THE DIPLOMAT Jennifer McKelvie

Ward 15 Scarborough-Rouge Park First elected 2018

What’s most important on the floor of city council is often the work you don’t see.

That’s how a historic property tax increase sailed through with broad consensus during this year’s budget process.

One of the Chow administration’s secret weapons to achieve this kind of cross-council unity has been Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie. The self-described centrist was deputy mayor to John Tory and after his resignation effectively took over the role for six months.

Keeping a senior role under Chow, McKelvie has become a bridge between Chow’s progressive allies and more conservative-leaning councillors, earning her praise from some insiders.

“I’ve just been so very fortunate, being on the centre of things politically, that I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with both Mayor Tory and Mayor Chow,” said McKelvie in an interview.

McKelvie credits council’s shared frustration over the lack of a stable funding agreement with the province and federal government that would allow the city to invest in transit, housing and infrastructure repair as one key to the consensus being shown over a tax increase that would typically have consumed the budget debate.

She won’t comment on how the “sauce gets made” behind the scenes for votes on contentious issues, such as coming up with a compromise on the decision to grant the extra funding demanded by police earlier this year.

“There are a lot of conversations that happen in advance of council and we often have different viewpoints,” she said. “A lot of time the motions that are brought forward — they’ve been through multiple rounds of edits and review … That doesn’t always mean it’s unanimous, it means that everyone has given up a little bit for the greater good.”

What to watch This iteration of city council hasn’t faced a truly divisive crisis so far. When that time comes, Chow’s team may need to rely on McKelvie and other centrists to keep their agenda on track.