#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 48 - A quick word about strong mayors
Plus, Vaughan might get their own mayor who used to hang out at Queen's Park and some other news
Welcome to another exciting edition of #munipoil Matters, where we go all in on covering the often under-reported area of municipal politics and local government.
August 19th has come and gone, which means Ontario’s 444 municipalities will have their official list of candidates in the upcoming October local elections. I’ll have more on the breakdown of those races in the coming weeks.
But for now, here’s a few previews and my thoughts on Premier Doug Ford’s latest proposals on municipal government.
Is Vaughan getting another former leader to run their city?
Former Liberal leader and provincial cabinet minister Steven Del Duca, who led the OLP to a disastrous 8 seat result in the June 2 election, is now running for mayor of the ‘city above Toronto,’ Vaughan.
Del Duca represented Vaughan from 2012-2018, and was unsuccessful in regaining his provincial seat, losing by a wide margin to Tory Michael Tibollo. Current Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua is not running for a fourth term.
The former Liberal chief’s path to political redemption mirrors former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath, who resigned her seat to seek the mayoralty in Hamilton…and Patrick Brown, who rebounded from his ouster as Ontario PC leader in 2018…straight into Brampton City Hall.
It's incredible to see Del Duca now positioning himself as a ‘champion of ending gridlock’, all the while decked out in a bright blue shirt. As Liberal leader, he campaigned heavily against building Highway 413, which would run from Vaughan out into Milton.
Can you imagine Del Duca and Ford standing next to each other, smiling until their faces hurt, putting the initial shovel in the ground when christening the beginning of Highway 413’s construction?
A word on ‘strong mayor powers’
There has been much commentary over the recent announcement that Premier Ford wants to implement ‘strong mayor’ powers for Toronto and Ottawa after this municipal election…and then to other large cities in the province.
Ford’s proposal would give mayors to draft their own budgets, veto powers over council approvals that go against provincial priorities, although councillors can override that veto with a two thirds vote. Supposedly the powers also would also allow mayors to advance priorities such as building housing…although how giving these powers to mayors would go about specifically to do that is unclear.
It isn’t some brand new idea that Ford happened to come across just the past week. Ford wrote in his 2016 autobiography that he admired the ‘strong mayor’ system that many American cities, such as Chicago, had in place which allowed the big city mayors down there to advance priorities and agendas more quickly.
With his background running his family business, having a system where one guy gets to ‘be the boss’ obviously would appeal to someone like Doug Ford. But there is an alternative that is more suited to the Canadian municipal context that I read in Policy Options magazine and that I highlighted a while ago.
This alternative also calls for strengthening the powers of mayors, but more out of ‘respect of the voters’ that elected them rather than the Ontario government’s line about getting more housing built. Here’s another quick rundown of those proposals:
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.
These ideas are almost identical to what Ford proposes, and they would be for municipalities with over 100,000 residents which could mean more than just what some defines as ‘big cities’. The only difference is the idea of having someone else chair council meetings so a mayor can debate on motions.
No matter if it is ‘strong mayor’ powers, veto powers, super powers or anything else, I think we can all agree that mayors should be able to have abilities to do their job the way voters who elected them expect them to.
In other news
Denver, Colorado: Over in the “Mile High City” of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, former Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO Kelly Brough announced she would be running for the mayor’s job. First elected in 2011, incumbent Michael Hancock is limited to three terms.
Brough serves as the President and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. She served as Chief of Staff to former mayor John Hickenlooper, who then went on to be Colorado’s governor before getting elected as U.S Senator. During her time in Denver's municipal government, Brough implemented Denver's pay for performance program and the city's 311 service.
Other candidates for Denver’s 2023 mayoral election include Marcus Giavanni, Ken Simpson, Jesse Lashawn Parris, Terrance Roberts, Ean Tafoya, Anne Burrell, Andre Rougeot, and Alex Cowans.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Two term city councilman and real estate developer Allan Domb may be on the verge of declaring his intentions to run for mayor of the “City of Brotherly Love”. Incumbent Jim Kenney, himself a former councilman who became Mayor in 2015, is term limited and cannot seek reelection in 2023.
The City of Philadelphia has a ‘resign to run’ provision in their city charter, whereby it requires city officeholders to quit their current job if they seek another office.
Other potential candidates besides Domb include City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, grocery store chain owner Jeff Brown, Councilmembers Cherelle Parker, Derek Green, Helen Gym and María Quiñones-Sánchez.
Prince George, BC: Mayor Lyn Hall is the latest mayor on the West Coast to declare he would not be running again.
Hall joins other long tenured BC mayors in not running again, such as New Westminster's Jonathan Coté, Abbotsford's Henry Braun, Kamloops' Ken Christian and Fort St. John's Lori Ackerman.
Resort Municipality of Stanley Bridge, Hope River, Bayview, Cavendish and North Rustico, PEI: Before the province’s other communities have their election later this fall, this ‘resort municipality’ held the first contested mayoral race in almost a decade, reelecting incumbent Mayor Matthew Jelley.
Jelley has been leading the community for almost a decade, first elected as chair of the rural municipality on PEI's North Shore in 2014. The title more recently was changed to mayor. He defeated Councillor Bill Drost to keep his job.
This election took place on August 8, and along with Jelley, six councillors were elected: Lee Brammer, George Clark Dunning, Kay Hryckiw, Linda Lowther Ryan Simpson and Chris Robinson.
Sudbury, ON: Mayor Brian Bigger has made it official. The former city Auditor General and two term incumbent will be running for a third time in another crowded field that includes a former MP, former councillor, several local business owners…and even an insurance broker!
West Kelowna, BC: First term councillor Jayson Zilkie is not running again, after first being elected in 2018. “My family and I have decided not to seek re-election to spend more time with family and serve our community in other ways, while we trust in the Lord’s plan for our future,” Zilkie said.
Cover photo from Steven Del Duca’s tweet.
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