Michael Taube: Why Doug Ford’s ‘Strong Mayor’ Plan Could End Up Being Weak Sauce

Commentary

Ontario Premier Doug Ford won a large Progressive Conservative majority in June. While his primary focus will now be on provincial issues, Ford’s long-standing interest has not wavered in his municipal politics.

Ford was a Toronto city councillor (2010-2014) when his late brother, Rob, served as mayor. He ran in the Toronto mayoral election in 2014, losing to John Tory–and would have run again in 2018 had then-Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown not resigned. As premier, he reduced the number of Toronto city council seats from 47 to 25, cut back on wasteful municipal spending, and signed a three-stop Line 2 subway extension with Tory.

Now he is about to transform the power structure of the two cities of Toronto and Ottawa with an American-style plan for a “strong mayor”.

This idea is not new to Ford. It’s far from unique, actually.

” I believe in strong mayor systems, just like the ones in the States. The mayor should have veto power … so he has enough power to stop council,” he told the Globe and Mail in a Feb. 17, 2011, interview. The mayor should be mayor. The mayor is responsible for everything .”

Ford was aware that the mayor had only one vote among a multitude of municipal officials. “You’ve got to have your 23 votes to get it passed” in a 45-member council, he said. He supported a mayor overriding council “100 per cent … so the mayor has veto power” and highlighted “Mayor [Richard] Daley, in Chicago” as an example of a strong mayor who “got things done.”

A decade later Ford’s majority PC government is likely to be able pass legislation that will allow it to put in place an American-style, “strong mayor” program. several reports indicate that mayors will be able to create and submit city budgets and appoint chief administrators officers. They can also hire and fire non-statutory department heads and modify zoning laws. To ensure that a mayor’s veto can be overridden by a city councillor, the Ontario PCs will use the U.S. model.

Is Ford’s plan for a “strong mayor” a good idea or just weak sauce?

A strong mayor has many benefits. For example, the officeholder could be similar in political power to that of a Canadian premier or prime minister. The officeholder would have the ability to oversee city council’s day-to-day operations and make sure that a specific political direction is followed. As well as grandstanding, the influence of niche and one-issue city councillors will be reduced. He or she would also have the ability to use their Veto Power to oppose any policies that they feel are not appropriate for the city.

I support the premier but I have never supported any “strong mayor” plans. This puts far too many power in one person, the mayor. It also reduces the roles of the city councilors.

It’s possible to elect a more politically powerful mayor than a less-powerful one in theory, however the left-leaning cities of Toronto or Ottawa tend to be conservative. The majority of city councillors are elected by voters who adhere to this narrow ideology. This includes New Democrats and Liberals. There have been some right-leaning mayors such as Larry O’Brien in Ottawa and Rob Ford in Toronto, but their numbers are few.

Jim Watson is the current Ottawa mayor. He was a former Liberal MP and Cabinet Minister. He’s supported costly left-leaning environmental measures such as a Climate Change Master Plan to build a “greener city,” and spent billions on light rail transit while being accused of not being fully transparent about briefings (which he’s denied). Tory is an left-leaning conservative and a solid candidate to be elected for a third term. He’s passed the multi-year, multi-billion dollar (and still ongoing) SmartTrack plan for rapid transit rail service, and favours gun control and a citywide handgun ban. He supports the “strong mayor” plan in principle, but still wants to look at the legislation.

City Councillors serve, even if they are left-leaning, as a check and balance on municipal processes. They will still be able to overturn vetoes within a city with a strong mayor, but their function will become a useless, taxpayer-funded chair warmer. This is neither politically responsible or fiscally prudent.

Having a strong mayor with weak city councils doesn’t make sense. It is not the most democratic or effective way to change these outdated institutions, and increase accountability in both of them.

Premier Ford should consider these intangibles, before making Ottawa and Toronto mayors stronger. It wouldn’t make sense to respond weakly.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.