Can 2016 bring compromise to Brampton’s divided council?

Residents expecting action out of city hall on some big issues in 2016 are likely to be disappointed with a repeat of 2015.

Thestar.com
Jan. 3, 2016
By San Grewal

After a frustrating year for many city hall watchers in Brampton, with two opposing blocs emerging on council, putting local politics into gridlock, 2016 represents a critical time for the city’s future.

2015 went down as a year to forget, highlighted by council’s complete unwillingness to compromise on an LRT route for the city, jeopardizing up to $300 million in provincial funding. Several other key issues are now in the hands of a dysfunctional council.

“If we can lobby for a university, that would be fantastic,” says Sukhjot Naroo, founder of Brampton Beats, a social media group with more than 3,000 members focused on municipal politics.

“But council is so divided right now, whether it’s the LRT, the university or any other big issue. The fear that Brampton residents have is (that) personal politics have blocked out city building.”

Naroo supported Mayor Linda Jeffrey in the 2014 election and had high hopes for her. “But with so many big issues facing Brampton - crime, traffic, getting a university, the LRT, the need for better community facilities - a lot of us are wondering if we made the right decision (in 2014).”

Following the 14-year tenure of former mayor Susan Fennell, Brampton voters in 2014 desperately sought change, says Chris Bejnar, a spokesperson for the city hall watchdog group Citizens For a Better Brampton.

“Brampton has fallen far behind a lot of other GTA municipalities. We don’t have a downtown, to speak of; we are not attracting the types of employers other areas of the GTA are; development is still focused on the residential sector, with poor planning. None of these issues are new.

“People have been complaining about these things for years - the lack of a university, the failure to understand where an LRT should go.”

Bejnar also supported Jeffrey in the municipal election, but he says Brampton can’t afford another wasted year. “It’s nothing new. We saw so many wasted years with the last group - it took decades to decide where City Hall would be built, planning was taken over by developers, we watched other cities get transit and transportation funding. I think 2016 is the last chance for this council.”

Of the 11 members on council, seven - including Jeffrey - were newly elected in 2014. But two factions quickly emerged, with critics complaining that Jeffrey dictated how councillors Martin Medeiros, Gurpreet Dhillon and Pat Fortini voted on key issues. The four were in lock-step on many controversial issues.

Meanwhile, three veteran councillors - Elaine Moore, Grant Gibson and John Sprovieri - were joined by newcomers Jeff Bowman, Doug Whillans and Michael Palleschi as the group often voted against the mayor.

Councillor Gael Miles supported Jeffrey for much of the year, but broke ranks with her on key votes later on, such as a direction to pursue an LRT route other than the one Jeffrey aggressively lobbied for. Seven councillors voted to move on, asking staff to find an alternative route immediately, after the Main St. LRT option was voted down in October, but Jeffrey and her three loyal supporters refused to support the initiative to find another route.

“What worries me is that it’s going to be the same for every issue,” Bejnar says. “We really need a university and 2016 is a huge year for that decision. Will the entire city continue to suffer because of some egos on council?”

Naroo has the same concern, as the province is set to make a decision on a new university campus in 2016, with cities such as Milton also vying to get it.

“The mayor has put together a panel to get a university. Will council support her and the panel?” Naroo wonders. “But if she continues attacking them, that will just put more needs at risk. The federal government and the new infrastructure minister have said they want cities to come forward with requests. Will council be too busy fighting to go to Ottawa with a plan, maybe a new LRT route, highway expansion, extra money for the university?”

Naroo says councillors have one more year to show they deserved to be elected, to change the fortunes of Brampton.

“You can’t have leadership without consensus, without negotiation. I’m worried that, like the LRT issue, now council won’t negotiate on any issues. Every time council attacks each other, gives sermons to each other, it’s in poor taste. Council needs to speak less and listen more.”