Audience applause signals new era in Richmond Hill politics
7 returning council members, 2 rookies take oath of office

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 2, 2014
By  Kim Zarzour

If applause could tell a story, then the audience reaction at last night’s inaugural meeting of council related a saga of heroic proportions.

As the new mayor and council took their seats at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, about 600 people in the audience roared with approval, later sharing bear hugs and tears in the jam-packed lobby.

It was, Deputy Mayor Vito Spatafora said, “a culmination of the democratic process”.

It was also the culmination of a messy, prolonged election that some say stripped away any lasting vestige of smalltown innocence for this town of 200,000.

Several times during the two-hour swearing in ceremony, the audience erupted into cheers: when returning Mayor Dave Barrow received his chain of office, when newcomer Ward 5 Councillor Karen Cilevitz was introduced, and when Ward 6 Councillor Godwin Chan said residents demand respectful councillors who work together for residents.

While voters did not elect an entirely new slate in the Oct. 27 election — just two rookie councillors were sworn in Monday night — there was still a sense of a new era dawning among the nine council members, their family and friends.

The evening began with a cheeky spoken-word performance by slam poet Sterling Dillinger.

“Your community needed you. They never asked you for help but you spotted opportunity and put out your hand to assist,” he said.

After Rabbi Mendel Bernstein, of Chabad Romano Centre, gave his blessing to set them on the right path and they each took the official oath of office, councillors each took to the podium for their inaugural addresses.

It was a chance for the newly elected and re-elected to show another, softer side, after a grueling campaign.

Barrow, re-elected for his third term as mayor with 64 per cent of votes, reminded the audience that the Conference Board of Canada deemed Richmond Hill a top Canadian community.

 “Our town is about people and their wellbeing … and a sense of belonging to a community and I feel that we have that sense in our town. It is a community of shared values and shared aspirations, but shared responsibilities also.”

Spatafora, re-elected as deputy mayor with the highest number of votes, saluted other candidates for their courage to run for office and praised the clerk’s office for managing a difficult election.

Expense scandals, conflict charges and controversy marred local politics, beginning well in advance of the 10-month official campaign process, with former Councillor Carmine Perrelli — who made a run for mayor — often at the centre.

The dissension continued right up until a week before the election when an Ontario Superior Court judge demanded a former mayoral candidate repay Barrow $50,000 in legal fees stemming from a failed conflict-of-interest court bid.

But aside from repeated references to the need for respect going forward, and a quiet protest in the theatre lobby by David Dunlap Observatory activist Toomas Karmo, most participants seem prepared to put troubles behind them.

Several former politicians were acknowledged in the crowd: former mayor Al Duffy, former school trustee Jane Robertson, former councillor Doug Smith, former reeve Ron Praxton – and a tip of the hat was directed at former regional councillor Lois Hancey watching the ceremony on livestream.

The two outgoing councillors, Perrelli and Nick Papa, were not to be seen.

“I very much look forward to the next four years when we will rebuild the losses we’ve had in the past,” said re-elected Regional Councillor Brenda Hogg, referring to the “disconnect” among staff and council.

“With the applause to begin this new term of council we knew that you have placed tremendous faith in us.”

Greg Beros, re-elected to Ward 1, told those who are “geographically challenged” that he represents “the little community we call Oak Ridges … one of my favourite places in Richmond Hill”, calling his ward a microcosm of the town.

Rookie politician Tom Muench spoke of the competitive race he faced in Ward 2 — a “unique situation” created when incumbent Perrelli chose early on to run for mayor.

Muench defeated eight other candidates vying for the post.

“I am very humbled, excited, proud, nervous and I feel a tremendous responsibility and I take it very seriously,” he said.

Re-elected to Ward 3, Castro Liu said he looks forward to a new direction on council fighting for safety, public transit and a stronger community.

David West, appointed last fall to represent Ward 4 when incumbent Lynn Foster moved away, said that in this, his first, election campaign, he was inspired to see how many people care deeply about the town.

“We are currently at a crossroads in our history,” he said. “No longer a small town and not really a big city, either”, but he is confident that growth challenges — traffic, density, taxation, greenspace and village core preservation — will continue to be addressed with citizen input.

Cilevitz generated the loudest audience response when she took to the podium and said that attaining voters’ faith and trust was one of her greatest lifetime achievements.

Cilevitz attended every council and committee meeting over the past four years, to become well known by town staff and council members. She pledged to serve residents in partnership, with honour and distinction.

“As a community we share a common foundation whose strength depends on mutual respect and understanding,” she said.

Councillor Godwin Chan, re-elected for his third term representing Ward 6, elicited a roar of approval when he said he heard “loud and clear” that residents want a council that is respectful of each other.

“We really need to work together to make balanced and responsible decisions,” he said.

In closing, Barrow turned to his new council with advice that they now share a responsibility to lead by example.

“It is evident,” he said, “voters have chosen carefully and very well.”