Episode 59: John Mutton, former Mayor of Clarington helps to explain what a Strong Mayor is and how this is going to help!

John Mutton has been a local councilor and the Mayor of Clarington. He is still involved in municipal politics and affairs through his business, Municipal Solutions, and his work with the provincial government.

City and town councils vary in makeup in Ontario but basically elect councilors to represent sections of the municipality, and mayors (or something similar) are elected by the entire municipality. In Clarington we have one mayor for all, and elected by all of Clarington, 2 councilors that represent 2 wards each on local and regional council, and 4 local councilors who represent and are only elected by each of the 4 wards or sections that make up Clarington.

What does it mean to have Strong Mayor status....how will this affect how municipalitites and municipal cpuncils work? Without the Strong Mayor status, Mayors only have one vote in council decisions, despite representing the whole community. Their influence comes by persuading other councillors to support the by-laws the mayor introduces na dliving and dying by the decision of council. In a big council like Toronto, that can lead to stalemate. Strong Mayors can get that consensus or can use their power to get 1/3 of council to support their idea. In Clarington, that means convincing only 2 other members of council. In Toronto, that means an additional 8 or 9 members of council, but not a majority of the 25 (+ the mayor =26). Strong Mayor powers can only be used for provincial priorities, such as housing, which is shy the powers are outlined in a housing act (below). As a developer and close supporter of the Doug Ford Conservative government, it is not surprising that he is frustrated by the reported reluctance of Mayors Foster and Carter (Oshawa) to use the Strong Mayor powers to speed up development.

Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s22018