Two senior Vaughan bureaucrats retiring, third leaves to join York Region
City solicitor and city clerk are hanging up their hats while former deputy city manager of public works returned to region in October

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 16, 2016
Adam Martin-Robbins  

Two senior bureaucrats, who combined have served the City of Vaughan for nearly 40 years, are hanging up their hats, while a third senior staffer has gone back to work for his former employer.

City solicitor Heather Wilson dispensed her final legal advice to council Tuesday, Dec. 12 after working for the municipality since 1988.

“If I counted all the committee and council meetings that I’ve been to over the years, it would add up probably to 1,600 meetings. I remember some with great debate and some with contentious issues, but those are the inspiring aspects of local government — they were for me,” said Wilson, who was named director of legal services in 1997 and city solicitor in 2015.

“I’ve served 10 councils and I want to thank council for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Vaughan. I couldn’t have done it without all the wonderful lawyers and the staff in the legal and real estate departments and all of the great colleagues who are dedicated, who’ve done it with me.”  

Wilson said she cannot remember a time during her years of service when the city wasn’t “booming.”

“Rapid change was always a constant and I’m sure Vaughan will continue to grow by leaps and bounds,” she said. “I’m proud to have been a part of Vaughan’s journey.”

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua lauded Wilson, saying she represents “the finest qualities of what public service is truly all about.”

“She’s seen a lot of change over the years and played a key role in every subdivision and development that has occurred and purchase and sale of lands for the city over the past three decades,” he said. “Heather has been at the forefront of Vaughan’s tremendous growth and witnessed the transformation of the Town of Vaughan into a vibrant urban centre.”

The recruitment process to replace Wilson is underway, according to a city spokesperson.

City Clerk Jeffrey Abrams, who joined the municipality nearly nine years ago, is following in Wilson’s footsteps. He is slated to retire Feb. 24.

Deputy City Clerk Barbara McEwan, who has worked for Vaughan since 2013 and has 30 years of experience in municipal and provincial government, will be filling his shoes.

Word that Wilson and Abrams are retiring comes just a few months after the Region of York announced it had hired Vaughan’s former deputy city manager of public works, Paul Jankowski, to serve as its new commissioner of transportation services.

Before joining the City of Vaughan in 2011 as commissioner of engineering and public works, Jankowski spent 12 years working at the Region of York.

His new position there opened up when Daniel Kostopoulos left to become Vaughan’s city manager in the spring.

Stephen Collins, who is replacing Jankowski as Vaughan’s deputy city manager of public works starting Jan. 2, also worked for the Region of York.

He most recently served as the region’s acting commissioner of transportation services as well as director of infrastructure management and project management office.