{"id":26898,"date":"2020-07-02T19:27:22","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T23:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=26898"},"modified":"2020-07-02T19:27:27","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T23:27:27","slug":"council-forges-ahead-with-adopting-ward-system-while-some-push-for-more-public-input","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/council-forges-ahead-with-adopting-ward-system-while-some-push-for-more-public-input\/","title":{"rendered":"Council forges ahead with adopting ward system while some push for more public input"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Aurorans were last asked whether they wanted the\nTown to adopt a Ward System on Council in a referendum held in 2014 alongside\nthat year\u2019s municipal election, just over 12,000 eligible voters answered the\ncall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, 55 per cent of the voters who took the time to\nanswer the question voted against a ward system, with 45 per cent voting in\nfavour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Tuesday, when it became time for Council to make a\nfinal decision on adopting a Six-Ward system, the results were flipped but\nalmost equally split with 57 per cent of Council voting to forge ahead and 43\nper cent arguing the matter be put on the backburner pending further\nconsultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how each Council member made their case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAYOR TOM MRAKAS (Yea)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adopting a ward system was a question of delivering on an\nelection promise for Mayor Tom Mrakas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council, he said, has been discussing moving to a ward\nsystem for several years and noted that when the 2014 \u2013 2018 Council voted to\nreduce the size of Council from eight members to six in time for the 2018\nelection, it was pitched as the first step on the road to delivering a ward\nsystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe voted in favour of that, knowing that we\u2019re going to\ngo forward with looking at becoming wards,\u201d he said, adding that it was agreed\nto let the next Council take the next steps on that road. \u201cWe have openly\ndiscussed ward systems since that 2014 referendum. I said many times I am in\nfavour of it. I believe the public needs to be involved. They have a right to\nknow what each one of us, as elected officials, what our stance is and during\nthe 2018 election, that is why I openly ran on the promise of bringing wards to\nCouncil\u2026and to implement it by 2022. I have kept that promise and I have kept\nthat promise to bring Council [to] make a decision, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing\nhere tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Aurora grows, it is incumbent on Council to look at\nthe best form of representation for the whole Town and adopting a ward system would\nnot only increase engagement, but open the electoral process to a \u201cmore\ndiverse\u201d field of candidates, he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Knocking on doors during election time], how many times\nhave we heard it is impossible or very hard to get to every single household in\nTown?\u201d he concluded. \u201cHow can you engage everybody? [You do so] by moving to a\nward system and we work together as a team to make decisions. For me, it is\ntime Council does what we were elected to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COUNCILLOR HAROLD KIM (Yea)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In supporting a move towards a ward system, Councillor\nKim said replacing the current at-large system for the new model will increase\nefficiency and help Council focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn the at-large system which I served in the last\nsix-plus years\u2026there\u2019s a lot of duplication of efforts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of\nlike you\u2019re watching a duck smoothly swimming across a pond, but underneath\nyou\u2019re seeing the duck just frantically pedalling away. That is what you see\nwhen you have residents emailing all of us and asking us about an item and all\nof us are trying to solve a problem when you might only need one Councillor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cResidents have a view that if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix\nit. And why not? You only see the surface level of what is going on. But\nunderneath, us Councillors and staff, the efficiency is there, the productivity\nis not there, and those are the reasons I am in favour of a ward system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you look back at 2014, you had 28 candidates. It is\npretty daunting as a new entrant to compete in an elective process with 28\nother candidates. In a ward system, there are two or three people [and] you can\nfocus on the issues and its benefits [to] the residents of that ward. There is\nless barrier to entry to new candidates and I think that is great in a\ndemocratic system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COUNCILLOR SANDRA HUMFRYES (Yea)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Humfryes also cited efficiencies in her\narguments in favour of adopting a ward system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about \u201caccountability and responsibility\u201d first,\nshe said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the things that happened throughout the week,\nthere were a couple of residential issues that came up,\u201d she said, on the\nintervening seven days between the last General Committee meeting and the final\nCouncil meeting of June. \u201cIt\u2019s as simple as a [leash free dog park going behind\na residential area] and what it turned out to be was the ratepayers didn\u2019t have\nan opportunity to communicate to everyone so they didn\u2019t get that feedback.\nThat was going full steam ahead here and we could have stopped a bunch of work\nthe staff have done, a ton of design work and money spent, and luckily that\ndidn\u2019t go through to the last phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of the residents said if we had a Ward Councillor\nwho would know what these smaller issues are going on in their\nneighbourhoods\u2026The bigger items, the facilities, everything that goes on, we\u2019re\nall accountable to that and we\u2019re accountable to every area, not just your\narea\u2026but in your area you are going to become the subject matter expert of your\narea and you can have a more focused view of the area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COUNCILLOR MICHAEL THOMPSON (Yea)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While each system of government presently in place in\nOntario has its own pros and cons, Councillor Michael Thompson said a ward\nsystem was best suited for Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI recognize that no one system is better than the other\n<\/p>\n\n\n

[and]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that when you put them in context with your community you can see [the\nbenefits] and I truly believe at this time, with our size of population, with\nthe various demographics within Aurora, that the better system of\nrepresentation going forward is a ward system.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring the election time, it was a front and centre\nissue. Everyone on Council was quoted in the paper on their perspective on\nwards. I believe at that time five of the seven people in front of us said they\nwere pro wards and it certainly was an issue in front of the public for at\nleast the last three years. I definitely take into consideration the vote as\nwell as the ongoing conversations I have had over the last three years. As I\nhave said many times, I think it is the best way forward for the Town of\nAurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COUNCILLOR WENDY GAERTNER (Nay)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In stating her case against adopting a ward system at\nthis time, Councillor Wendy Gaertner said she was in favour of the Six-Ward model\npresented by consultants in principle, but instead wanted this model presented\nto the public in a referendum during the 2022 Municipal Election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI support the option, but I don\u2019t support [taking it] to\nthe next level,\u201d she contended. \u201cIn [our engagement policy], anything that is\ngoing to affect the Town as a whole is supposed to come through a referendum\nand, as I said in the past, referendums are tricky. To get a decision that the\nmajority of people want has seemed to be elusive, but, as we have that policy\nin place, I think we should be following it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COUNCILLOR JOHN GALLO (Nay)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Gallo offered a similar view, stating he\ndidn\u2019t think Council should be moving forward with a ward system until another\nreferendum could be held. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, it is not a question of whether or not I want a\nward system \u2013 I have actually hopped both ways at various times \u2013 but I can\ntell you in my seven or eight years\u2019 experience on Council, I have never once \u2013\nand I don\u2019t think I am exaggerating \u2013 out of thousands of correspondence with\nresidents, have I ever heard a complaint saying, \u2018You know what, John? I send\nemails to everyone and it really bothers me that I get responses from\neveryone.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI won\u2019t disagree that it may not be the most efficient\nand I agree with my colleagues that having all of us respond may not be the\nmost efficient way of doing business, but I do see some value to that. The system\nhas worked forever. To me, it is one of those issues that effects the entire\ncommunity. We went once out to the public and asked their opinion. Sure, it\nwasn\u2019t an overwhelming \u2018no\u2019, but the majority of who did vote, albeit a small\npercentage of the public, didn\u2019t want it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCertainly on very big issues that effects everyone I\nthink it is incumbent upon us to reach out to the residents. I am in favour of\ndoing that prior to making this decision. We may end up in the same place and I\nwould be in favour of sending this back to staff and asking them, \u2018How do we\nimplement a midterm referendum\u2019 in order to gauge the community?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COUNCILLOR RACHEL GILLILAND (Nay)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously a proponent of a ward system, Councillor\nGilliland said the options provided by consultants as part of the Town\u2019s\nElectoral System Review (ESR) were educational, but more information on overall\ncommunity support for the Six-Ward model was warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am the new Councillor on the block and the only\nexperience I have is [in an] at-large, so this was a really great exercise,\u201d\nshe said. \u201cThere are lots of pros and cons for wards and at large. Part of\nbecoming a Councillor, I thought it must make sense to have wards and [explore\nit] at a population level. We all know who to contact, someone responsible for\nthat area and there would be a lot more accountability. What I also learned\nthrough this process and reaching out, there are also some things that are\ncons. It could be that it is divisive, or it could cause negotiations on what\nissues are important to your ward or somebody else\u2019s. It could actually bog\nthings down and cause reconsiderations and actually slow the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is kind of the first time we\u2019ve been able to see what those options are and the real question is: is it the right thing for Aurora to do and do residents agree? This report that has been presented is a really great education piece on ward systems and what they would look like, and it outlines the pros and cons and all the different models for us to consider at this point. However, this is the first time residents and Councillors have had the opportunity to examine the options since the Town voted no on the 2014 ballot. This is a very big decision and I fundamentally believe this decision should be something the residents should have the opportunity to voice upon now that we have this education piece. Residents can actually learn from it. I will respect this Council\u2019s decision wherever the chips may fall. I would rather receive this [recommendation] for information and the ESR be referred back to staff [to] help us determine community support on the Six-Ward option or no wards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Aurorans were last asked whether they wanted the Town to adopt a Ward System on Council in a referendum held in 2014 alongside that year\u2019s municipal election, just over 12,000 eligible voters answered the call. Then, 55 per cent of the voters who took the time to answer the question voted against a ward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-6ZQ","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 11:39:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}