Former Liberal cabinet minister Del Duca to run for chair of York Region

Thestar.com
June 19, 2018
Robert Benzie

Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Del Duca is running to be the first elected chair of York Region, the Star has learned.

Del Duca, who represented Vaughan at Queen’s Park from 2012 until the June 7 provincial election, will officially submit his papers to register as a municipal candidate later this week.

“It’s time to make sure we have dynamic and strong leadership at the region, but also someone who understands the critical importance of collaboration,” he said in an interview Monday.

While Del Duca lost his provincial seat to Progressive Conservative Michael Tibollo when Doug Ford’s Tories wiped out Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals earlier this month, he said he still wants to serve York Region.

“I love York Region, lived here now 31 years; my wife and I are raising our young daughters here. It’s a fantastic place, it’s dynamic, it’s diverse, it’s got a very strong economy and lots of opportunities,” the departing economic development minister said.

“But there are still some challenges. I believe gridlock is the number one challenge that our residents and our business owners face and I think we need to continue to invest in that transportation infrastructure -- all forms of it.”

As a former transportation minister, Del Duca presided over the extension of the TTC subway network into York Region with the Spadina line coming to Vaughan and the expansion of GO Transit services.

He was also instrumental in convincing Wynne last year to stop Toronto Mayor John Tory’s proposal to place tolls on the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway.

“I have dedicated much of my career to helping York Region residents spend less time in traffic and more time with family and friends,” he said, adding he also believes in extending the Yonge subway line north.

“I want to continue making sure our region moves more effectively and efficiently, and that means building Yonge North and making sure we invest in our regional roads as we grow.”

Wayne Emmerson, the current first-term York Region chair, and former Thornhill Liberal MPP Mario Racco have already registered to run for the job in the Oct. 22 election.

Last year, Queen’s Park made legislative changes to allow for the direct election of chairs in York and Peel Region as was already happening in Halton, Durham, and Waterloo. Previous York and Peel chairs were appointed.

Del Duca emphasized his bid will be multi-partisan -- his campaign manager is veteran Liberal Tom Allison, who helped Wynne become premier and Tory become mayor, and his deputy campaign manager is Dimitri Soudas, a top adviser to former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.

“I believe that we are at our best when we work together as a team.”

He is not the only high-profile provincial politician making a move to the municipal scene.

As first disclosed by the Star on May 17, former Tory leader Patrick Brown is being wooed to run as Peel Region’s elected chair.

Brown, who did not seek re-election on June 7, lives in Mississauga and is widely seen as a front-runner for that post.