By Pepper Parr
January 15th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
OPINION
There is a cute little squabble between two city Councilors and the Mayor over the use Mayor Meed Ward makes of the Strong Mayor Powers (SMP) given to her by the Provincial government.
Mayor Meed Ward has an iffy success in choosing City Managers (CAO)
The Mayor gave away much of the SMP – she held on to the right to hire and fire the City Manager (CAO). A fair question is to ask: How has that gone sofar?
The day after she was sworn in Mayor, Meed Ward fired James Ridge – that decision cost the city a bundle.
Commisso left the city he loved – his Mayor treated him poorly.
She hired Tim Commisso as the Interim and later made that a permanent position. Commisso, after getting a hefty increase in salary some time later, advised Council shortly after that he would not be renewing his contract. He wasn’t prepared to put up with the Mayor’s backstabbing.
Hassaan Basit
With Commisso out of the picture, the Mayor hired Hassaan Basit. Basit started out strong, but 16 months after starting he resigned to take on a job at the Deputy Minister level with the province.
Council was nearing the end of its term, and the Mayor needed a City Manager (CAO) She made Curt Benson the CAO. At the time Benson was the Commissioner for Development and Growth Management for the city. His CAO job is in place until the Day the next City Council is sworn in – which will be in November – a short 10 months away.
Curt Benson came to the city as the head of Planning, and was appointed the CAO when Basit left before his contract expired.
Too early to tell how well Benson will develop as an administrator. He did very well as a Planner with the Region and was doing very well as the Commissioner.
He has had to acquire the skills needed to administrate along the way.
The Mayor cannot lay claim to being skilled at picking and then learning how to work with the people she chooses. Holding Strong Mayor Powers didn’t make much in the way of a difference.
Related news stories:
Basit moves from Conservation to City Hall
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People leave for various reasons. However, at some point turnover over 20% is concerning and a red flag signalling deeper issues, reflecting back to leadership. The 20% cuts two ways, one being the wrong person was selected, the other being people dont want to work there. Then there is the cost of onboarding and huge separation agreement costs when their contract is terminated, that figure can escalate for a number of reasons.
With all due respect, I believe that the normally very astute Publisher has missed the point with this one. First, I don’t believe that the difference between the two Councillors and the mayor is either “cute” or a “squabble”. Although I have had differences with both Kearns and Nisan, I think that they have identified a fundamental (but intentional) misspeak by Meed Ward and have come forward to correct it.
As far as our current mayor’s hiring of the “top job” is concerned, her record as noted, is spotty and perhaps stained. It is my opinion that the firing of Ridge was simply an act of retribution. There were alternative paths that could have been followed with less disruption to the organization but the new mayor wished to make a statement. Commisso, the next in line, was her type of General Manager/CAO – compliant to a fault and unwilling to rock her boat. He lasted but finally could take no more – particularly with the rumoured disrespect given in front of his colleagues. Basit was a mistake from the beginning but he was considered a “coup” and she revelled in that. In my rather jaundiced opinion, he never intended to stay much longer than he did. Burlington was merely a stepping stone to where he really wanted to go – the Province – and he took the City’s best staff member with him. Look up Samantha Yew on the Province’s Info-Go. And finally Benson – a former ally from the Region and an interim appointment who will not try to be creative, will last only so long as she does and will keep the ship of state off the rocks while she plunges into 2026 campaign mode.
The point is each of these gentlemen suited her perfectly, right or wrong, at the time and this one power – the power to select or terminate the CAO – is the one that she refused to relinquish when challenged. Why? Because if you hold this single, arbitrary power then you effectively control the entire organization.
Strong Mayor Powers are a total abomination but they are also like the lantern of Diogenes (an adaptation here) illuminating those who can not resist the temptation to wield unchallenged authority.