#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 26 - Does Milton need new leadership?
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we dive into all the barely reported news on local elections across Canada and beyond. This week, let’s take a look at one of Canada’s fastest growing municipalities: Milton, Ontario.
Mayor Gord Krantz, 84, recently announced he intends to contest for a 14th term as head of the municipality he’s led since 1980. Krantz was first elected to town council in 1965, meaning he ‘s spent 57 years in municipal political office.
During 21 terms as councillor and mayor, Krantz surpassed Mississauga’s Hazel McCallion, who served as mayor from 1978-2014, as the longest serving mayor of an urban municipality while overseeing substantial growth. Milton has gone from just 10,000 people to over 132,000, according to the recent 2021 census.
“In support of democracy, my announcement and my intention to seek re-election gives people a choice. I love what I do,” Krantz told a local online publication. “There are always challenges and I’m always up for a challenge. Where you live, work and play, elected people like myself can have an impact on that.”
Halton Region’s recent decision to implement an urban growth boundary had Krantz and his colleagues incensed, citing how the boundary interferes with Milton’s own strategic growth plans in creating what they’ve called “complete communities”.
Certainly Krantz is entitled to do what he wants, but for a growing community with new residents moving in from places like Mississauga and Toronto, shouldn’t new leadership take the reins to reflect the times?
You don’t even need to do a whole ‘maverick outsider’ candidate; the current council is rife with members that have the experience and fresh thinking to serve as mayor in the coming decades.
Some current councillors that I think could be future Milton mayors are:
Regional Councillor Mike Cluett, who was elected as a town councillor in 2010, then as regional since 2014. Cluett also hosts a local TV show on public affairs.
Regional Councillor Zeeshan Hamid, who also has a tech background. Hamid also started as a local councillor before moving onto the regional level.
Town Councillor Sameera Ali, serving in her first term, although she is also currently running in the provincial election as the Liberal candidate in Milton .
Regional Councillors Colin Best and Rick Malboeuf, both of whom ran against Krantz for mayor in 1997 and 2003, respectively.
UPDATE: A source close to Cluett said the Ward 3 regional incumbent is discussing his options with residents and will be making a decision soon.
In other news
Elkford, BC: Mayor Dean McKerracher, who has served since 2005, announced he would not be running again, bringing an end to a two decade political career.
Toronto, ON: Doug Ford may have cut down the number of city council seats in half in the country’s largest city, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a wealth of talent that provincial parties draw from for candidates to bolster their ranks.
In fact, one of the latest councillors to run for provincial parliament is yet another Ford looking to break into Queen’s Park. Michael Ford, who currently represents Etobicoke North in city council, the same seat his late uncle Rob Ford once occupied, is running for the PCs in the adjacent riding of York South-Weston.
The riding is held by the NDP’s Faisal Hassan, who won YSW from the Liberals in 2018, with the Tories placing a strong second. But this riding on the municipal level has strong levels of support for the Ford brand. Ironically, Hassan previously ran for the federal NDP in Etobicoke North.
But while the NDP currently holds this seat, the levels of support for the Ford brand are quite strong. When Doug ran for mayor in 2014, he garnered some of his best results in ridings like YSW. Depending on where public opinion sways, Michael Ford stands a good chance of keeping the Ford family dynasty alive in Queen’s Park.
Meanwhile, in the downtown riding of Toronto Centre, the NDP incumbent Suze Morrison’s decision not to run again for health reasons has opened the door for Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, to run for the NDP in this riding, giving the party their best shot at maintaining this Liberal stronghold they picked up in the 2018 election. Wong-Tam has represented Toronto Centre on council since 2010.
Current Ontario municipal election rules require that if you are a municipal councillor, all you need to do is take an unpaid leave of absence if they are seeking a provincial or federal office such as MP or MPP, and can return to his old job should they not be successful.
That’s the path that’s available to Ford, but Wong-Tam announced they would not only NOT be seeking reelection this fall in the municipal election, they are leaving council as of May 4, 2022 as the anticipated writ is drawn up for the June 2 election.
With Joe Cressy leaving the Spadina-Fort York ward open as well, you have two downtown Toronto wards looking for new blood on City Council come this October. At least Mayor John Tory can breathe even easier now at another potential challenger (Wong-Tam) coming off the proverbial chess board.
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