By Pepper Parr
September 20, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
There are all kinds of leadership. Some lead from the front, they take charge and there is little doubt over who is at the front of the parade. Some lead from the rear while others immerse themselves in the middle of a situation and lead that way.
Mayor Goldring tends to prepare for events carefully.
One’s leadership style comes out of a person’s personality; however people always know when they are being well led or poorly led. It is something a community feels and something they take confidence from.
Leaders cannot lose touch with their community. Leaders have to know and be able to interact with every level of that community. Leadership takes insight and patience.
While a Mayor has just the one vote at Council the good ones nevertheless lead and lead well.
Former Toronto Mayor David Crombie, who has a real soft spot for Burlington, led instinctively. He has been to Burlington on many occasions – at times to express his disappointment with the city. He once told the now defunct Waterfront Access and Protection Advisory Committee( WAPA) that Burlington was once a leader in the protection of the waterfront and then admonished WAPA for losing that level of leadership.
Crombie would experience severe indigestion if he knew that Mayor Goldring supported the selling of a stretch of land south of Lakeshore Road between Market and St. Paul streets. There wasn’t as much as a whisper from the Mayor on his decision to support the selling of waterfront property between Market and St. Paul Streets to private interests.
Former Toronto Mayor David Crombie always had a soft spot for Burlington and was a resource Rick Goldring failed to develop.
A vision for the city is something that doesn’t appear to come naturally to Mayor Goldring. During the Gazettes’ exclusive interview with Mayor Goldring we asked what his thoughts were for a second term as Mayor.
Where would he want to lead Council; what ideas would he bring to the table and how would he promote those ideas and build a constituency for them in the city?
In his first term Mayor Goldring pulled together a group to work on what he called One Vision. He brought people in from different sectors of the city for a two day workshop that got off to a bad start and didn’t get any better before it ended.
There was never a report – it was just $50,000 spent to bring in a consultant, Lance Secretan, who had written a book the maker liked. His reading of Lance Secretan’s The Spark, the Flame, and the Torch, a book about how to become a more inspired person and leader and how to change the world for a brighter future. It was this book that moved the Mayor to hold the One Vision event.
We left it to the Mayor to say what he would do during the interview. We deliberately chose not to challenge the Mayor on any of his achievements during his first term and we didn’t push him on his thoughts for his now possible second term. The Mayor didn’t offer very much; the Gazette had decided before the interview that we were not going to lead with a lot of questions.
The Mayor made absolutely no mention of community engagement.
He did say that he was looking forward to the development of the mobility hoods that are planned for John Street and another for the Burlington GO station.
The Mayor made no mention of what taxes could be in the next four years. The flood is going to take quite a chunk out of our hides.
Rick Goldring take part in the commemoration of a tree that is believed to mark part of the boundary for the land grant given Joseph Brant.
He spoke almost glowingly of the Molinaro development on Fairview next to the GO station but surprisingly didn’t have much to say about how the properties east of the GO station could be developed.
The city held a Work Shop on downtown commercial development a number of months ago and there was quite a discussion on different ways to locate car dealerships. The Mayor doesn’t appear to have picked up any of the ideas that came out of what was one of the best Workshops the Planning department has held in the four years we have been listening to them.
The Mayor thought there was significant opportunity for the “service corporations” that were boldly put forward by former city manager Jeff Fielding, but the Mayor didn’t go beyond saying there was an opportunity.
Mayor Goldring made mention of the Official Plan Review that probably won’t be completed before the end of 2015; he appears to be a champion of the Service Based Budgeting approach to our finances that the city is doing some focus group research on now.
The Mayor didn’t elaborate on the kinds of differences this new approach to budgeting is going to make.
The Mayor did say that the Transportation Master Plan has had the Cycling Master Plan rolled into it and that he thought that made sense, but he made no mention of his flip flop on dedicated lanes on Lakeshore for bicycles.
There was not a word either about what the city is managing to get done at the Region. The only Councillor talking about what members of council get done at the Region is Paul Sharman, who the Mayor is reported to have said is the best strategic thinker on Council.
Rick Goldring is for the most part a team player – the team however doesn’t play all that well.
Burlington has had three city managers during the first Goldring term. Goldring commented that “city managers now last four to six years and then they move on.” There was no suggestion that more highly developed human resources practices might be used to incentivise these people to stick around a little longer.
Goldring commented on how the community had stepped up and donated to the Flood Crisis Fund that is being managed by the Burlington Community Foundation. He seems to have removed himself from the day to day part of the flood.
Councillors Dennison and Sharman have almost made the disaster a platform they are running their re-election on. Both are providing a level of service their constituents have not seen before. Dennison’s staff say he has been in more than 1000 basements – the math doesn’t support that claim.
Mayor Goldring seems to have outsourced the community response to the flood and is content to leave it at that.
Goldring does deserve credit for making those early phone calls to the Burlington Community Foundation and Linda Davies at the Lakeshore Rotary club. But he hasn’t turned himself into a Cam Jackson by being anywhere and everywhere helping people.
The Mayor we have now never misses a photo opportunity. The Mayor we started out with in 2010 had hoped to communicate differently.
Early in his mandate the Gazette asked Rick Goldring if he was going to become the camera hog Cam Jackson was. At the time Goldring said he hoped to but at the cheque presentation for the $25,000 Branthaven Development donated to flood relief Goldring posed with everyone else with the big cardboard cheque and commented that he understands now why Cam Jackson got his picture taken every chance he could. “I get it now” said Goldring.
I always thought people wanted to hear what a politician had to say; I can’t imagine former Mayor Walter Mulkewich posing for the camera in quite the same way.
Mayor Goldring wants the city to do more to attract and keep “the millennials” in Burlington. Millennials are people between the ages of 20 and 30. Goldring didn’t expand on what he meant or get specific about what he would do or to attract this demographic and how he would keep them in the city.
The Molinaro’s, a local developer, understand what has to be done and are putting up five buildings to house these people.
Rick Goldring is a much better speaker today than he was in 2010. His vision and leadership style need some work.
Mayor Goldring is a better speaker today than he was in his first year as Mayor. He no longer strives as hard to make his point; he is more relaxed and has taken to wearing his chain of office outside the Council chamber. During his first two years he was uncomfortable with the “bling”.
There were a few telling moments during the first term that gave us a look at the Mayor that were bothersome. When the Via Rail train left the tracks a few years ago – there was a media briefing the Mayor couldn’t handle. Then city manager Jeff Fielding moved in and took charge. It was a situation Mayor Goldring was not up to at the time.
There was an evening when Glenn Grenier got permission to speak as an unregistered delegation to tout on behalf of the small airport constituency. Traditionally delegations get five minutes; at well past 10 minutes city manager Jeff Fielding suggested to the Mayor that Mr. Grenier could be excused. Fielding had to make comments three times before the Mayor picked up the cue and thanked Mr. Grenier for his comments.
Grenier had clearly outworn his welcome – but the Mayor was not able to execute the power of his office and send the delegation packing.
Mayor Rick Goldring explaining to Kilbride area residents what was being done and the time frames the repair crews were working to in their community.
At the ice storm meeting at the Kilbride fire station in December, the Mayor was much better. He seemed more in charge and spoke with confidence and assurance.
Rick Goldring is one of the most decent people you will meet. The last occasion the late John Boich appeared at a Council meeting to be given a commendation Rick Goldring came very close to losing it. The lump in his throat was palpable. Everyone knew John’s days were numbered and that there were very few of them left. Goldring’s decency and his humanity is there, most of the time, for all to see.
In the coming weeks he is going to challenged in a way he did not expect – the city will now get a chance to see how he defends his first term and hear what he would like to achieve in a second term.
There is now a second credible candidate which means there will be public debates during which the Mayor can be challenged on his record and have an opportunity to defend what he has done and expand on his ideas and vision for the city of Burlington and the role we play in the Region..
It is tough to beat an incumbent Mayor – but Goldring did defeat Cam Jackson in 2010. Peter Rusin will bring some solid experience and an understanding of how growth takes place in Ontario to the debates.
Expect some hard direct questions from Rusin. We don’t know yet what to expect from Mayor Golding – the race is his to win – but he has to run faster than he has in the past to get more votes than the other guy.
Related article:
Mayor Goldring’s leadership is a litany of contradictions.
He talks about the need for improved transportation, but undermines the importance of road infrastructure improvements preferring instead to support bike lanes (as if we can all use those in winter!). He talks about the need to attract and retain young people with promising employment opportunities, but acquiesces to the re-zoning of manufacturing properties on Fairview to residential. He speaks glowingly about the need to preserve green spaces and parklands, but turns a blind eye to the proliferation of high rise developments on the lakefront. He claims he supports fiscal management, but under his watch municipal taxes have gone up noticeably. Most of all during crises such as the VIA train derailment and the August 4th flood he has shown he lacks both the persona and the strength of character to inspire and lead.
I don’t trust Rick Goldring and I doubt I ever will. His vision is sullied, and his credibility is shot. It’s a pity Marianne Meed-Ward didn’t run against him this election as I have no doubt she would make a much better Mayor but I suspect after 2018 Rick will be toast anyway. You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.
Where were they for the last 3 3/4 years
Efforts to get re-elected – canned response – if I am re-elected.
Councillors Dennison and Sharman have almost made the disaster a platform they are running their re-election on. Both are providing a level of service their constituents have not seen before. Dennison’s staff say he has been in more than 1000 basements – the math doesn’t support that claim