Who will be Burlington’s mayor after October?
Here’s a look at three contenders vying for council’s top job
On May 1 municipal clerks in Ontario began accepting nominations for councils and school boards.
Burlington council will have at least two new faces of seven. John Taylor has announced his pending retirement, and incumbents Rick Goldring and Marianne Meed Ward are facing off for mayor, joined by Realtor, former MP and former councillor Mike Wallace.
Ours is a (too) small council — seven — with some big egos, alliances and fairly predictable voting patterns. Consider it only takes four votes to change the city’s direction. Regardless of who wins, our next mayor faces hurdles. Here’s my synopsis, having followed all three for years.
Rick Goldring is completing his second mayoral term. A straight honest individual, his albatross is having been part of a council with declining popularity. He has a good environmental record, and genuinely listens to delegations. (Some councillors leave the impression they wish the public would go away and let them make decisions.)
Goldring supported the new Official Plan, adopted on his watch. Is that a city-wide issue? He supported a councillors’ code of conduct from Day 1 and opposed the infamous 23-storey condo across from city hall. He is a respected ambassador for the city.
Marianne Meed Ward is a populist. She takes citizens’ concerns to heart, and is the citizens’ voice on council. She has run afoul of some members who feel she seeks publicity. I once wrote that she would not make a good mayor for that reason, but things are changing.
On this polarized council, that would likely be true, but there will be a minimum of two new members — likely enough for a new dynamic. She researches issues probably better than any member. Her negative was participating in the high school closure issue, which angered Bateman and Pearson parents. The corollary though is that if she’s passionate about an issue, there’s no end to her energy. The question is whether she can switch from ward mode to mayoral mode.
They’re different. Goldring, a true gentleman, is fairly reserved. She’s a dynamo, who also always supported the code of conduct and opposed the 23-storey condo, too. Council’s approval of that condo, I believe was what sparked current citizens’ anger, especially downtown. They were the only two on council who voted similarly on those issues from the outset.
Realtor and former Conservative MP Mike Wallace was on council from 1994 to 2006.
Twice during his terms he ran federally, winning in 2006, so council had to replace him partway through his term. In 2015 he lost to Karina Gould, but while an MP he got several federal grants for the city, and can likely count on the Tory vote in our Conservative city.
The architect of the seven-member council, he was supported by a majority of the council of the day when Burlington went from eight wards to six, and 17 members to seven. Many wanted 13, like Oakville (one city councillor, and one city/regional). Wallace is affable, likely to get along well with councillors and staff, but has been away from the local levels for over a decade.
There are exciting Ward races, with some excellent candidates, many of whom have websites well worth a visit. These are listed on the city’s “registered candidates” site.
Two incumbent haven’t registered yet; Rick Craven (Ward 1) and Blair Lancaster (Ward 6). Two wards are open, and have races. In Ward 2, Kimberly Calderbank, David Cherry and Lisa Kearns are competing. Ward 3 has Lisa Cooper, Rory Nisan and Gareth Williams. Cooper has run frequently. Nisan and Williams are new.
In Ward 4 Shawna Stolte is challenging Jack Dennison, while Xin Yi Zhang challenges Paul Sharman in Ward 5.
Running in Ward 6 are Angelo Bentivegna (runner-up of nine in 2014) and Ken White.
The intervening provincial election makes campaigning difficult for new candidates, but do attend the provincial meet-the-candidates meeting on Monday, May 28, 7:30, at Central High (Brant and Baldwin).