{"id":9294,"date":"2014-12-17T15:03:24","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T20:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=9294"},"modified":"2014-12-23T22:11:05","modified_gmt":"2014-12-24T03:11:05","slug":"emmerson-tapped-as-new-regional-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/emmerson-tapped-as-new-regional-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"Emmerson tapped as new Regional Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

In what he says is likely to be the last appointment to the job, Wayne Emmerson was named Chair and CEO of the Region of York at the inaugural meeting of Regional Council last Thursday night.<\/p>\n

The former mayor of Whitchurch-Stouffville, who did not seek re-election to the post this year, will serve as Chair at least for the 2014 \u2013 2018 term.<\/p>\n

After receiving the chain of office from outgoing chair Bill Fisch, who held the post from 1997 until his retirement this year, he said the Province had \u201cassured him it will probably be the last time\u201d it would be an appointment.<\/p>\n

Mr. Emmerson was appointed to the Region\u2019s top job by the 20-member Council in a vote which came down 16 \u2013 4 against challenger John Taylor, Regional Councillor for Newmarket. Mr. Emmerson was formally nominated for the position by Richmond Hill Mayor Dave Barrow, a nomination which was seconded by Regional Councillor Danny Wheeler of Georgina. <\/p>\n

Both cited Mr. Emmerson\u2019s over 25 years of political experience, 17 of which were served on Regional Council, as important factors to leading the Region forward.<\/p>\n

Citing significant growth in Whitchurch-Stouffville during Mr. Emmerson\u2019s tenure as Mayor, growth which was fostered with balance, low taxes and fiscal responsibility, Mayor Barrow said Mr. Emmerson was the right leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need his experience and his leadership as we continue to advance all of our significant initiatives and large scale projects that are underway,\u201d said Barrow. \u201cHe instinctively understands our Region and the important work that we do, and we need to continue doing that work. We need a Chair who has the experience and a proven track record of success. We need a Chair that can build on the legacy of our previous Chairs and our previous Councils while embracing the new ideas and the innovative projects that will no doubt come forward generated by this new Council.\u201d
\nAdding to this theme, Councillor Wheeler noted Mr. Emmerson\u2019s appointment to the position would not put York Region residents through a by-election as Mr. Taylor\u2019s appointment would.<\/p>\n

\u201cWayne could not in good faith inflict the potentially high cost of a by-election on the residents of his Town,\u201d said Wheeler, noting Mr. Emmerson\u2019s announcement he would not seek re-election following Mr. Fisch\u2019s retirement. \u201cThis act speaks volumes about the fairness and integrity he will bring as York Region\u2019s next chairman and CEO. It highlights Wayne\u2019s fiscally responsible approach and his commitment to protecting the public\u2019s financial interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to the nomination, Mr. Emmerson said over his 17 years as mayor, he has had the opportunity to work with almost everyone around the Regional table on almost every committee formed by the Region. Through this collaboration they knew his strengths, weaknesses, abilities and track record. <\/p>\n

Being a mayor, he noted, was like running a business \u2013 knowing where the needs of the community are and having a vision to address them.
\n\u201cIt is about [being] innovative and taking calculated risk,\u201d said Mr. Emmerson in his pitch to Council before his ultimate appointment. \u201cIt is about listening to the constituents and your colleagues and giving each viewpoint equal opportunity. It is about being collaborative, building on collective wisdom and knowing when to ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next four years, York Region will face many issues, including maintaining existing services in the face of growth, management of growth, along with sustainability, transportation, congestion and affordable housing. These needs must be met while keeping taxes low, he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that investing in infrastructure is directly related to our ability to successfully manage growth,\u201d he said. \u201cInvesting in roads and transit, and the ability to move people in and out of York Region is important for many reasons: it connects people to work, school, family and community. We need to stay the course in building the foundation of what we have already accomplished in this area. By continuing to advance our YRT, Viva transit, and road systems, as well as supporting the development of subway expansions and two-way GO Service, we will reduce congestion and travel time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are tasked with balancing the priorities of our municipalities against what is best suited for our taxpayers. Now is the time for continued fiscal prudence in ensuring development charges can help pay down our debt. We are fortunate to have nine strong and vibrant municipalities. If I am elected your chair, my task will be to continue to improve our Region in the face of all challenges and opportunities. I am also committed to learning more about the specific needs of your municipalities and working together with you to find solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the vote, Mr. Emmerson said there were no words to \u201cadequately express his appreciation\u201d and pledged his commitment for the next four years.<\/p>\n

Continuing growth in York Region, he added, is a testament that the Region \u201cremains a desirable place for people to live, do business and visit.\u201d
\n\u201cWe need to ensure everyone has access to the services they need,\u201d he concluded. \u201cWe have done a lot and we can do more.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In what he says is likely to be the last appointment to the job, Wayne Emmerson was named Chair and CEO of the Region of York at the inaugural meeting of Regional Council last Thursday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_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},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/2014-12-18-01.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-2pU","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-26 09:58:41","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\/9294","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=9294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}