Mayor John Tory praised and criticized over committee appointments that tilt toward suburbs

Thestar.com
December 13, 2018
Gilbert Ngabo

Mayor John Tory’s move Wednesday to appoint various councillors in key positions for the new council term has drawn both praise and criticism from across the city.

“We are disappointed that the mayor has not used the committee appointments to balance interests across the city,” said Michal Hay, executive director of Progress Toronto, one of dozens of community organizations that have been pushing for equitable geographic representation on the city’s committees and boards.

A spokesperson for Mayor John Tory defended his choices for key committee positions, saying he is recommending councillors who want to implement the agenda that voters elected him to deliver. Among those on Tory’s powerful executive committee is Councillor and Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, left.

On the other hand, Cameron MacLeod, executive director for the transit advocacy group Code Red, applauded the mayor for his choice of the new TTC chair, Jaye Robinson, whose Ward 15 Don Valley West includes “some of the most congested portions of Line 1.”

Pending approval from city council, Tory’s new executive committee will be made up of himself plus seven councillors --none of whom represent a downtown core ward --Frances Nunziata (Ward 5, York South—Weston), Denzil Minan-Wong (Ward 16, Don Valley East), Gary Crawford (Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest), Michael Thompson (Ward 21, Scarborough Centre), James Pasternak (Ward 6, York Centre), Paul Ainslie (Ward 24, Scarborough-Guildwood) and Ana Bailao (Ward 9, Davenport).

Hay especially decried the lack of women appointed, noting there was only one woman named as standing committee chair (Bailao for planning and housing, joining Nunziata as the only two women on the executive committee).

The mayor “had an opportunity to create inclusive and balanced leadership and he chose not to,” said Hay.

MacLeod, meanwhile, hopes the appointment of Robinson as TTC chair can help improve awareness of the issues facing the urban core transit network, given “the upheaval expected” this term with the province looking for a subway takeover.

“It will be important for the new chair to ensure they have a complete understanding of the highest-priority needs of the transit system, and where the biggest bang for the buck will come from,” he said.

CityPlace Residents Association president Gary Pieters said he was happy to see downtown progressive Councillor Joe Cressy be the mayor’s designate at Waterfront Toronto, describing him as “someone who understands the issues there.”

Pieters also said he was “ecstatic” for the appointment of Councillor Thompson as one of four deputy mayors, because “it’s been a long time since we had a Black deputy mayor in the city.”

A fair geographic representation on all of the city committees is important for young people, said Riley Peterson, director of council relations on Toronto Youth Cabinet. She said there are many young students who live on campuses in the downtown core --Ryerson, University of Toronto and OCAD among others --and it’s “disappointing” that many of these key appointments are Tory’s allies from the suburbs.

“You can count on the youth cabinet continuing to advocate for a better representation and getting involved in the city budget process,” she said.

In a statement to the Star, Tory spokesperson Don Peat defended the mayor’s choices, saying Tory is recommending councillors who want to implement the agenda that voters elected him to deliver.

“The Mayor is relying on councillors who helped him deliver his agenda over the last four years and he has also reached out to councillors, including some who represent downtown wards, who want to work with him,” he said.

Peat said over 90 per cent of committee appointments were councillors’ first or second choices. He touted Cressy’s designation on Waterfront Toronto and Paula Fletcher on CreateTO, both of which positions will be crucial to city-building and housing initiatives during this council term, he said.

All four community councils will have a representative at the city’s executive committee as well as other standing committees --except at the planning and housing committee, where five of its six members are from the Toronto and East York community council, Peat noted.