Councillor Dave Kerwin questions Newmarket Mayor’s leadership

Yorkregion.com
June 6, 2016
By Chris Simon

Is there a growing rift on Newmarket council?

During a May 30 public planning meeting, Councillor Dave Kerwin blasted Mayor Tony Van Bynen for a perceived lack of leadership. It’s the latest in a string of incidents where Kerwin and others on council have openly questioned local governance.

Speaking from Winnipeg Saturday, where he and Van Bynen are attending a Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference, Kerwin expressed few regrets. He says the comments were spontaneous and based on the flow of the meeting, but admitted that questioning a mayor’s leadership ability is a “big step”.

“The council chambers were packed with young families, new residents to Newmarket and Canada,” he said. “I taught immigrants ... and I designed a course called Accessing the Canadian System… where I was trying to integrate new Canadians. What really upset me on Monday was the unfairness and injustice we presented to these people. They were becoming angry. We should have explained that process to them; the planning process is complex. We should have provided interpreters. My position is to be proactive; work with the residents to come up with a positive solution. I was just defending the residents. At that particular point, I didn’t feel there was the leadership that was necessary to provide transparency for those residents.

“We’re going through some dramatic economic changes and we’ve got some very serious issues to address. We’re going to have to provide new thinking, outside the boxes, sometimes unorthodox thinking, to handle orthodox problems. That’s just where I am right now.”

The public planning session dealt with a proposed .28-hectare block of townhomes at 16333 Leslie St. If approved, the project would include 10 four-storey townhouses standing 14 metres high. That’s well above the 11-metre height of other properties in the area.

Some residents in attendance worried about privacy while others felt they were misled when they purchased in the area years ago as the site was supposed to be used for a commercial plaza.

Kerwin expressed frustration and suggested Van Bynen was not properly informing the residents about the progress of the application and the next steps in the approval process.

“I know, Mr. Mayor, you’ll shut me down and cut me off because I’m not orthodox,” Kerwin said during the planning meeting. “How many people in this audience were born in Canada?”

“I don’t think that’s an appropriate comment,” Van Bynen said.

“I do, because these people do not understand the process,” Kerwin said, talking over Van Bynen as the crowd applauded loudly. “We should have informed them about the process before they came here. You never show leadership. That’s what’s wrong. Whenever you try to change something here ... I’m trying to help the residents and they should have been better informed before they came here. That’s part of the problem and that’s why you have confrontation.”

A visibly agitated Kerwin stood and gestured his hands between Van Bynen and the audience, before urging the mayor to toss him from the meeting - a request Van Bynen did not bite on.

“It was a poorly conducted meeting, as far as I’m concerned,” Kerwin said.

Again, Van Bynen tried to speak.

“The process is to inform people,” he said.

“You didn’t inform them (be)cause they can hardly speak English,” Kerwin said.

While Kerwin’s outburst was probably the most overt by a sitting councillor this term, there have been signs for months that this council may not align on a few key issues.

On downtown parking, for instance, Van Bynen sparred with several members of council, including Kerwin and Regional Councillor John Taylor, over the expansion of the lot behind Cachet restaurant. Councillor Jane Twinney has also openly questioned the “fear mongering” being conducted by her peers over of the health of Hollingsworth Arena, and Councillor Joe Sponga called for the firing of consultants and contractors working on the oft-delayed Old Town Hall project.

Kerwin and Councillor Christina Bisanz have both taken issue with the number of empty York Region Transit and Viva buses on Newmarket roadways - Taylor and Van Bynen have seats on regional council, which oversees local public transportation networks.

The parking issue caused Van Bynen to go out of his way to mention that council can ‘respectfully disagree’ over matters. It’s not the first time he’s used that phrase this term.

“That was a long day,” Van Bynen said, in an interview from Winnipeg late last week. “We started at 1:30 (p.m.) and had a lot of very meaty items on the agenda. One of the things I enjoy about our council is that we’re able to have differences of opinion, express those and do that because we all care passionately about our community. I’m going to accept his comments at face value with the intent of making a positive contribution toward the discussion. Sometimes, in the course of a long day, you’re going to say things that come out of frustration. We exchange ideas. We don’t always agree. That leads to better decisions and perspectives. There was a lot of frustration and concern being expressed by residents because of the nature of the change. The challenge for me is to make sure we keep the meeting on focus. We need to set our personal feelings aside and do what’s best for the community.”

Van Bynen admitted he had not talked to Kerwin in the period between Monday’s meeting and his interview with The Era.

Taylor believes Kerwin’s comments were not premeditated, but declined to comment on the confrontation further, calling it an “issue almost of a personal nature”. But Councillor Joe Sponga, who did not attend Monday’s planning meeting, noted Van Bynen has provided steady leadership during a time of transition for the municipality.

“Mayor Van Bynen has ... had to tackle some very important issues for our community,” Sponga said. “The transition is occurring so rapidly from every facet. There are so many priorities that need to be addressed. You have to pick and choose your priorities. Up until this point, Tony’s done a good job.”