by growing to accommodate Brantford's rapidly growing population of post-secondary students and by reconditioning brownfield lands.