Mayor Bonnie Crombie loses two key staff members

Mississauga.com
Feb. 2, 2018
By Rachael Williams

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is losing two key staffers heading into an election year.

The mayor's senior communications adviser, Michael Genova, and manager of stakeholder relations, Ashley Bigda, have both left their positions within the mayor's office to pursue other interests.

That makes four people within Crombie's office that have left their post since she was elected mayor in 2014.

"Turnover in a political office is normal and occurs all the time," said Crombie in a statement to the News. "I have been privileged to work with a great team of professionals, some of whom have gone on to pursue great career opportunities."

Genova, who handled the mayor's media requests, news releases, public speeches and other communications initiatives will be taking on a new position at the City of Vaughan as director of strategic and corporate communications.

Bigda was responsible for many of the mayor's community initiatives, including tackling youth unemployment and the #OneBagChallenge food drive. She is now with the Peel District School Board as a community relations officer.

Genova and Bigda both said they were moving on to pursue new challenges and opportunities to diversify their skillsets.

With the 2018 municipal election just nine months away, Crombie would not comment on the potential impacts of losing two key staff members and the institutional knowledge they provided in the roles.

"We will find new candidates to seamlessly fill the positions and continue to work as a team, as we have every day for the last three years, on the priorities of this city and on moving Mississauga forward," she said.

In addition to Genova and Bigda, Crombie also lost two employees in 2016.

Yvonne Rodrigues served as administrative co-ordinator for the mayor's office for just over one year. Her employment ended in March 2016 according to her LinkedIn profile. Rodrigues would not comment on why she left her position, saying only that she is thrilled with her current role as office manager at Go-To Developments.

Sumeeta Kohli was also employed in a communications and marketing role in Crombie's office. Her final news release on recorded votes was published on Feb. 22, 2016. She does not list her time with the mayor's office on her LinkedIn profile.

There are seven full-time staff members in the mayor's office. The 2018 budget for the mayor's office is $957,000.