Race for York Region chairperson off to slow start

Yorkregion.com
May 1, 2014
By Sean Pearce

Whitchurch-Stouffville Mayor Wayne Emmerson remains the only politician who has declared an interest in replacing retiring York Region CEO and chairperson Bill Fisch, but that doesn’t mean he’s not expecting competition.

Mr. Emmerson announced his intention to seek the chairperson gig in October and noted the new council term is still several months away.

“I think there will be more people coming forward,” Mr. Emmerson said. “You’ll likely have to wait until after the election before we see any others.”

In 2012, Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti didn’t rule out the possibility of going after the chairperson position and he has yet to file for re-election. Earlier this week, Mr. Scarpitti said he intends to seek another four years in the mayor’s chair and will make his intentions official in May.

Maurizio Bevilacqua quashed speculation about his intentions last month when he stated his plan to stand for re-election.

That being said, a candidate running for re-election and then seeking the chairperson spot isn’t unheard of, Mr. Emmerson explained, noting it has happened before. For the record, Mr. Emmerson stated he wouldn’t seek another term as mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville shortly after the last election.

It’s not fair to be elected to a council position, leave it for the chairperson job and then have your local municipality scramble to replace you, he added.

In any event, the election of the next regional chairperson will occur at the inaugural council meeting scheduled for Dec. 11, according to regional spokesperson Patrick Casey.

Each candidate for the post will require a written nomination signed by a mover and seconder from among the members of council present at the meeting.

To even be considered for the job, you need to be a York resident and an owner or tenant of land in the region or the spouse of such a person. You must also be at least 18, a Canadian citizen and eligible to vote in the municipal election.

Once the nominations close, each mover, seconder and nominee, in the alphabetical order of nominees’ surnames, are allowed to speak to the nomination for up to five minutes. If there is only one nominee, a that individual is acclaimed as regional chairperson, but if there’s more than one, it comes down to a vote.

Council decides if the decision is made via open recorded vote or secret ballot. An open vote is done in the order of names drawn by lot by the regional clerk.

To win, a nominee must receive a majority of the votes from the members present. If there are more than two nominees and no nominee receives a majority vote, the nominee with the least number of votes is dropped off the next ballot until someone wins a majority.

In the event of a tie vote between two remaining nominees, a 10-minute recess is held, followed by another vote. If the tie holds for three votes, then a recess is called until the following day until a nominee is appointed.

Last year, Oak Ridges-Markham MPP Dr. Helena Jaczek introduced a private member’s bill aimed at making York’s chairperson elected, rather than appointed. It passed its first reading Feb. 28, 2013 and second reading June 6, but has been awaiting a date with the standing committee on the legislative assembly ever since.

Its fate at this point is uncertain.

With rumours of a possible spring election in the air, it’s possible the bill could die before it gets its third reading. Even if it does get passed into law, it won’t come into effect until the 2018 municipal election at the earliest.