According to the Hansard of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: "Twinney arrived in Newmarket in 1960, entering politics in East Gwillimbury in 1965.
In 1970 Twinney was elected to Newmarket town council as a regional councillor, serving in that capacity until 1978.
Twinney was a councillor in East Gwillimbury in the late 1960s, and resided in the southwest portion of the township that became part of Newmarket upon the creation of the Regional Municipality of York in 1971.
Towards the end of Twinney's tenure, questions were raised about some of his business activities in Newmarket, which culminated in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation of them.
Mr DoCouto was once linked to Mayor Twinney after he was charged in May 1993 with breach of trust and offering a secret commission.