By Pepper Parr
December 4th, 2022
BURLINGTON, O N
OPINION
Here is how it worked in Toronto.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward – already a strong Mayor. As Councillor Stolte if you have any doubts.
In his first substantive use of the expanded powers granted his office by the province, John Tory has used his “strong-mayor” authority to appoint a new city manager.
The city announced Friday that Paul Johnson will be Toronto’s top bureaucrat, effective immediately.
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has said she is not interested in having strong Mayor powers and so we take her at her word at this point.
But if she ever acquires those powers – this is what the city has to look forward to.
Not to worry – Mayor Meed Ward already has a city manager that will do he bidding plus a communications department that gets her message out.
Another shot aimed at the Mayor by the Gazette. This time for definitely no good reason. The Mayor has clearly already said she has no interest in acquiring “strong mayor powers”. Yet the Gazette still asks the very hypothetical question “how would the mayor behave if she had those powers”. Shameful !