Columnist offers four suggestions for mayor-elect Therrien
Early weeks ideal time to demonstrate leadership
On December 3, 2018, at an officious ceremony at city hall, you will formally take over as the mayor of Peterborough. The four weeks in November that lead up to that installation represent not only the beginning of your honeymoon period – length to be determined – but also the most opportune time you will have over the next four years to think strategically about the direction you have in mind for city council.
Yes, it is a good idea to hold a council retreat, as you have suggested, so that all councillors can commune on shared goals. At the same time however, it is important to remember that you are elected to lead and that every councillor will expect this of you. The next four weeks and the first few months of the term are absolutely the most advantageous time to demonstrate such leadership by advancing some of your 39 campaign commitments. Ideally, they should be those that will have public and councillor appeal; that will recognize the shifts in councillor political orientation, gender and diversity; that will reverse the residue from the previous leadership; and that will signal your intent to keep your promises. I offer four suggestions in this regard.
First, you will be expected to recommend a number of councillor appointments, including two deputy mayors, one of whom should be a woman. While Councillor Lesley Parnell is the only returning female councillor with experience in office, her expectation of a deputy mayorship based on a prior arrangement with Mayor Bennett might cause you to forgo her in favour of a first-time councillor such as Kim Zippel.
Second, you have the opportunity to rethink the councillor portfolios – those positions that give city councillors responsibility for a unique city-wide function such as finances, public works or social services. It is time to create a new portfolio for the advancement of women and minorities – especially in the city hall workplace – and councillor-elect Kemi Akapo would be a good choice.
Based on your campaign commitment for a new “Community Engagement Charter,” you might assign yourself a new portfolio for community engagement so that some much needed progress can be made in this area. In that regard, it will be timely to review the role of the six-month old manager of communications services position with a view to the early production of a communications strategy and plan.
Third, it will be useful to place a new urgency on the work now ongoing to complete the official plan. New official plan policies will be the best means for setting the direction on two key matters: the future of the parkway and your stated desire for new residential subdivisions that are mixed in terms of their density and tenure. It would be appropriate to include a statement of your intent on both these matters in your inaugural speech and to introduce a notice of motion recommending new policies on these matters at the first full meeting of city council.
Fourth, you issued a campaign commitment to “support continued public ownership of profitable and essential city-owned assets ...” You now have an opportunity to have city council assert a new position in opposition to the sale of Peterborough Distribution Inc. to Hydro One – a file that is now before the Ontario Energy Board for approval.
This is a complex matter, in that successful opposition to the sale would negate the development of a new Peterborough regional operations centre and fleet maintenance facility. It would be wise to clearly state your intentions in your inaugural speech.
All of which is respectfully submitted.