In my role as councillor of Ward 5 for the past eight years, it is my opinion that the existing city council collectively has proven itself to be more cohesive and has demonstrated more effective leadership than any group of councillors since the City of Greater Sudbury was formed through amalgamation in 2001.
The first point I want to make is that city council functions as a whole, and so when you are speaking of leadership you must recognize the collective responsibility to lead and not individual leadership attributes.
In fact, there is no such thing as a split decision by council. All decisions are majority decisions and therefore when you look at the decisions that this current version of city council has made over the past four to eight years, they speak for themselves in terms of strong and effective collective leadership.
Regardless of the vote on any single matter, it is the majority that rules and we issue a single decision. We don’t identify as making a 66-per-cent decision or a 100-per-cent decision. They are decisions. Councillors are supposed to uphold all decisions made by council. We are all required to accept ownership of those decisions, regardless of how we voted individually.
I don’t have enough space in this column to list the major decisions that we have made as a council this term, but suffice it to say that we have positioned our city well for the future.
Anyone who alleges that we have lack of leadership on council is simply admitting they disagree with some of our decisions. That is fine, but just because you don’t agree with some of our decisions is not evidence of a lack of leadership.
Secondly, the assertions the current version of city council is a divided and dysfunctional group are completely unfounded. This is a facade being perpetuated by political activists who for at least the past five years have been unable to influence the direction of council with respect to KED through their incessant lobbying, harassment, misinformation and bullying.
A small number of these antagonists have flooded social and mainstream media with false allegations, insinuations, personal attacks and organized protests in an attempt to paint some members of city council as enemies of the people. Despite all of their efforts to undermine public confidence in city council, collectively we were able to fulfil our responsibilities to our constituents and to the City of Greater Sudbury by remaining steadfast and undeterred by the unwarranted attacks on our integrity.
To demonstrate our unity and desire to move forward with the many initiatives which have established the framework for a solid future, a total of 12 of the existing members of council have registered for the municipal election in October so that we can see our plans through to the end. The only one who is not running again is Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo, who decided to leave council after eight years to focus on his family and career.
It is also important to note that 10 of the 12 councillors seeking re-election in 2022 were first elected in 2014 during what has been referred to as a true “change election” which saw 11 new members elected for the first time. It should be pointed out that in 2018, all 11 incumbents who sought re-election were successful.
So, that brings us to the point I am making about the myth that our current city council is dysfunctional and divided.
If things were as bad as the political activists would have you believe, there is no way that 12 of the members would want to come back for another four years. Ten of the 12 incumbents who want to return each have eight or more years of experience on council working together in the best interests of our residents.
The other two were elected in 2018 and have decided that they want to continue to work with their fellow-councillors for another four years. With the exception of matters related to the KED, most of the decisions made by council during the past term were supported by a large majority.
Therefore, I once again submit that this council is not divided. In fact, we would not have been able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time if we were as divided and dysfunctional as some want you to believe.
The final point I want to make is that it is going to be crucial for all residents to do their research and make sure that they are voting for their preferred candidate for the right reasons. This is not a popularity contest. It is a job interview and you are being asked to renew the contract of your current councillor or replace them with someone more qualified for the job.
You should not vote for the least qualified candidate simply because you “don’t like” the more qualified candidate.
Voters in Greater Sudbury are going to have to evaluate the candidates in their ward carefully and make a decision about who they would like to put on city council for the next four years. Do you want someone new, without any relevant municipal government experience representing you on council, or are you satisfied with the level of service that you have been receiving from your incumbent councillor for the past eight or more years?
The decision you make should not be based on any personal bias or feelings you have for your current councillor, nor should it be based on whether or not you have a personal relationship with one of the candidates. You must decide who you feel is going to be the most qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable person to represent your ward for the next four years. When you have issues to be addressed, who do you want to have on the phone representing your best interests as a constituent?
You future and the future of your children depend on your decision. The next term of council is going to be a very important chapter in the history of Greater Sudbury. Vote for the person you feel will make the best evidence-based decisions at city council and will be most effective in advocating for you personally.
Robert Kirwan is seeking re-election for the city council seat in Ward 5.
