Richmond Hill municipal election candidates face tough questions

Wards 1 and 2 residents want to know about taxes, transit and troublesome behaviour

YorkRegion.com
October 11, 2018
Kim Zarzour

There was pride and community spirit on display at the recent Richmond Hill all-candidates meeting, but also, there was frustration.

Frustration with rising taxes, public spending and the behaviour --and misbehaviour --of elected councillors.

The event, held Oct. 3 at the Oak Ridges Community Centre, focused on the two hotly contested wards 1 and 2, which covers the north half of Richmond Hill and the central core east of Yonge Street.

The meeting opened with introductions by the candidates, (all attended except Ward 2’s Keith Menezes), followed by questions from the audience and panel.

Discussion touched on a multitude of topics, from marijuana to the environment to the lack of a high school in Oak Ridges.

Emotions flared in the overflowing crowd when it came to the issue of taxes and town spending and over the issue of councillor behaviour.

One question posed by a member of the audience drew laughter, applause and a chorus of “oohs.”

“If an elected official has been publicly reprimanded and/or sanctioned with pay suspension for breaches to the Code of Conduct, do you feel that elected official should continue or seek to continue in that position?”

Last May, Tom Muench, the Ward 2 councillor seeking re-election, was investigated, then publicly reprimanded and docked pay after the integrity commissioner found he breached the conduct code for speaking forcefully to another councillor and for misleading constituents.

The integrity commissioner also recommended a 30-day pay suspension for “abusive behaviour” toward a former assistant and for allegedly diverting town-directed funds meant to pay for election signs.

Muench, however, did not admit to any wrongdoing.

In response to the question, Ward 1 candidate Trifon Haitas said, “if there is misconduct on the part of the official then they should step aside.”

“It depends on the breaches,” Ward 1 candidate Lidia Kafieh responded. “I think there should be levels and then a removal of the councillor.”

Incumbent Greg Beros --who in the past faced investigations and sanctions over Respect in the Workplace Policy violations --said if someone is convicted of a criminal act, does their time and now seeks to be a productive member of society, they have fulfilled their punishment.

“I think we should demonstrate grace and say the person has done their time they’ve taken their discipline, now let’s watch and see their future behaviour,” he said.

Ward 2 candidate Scott Thompson agreed --but only in cases where the councillor has taken full responsibility for wrongdoing.

Ward 1 candidate Carol Davidson said she has been “disgusted” with behaviour at town hall in recent years.

“If you’re going to take on the public responsibility of representing people you need to sign a Code of Conduct and if that’s breached, it goes to the legal department. ... But the public has the right to know about the behaviour of our officials,” she added. There were sexual harassment allegations against Beros and a subsequent lawsuit.

“If I was in a position as you described, it’s simple,” said Ward 2 candidate Michael Aziz. “I stick to my values of honesty and transparency. If I’ve lost the confidence of council, it’s a no-brainer, I’d resign … If I can’t work with my colleagues, what makes me think I can work serving the residents?”

“It’s a high honour to represent the people that you live with,” replied Ward 2 candidate Mike Rajbar. “If you do anything to tarnish that privilege, the right thing to do is step down. It’s not a legal thing, not a Code of Conduct thing, it’s just the right thing to do.”

“The Code of Conduct and rule of law are mutually exclusive,” Muench said. “If somebody says ‘I’d like someone to help me build a snowman’ and someone says ‘oh my God that’s a Code of Conduct breach,’ some people might say that’s overzealous, others may not … Some people might say if the prime minister was here, the prime minister should speak first. Others might say ‘I’m the local councillor, I should speak first.’ If you want to politicize that … and council says there’s a breach and they did for political reasons, I would say that public policy and public good and rule of law should be paramount over political pondering … So I would say Code of Conduct, absolutely not; breaking of the law, absolutely.”

There was also reference in the discussion to whether candidates running for Ward 1 actually live in the ward.
Under the Municipal Act, candidates are not required to live in the ward they are seeking to represent, but they do need to be residents or property owners in the municipality or are the spouse of residents and owners.

Two of the four Ward 1 candidates --Carol Davidson and Trifon Haitas --told YorkRegion.com they live in Ward 1.

Lidia Kafieh said she currently lives in Ward 3 but is seeking to move to Ward 1 to care for her aging mother who lives there. Other family members live in Oak Ridges as well, she added.

Greg Beros, the incumbent councillor, would not answer the question directly.

Instead, he repeated “I have lived in Oak Ridges for 43 years” and “I am a taxpayer.”