Bradley undecided about run for regional chair
Former Liberal MPP says he is not ruling out the possibility of replacing Caslin
Jim Bradley might be the first name mentioned in conversations about who will become the next chair of Niagara’s regional council, but the former Liberal MPP isn’t committing to the idea.
But he isn’t ruling it out either.
“I ran to represent St. Catharines at the regional government, not as regional chair,” Bradley said Wednesday. “That said, it would be unfair to those who are urging me to put my name forward to rule it out. I am still thinking about it and assessing who is in the field.”
Bradley, the longtime St. Catharines MPP topped the polls in Monday’s municipal election and became one of six regional councillors to represent his city at Niagara Region.
Given his long history as a provincial government member, minister and opposition MPP, Bradley is being mentioned as a possible replacement for outgoing Regional Chair Alan Caslin, who placed 20th out of 23 candidates Monday night. Caslin is only the second sitting regional chair to lose a bid for re-election.
Bradley said he has yet to decide if he will ask his fellow councillors to select him as the next chair when they first assemble in December.
The chair of regional council is decided by a secret vote among the now 31 members of council at the start of the new term. Those interested in the post usually start back-room campaigning shortly after an election.
While he would not commit to putting his name forward, Bradley was more forthcoming about what the next chair will have to be able to do to restore public trust in the regional government.
He said the chair must be adept at bringing people together and building consensus on council — something Bradley said Caslin was unable to do.
Bradley also said the next chair is going to have to ensure councillors are consulted on major decisions and not act unilaterally — a reference to Caslin’s
controversial and unilateral extension of the contract of chief administrative officer Carmen D’Angelo.
D’Angelo’s contract extension, along with the tainted process that hired him, is under investigation by Ontario’s Ombudsman following a series of stories by The Standard that showed D’Angelo downloaded six confidential documents before and during the hiring process in 2016.
In July, Caslin told council he extended D’Angelo’s contract — set to expire this year — until 2022. The terms of that contract include a one-year golden parachute if council doesn’t renew his contract and three year’s pay if he is fired with or without cause.
Shortly before the election, sitting councillors received closed-door legal advice about the contract, which former Niagara Region integrity commissioner John Mascarin said should be considered “null and void.”
Bradley said the incoming chair and council is going to have to deal with D’Angelo prudently and swiftly — particularly on the contract extension.
“We have to wait for the Ombudsman’s report, of course, although I don’t think it will necessarily reveal much more than is already known,” Bradley said Wednesday. “But where council can act now, it should.”
Having to grapple with such a thorny issue will be a challenge for incoming councillors, particularly for those with previous or limited government experience, he said.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik, who was re-elected Monday, said he believes there is an appetite among the new councillors to act swiftly, but said decisions must be carefully thought out.
“I think one of the things we can do, and probably need to do, is at our first meeting immediately move behind closed doors so that the external counsel who advised us (on the CAO contract extension) can provide the new council a concise and clear update on what the situation is,” said Sendzik, who has argued that council can make decisions regarding the CAO contract even before the Ombudsman’s report is published.