Longtime Peterborough city councillor Keith Riel has taken the first step of what is unquestionably the biggest gamble of his political life.
On Friday (May 1), the 78-year-old Ashburnham Ward representative filed his nomination papers at Peterborough City Hall as a mayoralty candidate in this fall’s municipal election.
Should he win his bid for mayor, he will secure his fifth term on city council; lose, and he’s on the outside looking in for the first time in 16 years.
Frustration with council leadership sparks mayoral bid
Speaking with kawarthaNOW at his East City home, Riel’s relaxed demeanour belied any concern or nervousness over going all in with a mayoral run. Instead, he exuded confidence in a decision made quite some time ago — one that he was making no secret of as early as last November.
“About halfway through this council term, I watched how things were going,” recounted Riel of his decision to run for the mayoral position currently held by Jeff Leal.
“I had high hopes for Jeff but a couple of things precipitated my decision. One was the pickleball (courts development in Bonnerworth Park that Leal supported). Another was the (Brock Mission transitional housing) development on Chemong Road where he used strong mayor powers. Then, when he voted for the 17-storey (residential) building on Hunter Street (in East City), I thought ‘I’m not going to work under another mayor.'”
Riel noted that he would “probably be re-elected” if he ran again for one of the two Ashburnham Ward seats on council, “but I would be the most unhappy person sitting there for another four years collecting a paycheque and not doing what I feel should be done.”
“So, I’m going to run for mayor — win, lose, or draw.”
While Riel didn’t outright say this council term was the toughest of his four since he was first elected in 2010, he left no doubt that his disappointment in Mayor Leal’s leadership style is a huge factor in his now going for broke.
“I find him very childish, very vindictive, for someone who’s supposed to be a seasoned politician. This isn’t the guy I thought I knew. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have known Jeff a lot longer than I have, and they say they don’t even recognize the guy.”
Riel attributes that to the Ontario government’s decision to grant so-called “strong mayor powers” to the heads of councils of 216 municipalities, with the City of Peterborough receiving them as of October 31, 2023.
“I saw that change in him. He didn’t really have to engage the rest of council — he could just direct staff however he wanted on projects he thought were important and push them ahead.”
Riel’s six priorities for Peterborough’s future
His clear disappointment in Mayor Leal aside, Riel has his own vision in terms of priorities that he wants to move on over the next term of council.
“We’re at a jumping off point,” he said, adding “We have to do something concrete to build the city we want, not just accept a slow decline into something we don’t recognize.”
While he says his election platform will see some fleshing out, Riel has identified the following six priorities:
- A City That Works: Riel promises to be “disciplined” when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars and make decisions that move Peterborough forward. The city, he says, “faces too many stalled projects.” A Riel administration “will set a direction, stay focused and will see things through.”
- Housing People Can Afford: Riel pledges “to work with builders, community partners, and other levels of government to cut through the approvals backlog, get more homes built and keep neighbourhoods strong.” Peterborough, he says, “can’t grow if people can’t afford to live here.”
- A Local Economy That Grows Here: Peterborough businesses, says Riel, “don’t need cheerleading” but do need a city government “that understands how they operate and gets out of their way.” To that end, he’s committed to ensuring “faster processes and fewer barriers,” the result being “a clear signal that Peterborough is open for business.”
- Safe Communities, Strong Services: Riel pledges public safety and city services will be “funded, functional, and fairly run,” resulting in stable labour relations, clear expectations and workers “respected, supported and held to a high standard.”
- Arts, Culture, and a City That Creates: Believing that arts and culture “drive innovation and attract people and investment,” Riel says his administration “will treat the (downtown) core sector as a key part of Peterborough’s economy and identity,” adding “stable, long-term funding,” and ensuring key players “have a seat at the table” are key.
- A Council That Acts: Pledging to “set the tone,” Riel says his council will see debates “focused and make decisions people can see and understand.” The goal, he adds, is a city council that produces “less noise, more results.”
Riel emphasized that his life experience anchors his confidence that he can follow through on these priorities.
A career shaped by labour, business, and public service
Born and raised in Peterborough’s south end, where his father was a millwright at General Electric and his mother had the task of raising him and his siblings, Riel landed a job at General Electric straight out of high school.
Working for more than 38 years at the plant, Riel says he not only excelled in the demands of the job but also immersed himself in the union, working his way up from shop steward to union local president.
“They taught me everything, including how to negotiate against them,” he said of General Electric.
On retirement, Riel didn’t sit idle. He served two terms as president of the Peterborough and District Labour Council and first ran for an Ashburnham Ward council seat in 2003, finishing a distant fourth.
After running in the ward again in 2006 and coming in third but with a substantially higher vote count, Riel proved the third time is indeed a charm in 2010, winning election in Ashburnham alongside Len Vass.
Over the course of his four terms, he’s co-chaired a number of portfolios, ranging from municipal operations to community services including housing and homelessness.
Besides his political experience, Riel brings to his election bid a little known but influential background as a business owner and operator.
In his early 20s, he helped open a disco in Peterborough. Later, his DJ company RMS Music employed 10 people. That 30-year venture was followed by The Green Door, a George Street gift retail shop he owned and ran with his then-wife.
Riel maintains all three experiences armed him with a full understanding of the pressures that small business owners face daily, and why any support that city council can provide them — financial, symbolic, or otherwise — is key in easing those burdens.
Promising a more unified and action-oriented council
Recalling his motivation for initially seeking public office, Riel said “I wanted people to have the life I had: a job, a home, a family, and a good future.”
All these years later, that desire still anchors his passion for politics, but events over this council term have convinced him it’s time to put himself in a position where he can have greater influence over outcomes.
“Running the city is no different than my home here,” assessed Riel, adding “I budget.”
“A lot of people are (just) hanging on. They want to know what their tax bill is going to be for the next four years. Outside of a major catastrophe (that requires more city expenditures), they should have the assurance it’s going to be five per cent (higher), or whatever that number is.”
“But when you’re throwing a dart at a dartboard — that it’s going to be 6.9 per cent, or it could be seven per cent, or it could be 10 per cent — we’re all over the map here. I mean, come on.”
And then there’s the polarization on council that Riel says he’s felt and experienced. More often than not, votes are lost by an 8-3 count, with Riel often voting in solidarity with Town Ward councillors Joy Lachica and Alex Bierk. The result has been, as he put it, “drift” and “more division”
“We all have certain points of view and I respect that, but I don’t think some of them do their homework, and some feel an allegiance to the mayor,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but that’s their business. You can only control what you can control.”
“The key to get councillors on the same page, at least initially, is having a mayor and council that’s ready on day one. There isn’t any morphing into figuring out what the hell’s going on or what’s going to happen here. We can’t be six months or even a year in until we figure what’s going on. We can’t afford to lose a year. We have to be going on day one.”
To that end, Riel promises his first act as mayor will be bringing back something that’s been missing for quite some time: a retreat for council that brings members together to discuss priorities, set goals and, on a more grounded level, allows councillors to get know one another better.
“Daryl didn’t do that, Diane didn’t do that,” noted Riel, referring to previous mayors Daryl Bennett and Diane Therrien, “and Jeff didn’t do that.”
“This (next council term) won’t be the Keith Riel show. This is council’s show. We need to get together and talk about what we heard at the door and then list those things on a whiteboard. I can tell you by the time we have 11 names on there and another 11 things or whatever under each name, there are going to be three or four things, some commonalities, that stand out.”
With the campaigning period for the October 26 election now open, Riel, like all election hopefuls, will build his team and start his appeal for votes.
As for his staking his political career on a positive outcome, he says he’s not overly concerned, if at all.
“I’ve given 16 years of my life to my community,” he said of being in public office, adding “Outside of my kids being born, this has been the hallmark of my life.”
“If there’s no Keith Riel, there’ll be no crying or gnashing of teeth,” Riel predicted of his absence from council should he lose the election. “I’m proud of what I’ve done and, with that, I would be bid adieu. But hopefully that doesn’t happen — that (instead) I get to call on the 16 years of knowledge I have and move onto the next level.”
“Hopefully, people gravitate to what I’m saying and what I’m doing and say ‘That’s the guy that we want to be the mayor of the City of Peterborough.”
