ISSUE 23 - Do Canadian mayors need more powers?
Are mayors in this country too hindered by the constraints of their office to do more than just attend ribbon cuttings and attend conferences as a group looking important?
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we highlight and discuss all things related to the often underreported arena of municipal elections, politics and government across Canada and beyond.
For today’s main stroy, let’s examine a deep dive into the notion of mayoral influence and responsibilities in Canada, and also a smattering of other local election news.
Do mayors need new powers?
There have been constant calls for municipal leaders to have more leeway and more power at the local level in order to put some substance behind the title of ‘mayor’. But one urban policy expert says that you don’t need to have major constitutional changes in order to get that extra leverage.
Brian Kelcey, who previously served as an advisor for the Ontario government and the Winnipeg mayor’s office, points out the contradiction or limitation of mayors having to chair meetings and remain neutral during debate, even though they have their own views on supporting or opposing various items for which they cannot opine on while they’re chairing the meeting.
The overall point is the argument that has been repeated many times by policy experts in the municipal government space: that mayors are far too weak in the current Canadian system to be anything more than just sounding like another councillor, even though their electoral mandate eclipses many councillors combined.
What Kelcey proposes is nothing as radical as amending the Constitution to recognize municipalities as equal orders of government or “strong” mayors with powers similar to their American counterparts, but something rather simple that can be referred to as the “power to propose” for cities with more than 100,000 people:
Replace mayors in their role as impartial presiding officers with an elected councillor, so mayors are free to engage in every debate.
Allow mayors to direct public servants (in writing) to help develop mayoral proposals for council’s consideration.
Award mayors (or acting mayors) the sole authority to propose draft budgets to their council. The previous point will allow mayors to work directly with staff on budget drafts that are consistent with mayoral priorities and commitments.
Replacing the mayor as the chair of council meetings is perhaps the most doable, and should be the easiest to implement, especially over budget meetings and allow mayors to opine on spending items that they may or may not be in favour of. It’s shocking that the mayor can’t at least provide general direction in the document that decides how their city’s money is to be spent.
If you allow the politician that has an elected mandate from across a municipality, more than the combined vote of all councillors in their ward races for the most part, to have more say in an important item like the budget, that at least provides a heightened sense of accountability to the voters.
I’m not saying these kind of proposals should be done for every single municipality; there are smaller communities where the existing structure may work, but for much larger cities with bigger and more complex issues to deal with in 2022, it makes little sense that the person leading those cities is constrained from doing job they were voted in to do.
Small town Ontario mayor calls it quits after 12 years
Another municipal leader in Ontario outside of the GTA is calling it in after over a decade as mayor, as the Town of Minto announced that Mayor George Bridge is retiring after 12 years in office.
Bridge made the retirement announcement during the March 1 council meeting, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and travelling to California to visit his daughter and grandchildren.
During his tenure as mayor, Bridge served a number of additional roles such as Wellington County Warden, a board member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Chair of the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus Economic Development Committee. His annual Mayor’s Charity Golf Tournament has assisted 38 local community groups and handed out over $117,000.00 to be used for various community projects.
“It has been an honour to work alongside a Mayor with such a passion for his community, and a dedication to public service. It has been a pleasure working with Mayor Bridge during my time as CAO in Minto, and I along with all of the staff here wish him all the best in his next chapter,” said Chief Administrative Officer Derrick Thomson.
Election runner-up appointed to vacant council position
Meanwhile also in Wellington County, a vacant council seat in the Township of Guelph/Eramosa has been filled by the second place runner up from the 2018 municipal election. The position of Ward 3 councillor became vacant after the incumbent, Louise Marshall, resigned.
Steve Liebig, a retired volunteer firefighter who previously co-owned the Foodland in Rockwood (one of the major communities in the ward and the township), was appointed to the vacant council seat.
Liebig, 53, ran for the first time in 2010 with 359 votes. He lost to John Scott who had 443 votes. He ran once again for the 2018 Ward 3 municipal elections and gained 556 votes, while Marshall had 711 votes.
A tale of two cities
Sometimes I read material from a non-profit organization called ‘Strong Towns’, which exists to push for local advocacy on building “better communities” that are not car dependent and more resilient in the long term. One story that caught my eye was about the growth of two cities in America: Asheville, North Carolina and Niagara Falls, New York (NOT Ontario).
I won’t go too much into the details, but just present three pictures that outlined the stark difference between the two cities. Below is Asheville before and after:
Below is Niagara Falls, New York in a similar comparison.
Finally, this chart shows the population changes from 1870 to 2016 between Asheville and Niagara Falls.
While one city, Asheville, concentrated on paying off its financial debts while preserving historical buildings, Niagara Falls did the opposite and started tearing them down.
The result was while Asheville was able to use existing assets for economic revitalization after solving the financial issues…while Niagara Falls continues to struggle despite being host to one of the most hotly visited tourist sites in the world.
Calgary councillor’s foot in mouth disease
Finally, it seems Calgary’s Ward 9 Councillor Gian-Carlo Carra recently had to issue a public apology over tweets he made “calling out” some of his colleagues for working with embattered fellow Calgary Councillor Sean Chu.
The Ward 4 incumbent was leveled with sexual assault allegations during his time as a Calgary police officer decades ago which came about just weeks before last year’s municipal election.
Both Chu and Carra won their reelection bids, but for most of election night their challengers were leading for most of the evening. Despite the controversy, Chu was reelected but has been limited in his role on certain committees; even Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek refused to personally swear him in for the new term.
Carra felt it was his place to be the “moral high ground” when it came to this controversy.
During a weekly live Twitter space, Livewire Calgary editor Darren Krause played Carra’s presser where he offered his extended apology. But what I got from listening to what the councillor said, he sounded more like he was giving a continued justification for the original offence…like one of those apologies that didn’t really sound like an apology.
For some additional context, here is Gian-Carlo Carra’s electoral record since 2010:
In 2010, Carra captured Ward 9 with 31% of the vote, beating 8 other people.
In 2013, Carra won reelection with 48% of the vote.
In 2017, Carra won reelection with 45% of the vote.
In 2021, Carra squeaked reelection with 35% of the vote, edging out challenger Naomi Withers by 161 votes; Withers led the polls for most of the night.
The man goes and promotes his ward as the “Brooklyn of Calgary”, yet apparently his own constituents are not exactly that fond of his presence. By contrast, neighbouring colleagues often get reelected with even 90% of the vote.
Maybe, Gian-Carlo, keep your arrogant brashness to a minimum?
If you like what you read, please give a follow by subscribing to get more #munipoli news sent directly to your inbox.