Mayors should vote with their town councils, York University political science professor says

yorkregion.com
Feb. 25, 2016
By Lisa Queen

When four York Region mayors voted against Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard’s private member’s bill advocating for an elected regional chair - even though their local councils supported it - it raised an interesting question.

Should mayors vote in favour of the wishes of their local councils if they disagree or according to their own conscience?

According to the Municipal Act, a mayor, as chief executive officer of a municipality, shall uphold and promote the purposes of the municipality.

Last week at regional council, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti, Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen, Aurora Mayor Geoff Dawe and East Gwillimbury Mayor Virginia Hackson voted contrary to the positions their local council had taken on Ballard’s bill, although they did agree to look at the idea of an elected chair as part of a governance review.

Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Justin Altmann was the only mayor whose municipality had considered the issue who voted in favour of Ballard’s bill at regional council, which mirrored his vote at local council.

The issue had not come up at local councils in Georgina, King, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

Municipal politics is different than politics at the provincial and federal levels, as there is no party system requiring councillors to vote according to a party platform, York University political science professor Robert MacDermid said.

Mayors and councillors are free to vote according to their conscience.

Mayors and regional councillors aren’t mandated to vote at regional council as their local councils have if they disagree, he added.

At the same time, MacDermid feels they should follow the leads of their councils, particularly if the local vote was overwhelming. For example, all Aurora councillors supported Ballard’s bill.

“I think they probably should carry out the will of the council to the next level. That seems like it would make sense,” he said.

“It is a democracy. The mayor sat and deliberated on the issue at council as one voter amongst a number.

“That’s the unusual thing about municipal politics, the mayor has no extra power, except over the agenda, but only has one vote.

“They presumably discussed it in a democratic fashion and then arrived at a decision and the mayor, in that sense, is bound by the decision in the municipality and probably should, when they carry that same issue forward, should probably represent that decision at the regional level.”

The four mayors argue they quite rightly voted according to their consciences.

Because they are directly elected to regional council, voters heard their views on regional issues, including their opposition to electing the regional chair, during election campaigns and voted them in knowing their positions.

When it comes to regional issues, they aren’t just puppets of their local councils, they said.

“My vote in both the Newmarket chambers and the regional chambers is consistent with what I believe to be in the best interests of my constituents for both levels of government. In both discussions, I indicated that while I respect the position of my colleagues, I cannot support the motion at this time” Van Bynen said.

“I believe that the question of electing the regional chair directly should be part of the larger review and not considered at this time. We need to know the changes that the province is contemplating and have the benefit of our own governance review to make an informed decision, before I am prepared to support (Ballard’s bill).”

Dawe agrees a governance review will address a number of issues at the region, including difficulties municipalities with only one representative face, rather than just singling out the elected chair matter.

Whether a mayor should support a local council decision at the region if he or she disagrees is a complex issue, Dawe said.

“That’s a rather gray question to which you are seeking a black and white answer,” he said, adding he is directly elected to regional council to make the decisions he feels are in the best interests of the town and the region.

“So, while I do take the considerations of (town) councillors very seriously, I am obligated to weigh that against other facts that they may not be aware of as they do not sit at the regional table, and then make a decision that I feel to be in the best interest of Aurora as a whole. I believe that all information must be considered at the time of the vote and a decision should be made based on the needs of the community I represent,” he said.

Voters were aware of Scarpitti’s position on the regional chair during past elections and voted him in, the Markham mayor said.

While he is willing to defend Markham council’s position on purely local issues he disagrees with at regional council, he said he should rely on his own beliefs and experiences when he is voting on multi-jurisdictional issues.

Even though the chair is not directly elected by voters, the position is chosen by elected mayors and regional councillors who choose the person they feel will lead them best, Scarpitti said.

A decision on electing the regional chair needs to happen after the governance review and after the province spells out its intentions on broader municipal issues, said Hackson, adding East Gwillimbury is also carrying out its own electoral review.

While Markham Councillor Joe Li, who put forward the motion supporting Ballard’s bill, agrees mayors should have the right to vote according to their conscience, he also believes they should strongly consider supporting decisions of their local councils.

“Personally, I don’t want to dispute their own choice, but maybe if most of my council members have voted differently than what I want, then maybe it’s time for me to reflect and think deeply. Maybe it’s the right thing to do. This is my personal opinion,” he said.

Getting past the complexities of the Municipal Act and mayors wearing local and regional hats, the region should take the issue of an elected chair to the public, MacDermid said.

“Beyond that, they should just have a referendum. Why don’t they go to the people and get rid of all this silliness? Just have a referendum at the next municipal election,” he said.

“Or better still, just go ahead and do it because virtually every other regional municipality... has done it. Why they’re not doing that is because they understand most people would be in favour of an elected chair. All of this just seems to be a way of sidelining what the people want.”