East Gwillimbury to add 2 councillors, move to hybrid ward system

yorkregion.com
June 7, 2017
By Simon Martin

Buckle up for the 2018 municipal election East Gwillimbury; major changes are coming.

Council has endorsed changes in principal to the electoral system including adding two councillors and moving to a ward system after a lengthy electoral review process spanning the last year.

The hybrid system proposed by Councillor Tara Roy-DiClemente would include four ward councillors and two at-large councillors. If ratified, the change would bump the size of East Gwillimbury council from five member to seven members.

The system seemed like a reasonable compromise between a ward and an at-large system after it became clear there was no consensus from the public, Mayor Virginia Hackson said. With East Gwillimbury’s population set to spike, Hackson said it was important to make changes now for the future.

Public split on if East Gwillimbury should move to a ward system“To stay with the status quo would do a disservice to both the people coming into the community and those existing residents as well,” she said.

The difficulty with making a decision like this one for Roy-DiClemente was there was no clear cut right answer. The difference between and a ward system comes down to personal preference, she said.

“It makes sense for us to try something. To take step to a ward system but not necessarily dive in fully,” she said.

The decision wasn’t without disagreement. The vote to endorse the hybrid system passed 3-2 with councillors James Young and Marlene Johnston voting against the move. Young said the electoral review had given council a very muddied path forward.

“There is no clear path to an answer. If there is no clear way, don’t change your course until you have found a clear way,” he said. Young also said he didn’t support adding two members to council.

Johnston, the elder statesman on East Gwillimbury council, did not like the hybrid system that was endorsed.

 “I feel like there has not been any compelling reason put forward for any change at this time,” she said. “I’m very disappointed that there is so much interest from members of council in rushing to make a change in that.”

The system council endorsed was not one suggested by consultants who performed the electoral review or town staff.

The electoral review consultants the town hired recommended council move to a ward system that would feature three wards - Holland Landing, Queensville-Sharon and Mount Albert-rural - in the 2018 election, with two councillors each. In the following election in 2022, there would be five wards, as the Holland Landing and Queensville-Sharon wards would be split and the Mount Albert rural ward would remain intact.

Town staff responded to the consultants' report earlier this year with a report recommending East Gwillimbury not move to a ward system in 2018, but add two more at-large councillors. At the time, Town clerk Fernando Lamanna said the preferred option of a ward system was confusing because boundaries had to change after one election.

Town staff said they would need some time to figure out ward boundaries for the four wards. Staff will come back to council later this year with a detailed report about how the new system will work.

The fact the council endorsed a recommendation that hadn’t looked at ward boundaries for four wards was concerning to Young. “I’m getting the feeling like we are making it up as we are going on,” he said. “I find it a little bit concerning.”

According to the staff report it would cost approximately $140,000 to add two additional council members. The current cost per councillor would be approximately $70,000 inclusive of salary and benefits, office furniture and hardware, and expense allocation.

At public meeting in April, about 70 residents offered council a mixed response about their favoured way of moving forward.

Holland Landing resident Don Howard was adamant he didn’t want a ward system. “Right now I have four reps on council that I can go to if I have a problem. I don’t want it to be reduced to one,” he said.

There were several others who espoused support for the status quo. Resident Bruce Robitaille said it would be best if council did nothing, citing a 2010 ballot question on the issue. “The electorate told you to leave it alone. Nobody can say one system is better than the other,” he said.

For a lot of Mount Albert residents at the meeting, the problem was very apparent. When longtime councillor and Mount Albert resident Cathy Morton ran for mayor and lost in 2014 it left the area without a resident on council. “I am from Mount Albert. We don’t feel we have councillor. I do support a ward system. We want someone from our area to represent us,” Mary McIntosh said.

For more information about the electoral review visit eastgwillimbury.ca