10 Tough Questions with Clr. Terry Whitehead

Councilor Whitehead doesn't strike me as the type who would back away from tough questions. I was not disappointed.

1. You recently voted in favour of asking the province to grant cities the right to ban corporate and union campaign donations. What influenced your vote and why did you support it?

This is a debate that needs to take place. There are pros and cons on both sides of this issue and I believe that it is important to understand all aspects before making a final decision. At this time my position is not necessarily supporting a ban, as I believe it is a slippery slope in seeing the creation of a party system at the municipal level. I do not believe that the general public will have the stomach to support partisan politics at the municipal level. I do have concerns that only the wealthy or individuals that associate with certain fringe groups or organizations would be advantaged by the elimination by corporate and union donations. The maximum donation at the municipal level is $750.00.

Surely no reasonable person would believe that  $750.00 would influence a municipal Politician in any decision and or access thereby jeopardizing their credibility, integrity and future. Unions are well known to provide assistance if not through financial donation through providing full time staff in campaigns and therefore banning union donations would not change any perception of their influence.

The better way to go would be to create tax incentives for all individuals that provide contributions to Municipal campaigns currently something that only exists at the Provincial and Federal level. I believe it is important  when a Councillor is running in a large ward that they have the ability  to raise enough funds to ensure that the voters are well informed on who they are and what they stand for. Limiting their ability to raise funds could jeopardize the ability of the voters to know or be well informed about the candidates running in their Ward.

Lastly, it is important to remain open minded about this discussion and understand all aspects and the implications. I support the continuance of this debate by supporting the resolution and I hope
to arrive at a informed decision.

2. Is it uncomfortable or otherwise troubling watching as someof your colleagues were under investigation for code of conduct violations? How does this affect the dynamics within council?

It is always concerning to see any colleague run afoul with the code of conduct. The nature of the violation may determine the dynamics within Council. If it is an honest mistake, it would obviously have little impact on the relationships with Council.

If it is a blatant violation then as a role of Council we need to support the code of conduct and support the findings of the Integrity Commissioner and support any sanctions that are recommended.

The reality is that every Councillor still has a vote on issues that affect the taxpayers of the City of Hamilton. It is important to maintain professionalism and rise above these issues and continue to work in collaboration to move the City forward. Ultimately, I believe that the dynamics at Council does not change.

3. I note that you own a vehicle that is wrapped in the City of Waterfalls advertisements. Can you tell us about how that came to be and your thoughts about the Waterfalls campaign?

I am actually glad that you have asked this question. It gives me an opportunity to recognize the wonderful work of true Hamilton booster and philanthropist Chris Ecklund. He has started something with the promotion of the waterfalls and the City of Hamilton that have seen tens of thousands of people locally, nationally and internationally that have taken an interest in the little known secret that Hamilton is the Waterfall Capital of the World. My family and I have joined many walks with Chris and many individuals from far and wide to explore the natural beauty that is provided by the waterfalls within our community.

The fact is that there is still a perception amongst many across this country and beyond that Hamilton is an industrial wasteland. I believe this branding exercise has opened the eyes of many. Chris and his team continue to promote the City in a way that directly addresses people unfounded perceptions of Hamilton.

As a Councillor, I have attended a number of conferences across the country with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and I have introduced myself as the Councillor from the City of Waterfalls Hamilton Ontario. It has opened up many positive discussions and the realization that Hamilton has unique geography that provides many majestic views and in fact has more green space per capita that any other City in Canada. This is a story that needs to be told and I am proud of doing my part in telling it. My Wife and I bought into the promotion and therefore had my car wrapped so that I could be part of the team in selling the City as the Waterfall Capital of the World.

4.What was the most useful criticism you have received as a politician and how did that change you?

As a Councillor for the last two terms, I have sat on many boards and committees; in fact the largest number compared to my colleagues. One of the criticisms is that I have spread myself too thin and as a result may not be as affective in championing issues that are important. I have consciously turned down and will continue to purge the number of committees that I sit on until I find the right balance.

Until that time I will be very selective of any additional boards or committees. I have had "some" indicate that I could be a bit more economic with my comments and should consider not repeating points that I have already made. I believe this to be constructive criticism. I will continue to work on streamlining comments during future debates. In the heat of debate I am very passionate and I acknowledge that it is an area that I need to work on.

5. If you had to step outside of your role, and make a clinical assessment of how council functions, would you say that everyone is basically on the same team, or is it better described as every person for themselves with some pockets of alignment? To the extent that there is a need for improvement in teamwork, what is the missing element(s) that would lead to a greater degree of alignment?

Paraphrasing Churchill, democracy is the worst form of government however all of the others have been tried. The reality is; each Councillor is elected by their Constituents. Many of the Wards have diverse social, economic, cultural and even religious backgrounds. Often, those perspectives are reflected in the representation around the Council Chambers. I believe this to be a strength not a weakness. As we move forward as a City we have a responsibility to be sure that no one is left behind. We also have representatives on Council that have keen environmental interests, economic interests and quality of life interest. I have said this in the past and I will say it again "Thank God we are not homogenized" and there is a diversity of views. I do not subscribe to the premise that we have a dysfunctional council.

We have achieved much in challenging time and we continue to slow tax increases relative to other municipalities. There has been many studies in magazines such Canadian Business Magazine and Foreign Direct Investment Magazine etc. that Hamilton is one of the best places to invest and to do business. On many of the comparative studies we are consistently in the middle of the pack and consistently rank higher in the quality of life. What most people see is Council meetings which is only a very small piece of what we do, most of the work is done at sub committees and standing committees. I have been fortunate as I have had the experience of living in other communities and seeing their councils in action and I have yet to find one that does not have many of the same challenges that we do.

6. Some say that people are most effective when they play to their strengths. What would you identify as being your greatest strength and how do you bring it to the table?

Hard work and experience! I have worked in all levels of government which has provided me the opportunity as a Councillor to take that knowledge and apply it to some of the challenges that we face as a City. As an example, we have lost many jobs in the manufacturing sector in southern Ontario and more specifically in Hamilton in recent years. Five years ago, I started a campaign to create the Southern Ontario Economic Development agency and received endorsements from Council , local and Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

This recently resulted in an announcement by the Federal Government of the creation of the Southern Ontario Economic Development Agency with a 1 Billion Dollar fund for the next five years. That is a result of my experience and knowledge at the federal level. From my experience at the Provincial level, I recognized that we could do much better in attracting the film industry to Hamilton. My involvement resulted in the City of Hamilton developing a film policy that has one stop shopping for film site locators, updated digitized library and our staff attending film trade shows. This has resulted in a significant increase in filming in the City of Hamilton.

7. From watching the coverage of council meetings on cable 14, it is sometimes evident that there is an element of strain between yourself and Mayor Eisenberger. Is that a fair observation or is that reading too much into it? Has that situation improved?

Lets be clear; my relationship with Fred Eisenberger precedes him being elected as Mayor for the City of Hamilton. Our relationship was always cordial and friendly and one of mutual respect. What people observe in the context of Council is more about style than about substance. The Mayor and I have had a good discussion and I know that moving forward with the changes that the Mayor has initiated with the governance of Council that any concerns that I have had in the past have in fact been addressed.

8. What are the biggest challenges facing your ward, what are you doing about it, and how are you reconciling those interests against the broader interests of the city.

We are as I previously stated a diverse mix of individuals with varying economic, social and religious backgrounds. We need to understand and educate ourselves so we are better able to relate with one another. Through the development of grassroots neighbourhood groups we are making great strides within our Ward. We are bringing excitement to our neighbourhoods with community festivals and movie nights which is drawing crowds in excess of 500 to each event. These events generate conversation and a sense of community pride where there was none. People are once again coming out of their homes and socializing with their neighbours. I believe these type of activities are directly
transferable to the rest of the city and help create a sense of pride one neighbourhood at at time.

9. If you could change one decision that council has made during this term, what would that decision be and why would you change it?

The renovation of CITY HALL. I feel we should have built a new City Hall. If we are truly thinking of the long term efficiency of City Hall. Then surely it does not make sense to renovate a building that is limited in size and will only accommodate 30% of our employees. We have 1500 staff and only 450 staff will be able to move into City Hall.

That means that for 70% of our staff, will be required to be housed in various locations throughout the downtown core as a result we will be paying rent and have to deal with lease negotiations and unpredictable lease rates for the fore seeable future. A number of these staff will have to travel between their off site offices and City Hall for meetings. Time will be lost and no work will be done while they are in transit to come to City Hall. How efficient is that? I believe that the tax payers of this community got shortchanged with this decision.

10. What is the most frustrating part of your job as councilor ? How do you deal with it? What is the most rewarding part of the job?

Of all the municipalities that I have lived in I find long term residents of Hamilton to be the most critical of their own community. Most often, they do not celebrate and take pride in what Hamilton has to offer. Many newcomers to Hamilton have a very positive outlook and comment on how lucky we are to have some many amenities, miles of walking trails and lot of services that do not exist in the communities they have come from.

Council has to do a better job of communicating many of the achievements and milestones and reestablish a senses of pride in our community To quote Trevor Cole of the Globe and Mail this morning on the radio, Winnipeg has less to offer it citizens and yet there is a real sense of pride. Hamiltonians are much more critical. I believe this a failure of council and we must lay out clearly the vision for the city of Hamilton and promote the positives.

Most rewarding part of the job is knowing that we continue to move the yard sticks forward in improving the lives for many residents of this community.

Special thanks to Clr. Whitehead for his contribution to "The Hamiltonian" and for his service to our city.
Visit him at http://www.terrywhitehead.ca/


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