There was an air of inevitability at the beginning of Tuesday’s (July 28) Dysart et al council meeting, where Pat Casey was confirmed as the township’s new deputy mayor.
It’s a short-term role for the former Ward 1 councillor, who will assume the deputy seat for Dysart’s final three meetings of the current term. He will also represent the municipality at County council for four meetings. There were two options for council to choose from, with Ward 2 coun. Nancy Wood-Roberts positioning herself as the “fairer” choice. She isn’t seeking re-election in October’s vote, while Casey is campaigning for the mayor’s chair.
Each candidate had a couple of minutes to address the rest of council before Tuesday’s decision. Reading between the lines, it was clear Wood-Roberts knew she wasn’t getting the votes. Rather than talk about why she was the better fit – having 18 years of experience representing two different wards, she focused on why her colleagues shouldn’t select Casey. She felt it would send the wrong message to the public, potentially leading, swaying or misinforming them – her words. Basically, by elevating Casey to the deputy mayor role now, Wood-Roberts felt that gave him an advantage over other mayoral candidates Greg Bishop and Andrew Nowell.
While I don’t disagree that this gives him a bit of an edge, Casey was well within his rights to run. He hasn’t broken any rules. And, thus far, he hasn’t used the process to promote his platform and talk key issues.
It was telling, though, that when it was his turn to speak, Casey referred to the deputy mayor role as “another stepping stone forward.” He spoke about having knowledge of “everything that goes on here”, referring to Dysart’s operations. It was a not-so-thinly veiled way of saying he’s up to the job when it comes to leading the community.
The process allowed for each councillor to ask the candidates a question before making their decision – none did.
The silence was deafening. It was clear the decision had already been made before Tuesday’s process unfolded. In the end it was a 4-2 vote, with mayor Walt McKechnie supporting Wood-Roberts and councillors Tammy Donaldson, Carm Sawyer and Barry Boice backing Casey.
Following the vote, McKechnie questioned the process Dysart has had to follow to fill its mayor and deputy mayor seats. It took two months to formalize – not great when, at the time of former mayor Murray Fearrey’s death, there was only five months left in the term.
He also wasn’t happy about the remaining council having to vote among themselves Tuesday, feeling it put them in a tough spot choosing between two respected members while still dealing with Fearrey’s loss. He pitched picking names out of a hat. While I understand the sentiment, McKechnie has in recent weeks preached the importance of remaining professional and pushing forward with the job at hand. This is part of that.
Having covered this process from start to finish, it has seemed a convoluted mess. That’s not Dysart’s fault. They followed rules outlined in the Municipal Act to a tee. There were multiple checkpoints the township had to pass – they had to officially vacate seats, advertise publicly how they would fill them, then follow through. All in, it took 61 days.
Fearrey died May 28. McKechnie wasn’t confirmed as mayor until July 7, with Casey appointed three weeks later. Aside from political red tape, I’m struggling to understand why this couldn’t have all been sorted out in a special meeting in early June.
At least now the township can, finally, draw a line under this and focus on completing what little is left of this term as best they can.
