Look outside council for new regional chair

RE: NEW REGIONAL COUNCILLORS MULLING OVER NEXT CHAIR, NOV. 5

Alan Caslin was too inexperienced to be the regional chair. No one could have anticipated what happened.

In the regional 2018 election, the voters in his area did what the previous councillors should have done.

Now comes the first item on the regional council agenda, selecting a regional chair. Bob Gale and Jim Bradley come to mind. But Mr. Gale has the previous history of the last regional council. Mr. Bradley was a Liberal MPP from 1977 to 2018. His claim to fame is expanding the blue box recycling provincewide.

When dealing with the Region, the Queen’s Park Conservative majority does not need us to remind them of the previous Liberal governments of Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty. Bradley has too many Liberal memories. Not all fond memories for many.

But both Mr. Gale and Mr. Bradley bring immense experience that should be respected and taken under advisement. There are many committees where their experience would be best used.

Opportunity knocks. This regional council need not choose a leader from amongst the elected councillors. Through a procedural change, they could offer the chair position to a resident. We should consider certain citizens. Would they be willing to put their name forward for the vote. Ideally someone with regional chair experience on their resume would not hurt. Let your voting councillor know who you think might be an ideal candidate.

One who comes to my mind is Debbie Zimmerman. Check out her regional experience and work history. I believe she is a good fit.

If you have someone who might be qualified, let councillors know your views on this. We need to put forward the best candidates.

Ron St. Louis

Welland