Council vote to oppose strong mayor powers not expected to matter
Posted April 29, 2025
New Tecumseth council voted 5-4 last night to request the provincial government not bestow strong mayor powers on Richard Norcross, May 1. The five were Deputy Mayor Stephanie MacLellan, and Ward councillors Chris Rapin, Marc Biss, Nicole Cox, and Shira Harrison McIntyre. Paul Foster was absent.
The motion to oppose the powers was put forward by Cox, who argued the strong mayor powers, "shifts us away from majority rule."
"We have to go back to the fact we are elected by the people, we are not here to represent the province," she said. "It's not fair, it's not democratic. We should be taking a stand we do not agree with this."
Ward 8 councillor Andrea Jacks, who voted against the motion, said she had faith in the process and trusted the powers would be used in the best interests of the community. Jacks also said council had previously rejected similar powers nearly two years ago and it didn't make any difference.
"I don't think another letter back to the province in protest is the right way to go at this time," she said.
Ward 4 councillor Alan Masters, also opposed to the motion, said the mayor is already head of the council.
"This has been a contentious item for a long time, and I appreciate the concerns," said Masters. "I respect our mayor, however, with so much at stake, I would not deny the mayor the tool box if and when it's needed."
Ward 1 councillor Chris Rapin said in his review of other mayors with such powers all he could determine is they were using them to fire their CAOs.
"That's not an emergency," said Rapin, expressing concern the strong mayor powers could lead to a mayor ignoring the views of several councillors because of the unilateral authority that can only be usurped by a two-thirds majority.
"I have no faith about the group (council) four years from now, because I don't know who they are," said Rapin. "We said no once, we should say no again. It's the future, this is a rule that's going to strick and may never be undone. Our community could end up with a real idiot."
Deputy Mayor MacLellan said she believes strong mayor powers are being granted because "it's easier to pressure one person rather than a full council. They're shoving it down our throat."
She argued the provincial government was tackling the wrong problem if the key is to accelerate new home construction.
"The problem is infrastructure and all these small towns north of the GTA don't have the millions of dollars (to pay for the water and sewage). I always maintained they're starting with the wrong problem."
MacLellan also asked "why do we need such a big council then, we should be slashing this council if we're going to give power to one person."
For his part, Norcross said, "since I've been mayor, I have always been consistent, transparent and open."
"The province is not asking, they are telling us," he said. "I did not ask for this. I didn't even know this was coming. This is a provincial decision, We already sent this motion, we said no thank you we're not interested. They did not listen to us. We need to figure out how do we make this work for us that we benefit from this."
