Motion to make York Region chair elected coming this fall

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 14, 2015
By Lisa Queen

Frustrated with backroom wheeling and dealing in advance of the appointment of York Region’s chairperson, Markham Councillor Joe Li wants to make the job an elected position.

He will bring in a motion this fall asking regional council to advise the province it wants the chairperson’s job to be elected in time for the next term of council following the 2018 municipal elections.

“I’m working on that. When I was campaigning for re-election (last year), a lot of people asked me why the regional chair is not elected, so I made a pledge if re-elected, I will make sure it’s going to happen,” said Li, adding Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Justin Altmann has indicated he will second the motion.

“The reason I’m doing it is (because) this is an important position. I believe in democratic (election of the chairperson). I believe it’s time the chair should be elected. When it’s appointed, there’s (could be) a lot of backroom deals. If its appointed, you have to make deals. If it’s elected, you go straight to the people.”

The chairperson, who earns more than $200,000 a year, is now appointed to a four-year term by the region’s 19 mayors and regional councillors.

Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard, who has introduced a private member’s bill at Queen’s Park to make the position elected, said he would welcome Li’s motion.

“We don’t need a motion from the region. However, if regional council took it upon itself to request this change of the minister (of municipal affairs, Ted McMeekin), it would expedite the change, absolutely,” he said.

“Higher levels of government don’t always like to impose things on lower-level governments. I think our minister - we all - would be much happier if the region came to us and said, ‘We see the writing on the wall; this is what we want to do’, and they took the initiative.”

If the region passed a motion, it would make his private member’s bill unnecessary, said Ballard, who plans to have conversations with councillors about the issue this fall.

With a population of 1.1 million and $2-billion annual operating budget, York should have an elected chair, Ballard said.

“I think it really is fundamental democracy. Here we have a position that is perhaps the most powerful political position in the Region of York and it’s not elected.,” Ballard said.

“If you look at the powers of the chair, the chair’s influence on policy, on budgets, on appointments, it’s a huge position. It’s a very influential position. I think it’s very simple that people need to vote for that position. We need to know where candidates stand on the issues ... I think as voters in York Region, we deserve that.”

Regional chairperson Wayne Emmerson opposes making the position elected because many residents do not understand the chairperson’s role.

He also believes the mayors and regional councillors want to choose the person they want to lead them to represent the interests of the region as a whole.

Council has not adopted a motion requesting the province make the position elected because Queen’s Park had indicated it would review the issue on a province-wide basis, Emmerson said.

However, Emmerson, who said he would run if the job is made an elected position, said he would accept a motion from council on this or any issue.

Newmarket Regional Councillor John Taylor, who lost to Emmerson last December, said there are some reasons against having an elected chair, but the positives outweigh the negatives.

“I am concerned with the focus it might put on the south of the region, where the bulk of the population is,” he said.

“Having said that, I believe there are more pros than cons and I support York Region moving to an elected chair.

“I strongly believe, as I have said in the past, that the process should include a great deal of public consultation and it should involve other reforms to elections and governances at the regional level.”

Markham Regional Councillor Jim Jones, who backed out of the chairperson’s race just in advance of the vote last December, said he also supports having an elected chair.

Ballard dismissed concerns related to having an elected chair, including the fact significant funding needed to bankroll a bid could restrict the race to a contest among wealthier candidates and worries about the heavily populated southern three municipalities dominating the field.

“It’s about the quality of the message. It’s about the quality of the candidate, not about how much money they spend,” he said.

“I think people (might) look beyond voting for someone simply from their own community.”