As seven candidates compete to become Peterborough’s next mayor in the municipal election on October 26, kawarthaNOW is asking the contenders to outline their plans for the economy, housing, taxes, and leadership at city hall.
As many Peterborough residents have expressed a lack of trust in city hall, whoever takes the mayor’s seat will need to demonstrate their leadership style and qualities as the head of a new city council for the next four years.
With incumbent mayor Jeff Leal not running for re-election, the seven certified mayoral candidates are Michael Eamon, Rob Hailman, Brian Lumsden, Jacob Méthot, Neil Morton, incumbent Ashburnham Ward councillor Keith Riel, and Rebecca Schillemat. Earlier this week, Hailman announced he is suspending his campaign but his name will remain on the ballot.
Having conducted in-depth interviews with all seven mayoral candidates to introduce their campaigns, kawarthaNOW has asked the candidates to go on the record about the most pressing election issues.
On the topic of leadership and governance, kawarthaNOW asked the candidates three questions: “What are the two most important actions you would take during your first 100 days as mayor?”, “What one change would you make to improve transparency, accountability and public confidence at City Hall?”, and “Under what circumstances, if any, would you use strong mayor powers? Please provide one example.”
kawarthaNOW is publishing the responses from the candidates verbatim.
What are the two most important actions you would take during your first 100 days as mayor?
Michael Eamon
There are several things that must happen concurrently in the first 100 days. Personally, the most important to action is to shape council into a functioning team and build trust in the chamber. Council meetings need to be productive, where informed opinion is heard, and clear, thoughtful, and direct guidance is given. Councillors must have clear expectations of conduct and know they have the support of their mayor. We cannot wait a moment to build the council Peterborough deserves.
This year, the City commissioned its first Efficiency Review, which cost $350,000. Considering this massive investment, this is one consultant’s report that cannot be shelved. On my first day, I will be establishing that key relationship with the CAO and telling him my mandate is to address bureaucratic inertia and to be looking for areas of ongoing budget savings. Working with the CAO, I am committed to reducing redundant processes, approval bottlenecks, communication and delegation breakdowns, and general overspending. Addressing internal communication issues and operational inefficiencies are key. Likewise, addressing the external communication issue with the County, and the resulting inefficiencies that exist, is also essential. In the first 100 days, initial overtures reestablishing a trusting relationship with the County must happen. All boats rise together and a regional perspective to social and economic growth is needed. This includes a new and comprehensive approach to employment and development lands, a regional outlook for economic growth, and renewed and open conversations about all of our shared public responsibilities.
Rob Hailman
One of the first jobs for the new council upon taking office will be jumping right into the budget, working to reallocate funding towards the construction of public housing, and ensuring the budget is responsible, but does not risk essential services and important priorities in the name of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
The second is to conduct a thorough review of the barriers facing private-sector housing construction, continuing the work of the Mayor’s Task Force for Housing Creation. While this task force did good work in identifying issues facing housing creation in Peterborough, we have seen little action or impact from its recommendations. Planning an ambitious legislative agenda to this end will be an essential task on day one.
Brian Lumsden
Reduce the Mayor’s salary by 10% and investigate the business practices of One City.
Jacob Méthot
Setting up the city for long-term success is necessary before everything else discussed is possible.
1. Improving public access to City Council. At the very least, I would restore ten delegations per issue. If people want to speak about a topic, they should be allowed to speak. If the meetings go too late, they can always be held in recess.
2. Launching a comprehensive, redeveloped communications strategy. This would improve how the City communicates important issues to residents and redesigns the way the City collects, designs, and distributes public surveys to allow for better data collection.
Neil Morton
First, I would work with council, city staff and residents to develop a Council Strategic Vision that establishes clear priorities and objectives, and acts as a roadmap for council.
Second, I would be introducing Mayor’s “Office Hours” to give residents an opportunity to meet one-on-one with me to discuss ideas, concerns, and community issues as having my ear to the ground in this way like I did canvassing thousands of doors is the best way to gauge the concerns of a community.
Keith Riel
First, turn my platform into a public delivery plan. Within 90 days, every major commitment will have a responsible lead, milestones, a target date and a clear budget status. Residents will be able to see what’s on track, what’s late and why.
Second, prepare the new Council to govern. I expect many councillors will be new. They’ll be responsible for hundreds of millions of public dollars and decisions affecting nearly every part of life in Peterborough. They shouldn’t have to figure it out as they go.
Working with the Clerk and senior staff, I’ll ensure Council receives serious preparation in municipal law, finance, governance and the respective roles of Council and staff. Councillors will also spend time learning to work through disagreement.
Council doesn’t have to agree on everything, but it does have to function.
Rebecca Schillemat
As mayor, during the first 100 days, I will:
- Create a targeted 4 year strategic plan for the council term based on input from every elected councillor, publish the goals and report on progress annually.
- Schedule the annual open town hall meetings, regular business roundtables and open office hours to improve communication and collaboration, including offering the Mayor’s office for councillors to meet with residents as needed.
What one change would you make to improve transparency, accountability and public confidence at City Hall?
Michael Eamon
One of my administrative roles was with the federal government at the National Archives of Canada. Archives were originally created to support democracy, so that a record of government decisions were kept and made accessible to the public. The lack of transparency and accountability at City Hall is a concern that needs to be addressed.
I would like to establish what I am calling a Spirit of Openness at city hall, which means ensuring that documentation on operations is easily accessible to the public. Primarily, I would like to see public online dashboards created for every city department. These dashboards would clearly indicate each department’s budget, planned and underway initiatives, and offer key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure that the goals are being met. These areas would severe a secondary purpose of being a portal that would link the public to the core policy, procedural, and budget documents that govern each department.
Related to that, I would also like to see a return of deeper citizen engagement with real consultations, not surveys with leading questions. Peterborough has a wealth of citizen expertise going untapped. During canvassing, I met people who were formerly directors, presidents, assistant deputy ministers of major corporations or government departments across the province and the country. For all of this city’s major programs and developments, we need to have blue ribbon panels of homegrown professionals who are not only subject matter experts, but can frame it through their own experience living in Peterborough.
Rob Hailman
While there are many changes I pursue to this end, the first and most important would be to reverse the changes made to council’s procedure bylaw. I opposed these changes as a delegate when they were before council earlier this year, and the intervening months have proven me right. Between reduced numbers of delegations, fewer opportunities for councillors to question delegates and presenters, and significantly curtailed time permitted for debate and discussion by council, these changes have had an immediate and universally negative impact on council’s ability to make good decisions, to hold staff accountable, and to themselves be held accountable by the public.
Brian Lumsden
Be transparent with the public and accountable for my actions; there’s the possibility of live streaming the council meeting. Treat the public with the respect that it deserves.
(Editor’s note: Council meetings are already livestreamed on the City of Peterborough website.)
Jacob Méthot
We need regular, open meetings or “Town Halls” involving both elected officials and City Staff with the public and media that allow for citizens to directly challenge those that make decisions. Once people are freely able to question, accountability and trust can start to be restored.
Neil Morton
Modernize the City’s Procedural By-law to create more opportunities for citizen engagement in the decision making — and at an earlier stage in the process. This would entail replacing the General Committee with a Committee of the Whole model, where less formal and more extensive debate and citizen engagement can take place, and ensure that matters debated at Committee of the Whole proceed to Council for ratification.
Keith Riel
Let residents see whether we’re delivering. They shouldn’t have to wait until the next election to learn whether their mayor kept a promise.
I’ll publish a public dashboard showing what’s on track, what’s late, what has changed and why. Portfolio chairs will report publicly on their major files, and once a year the mayor and senior City leadership will answer four questions in a public forum like Market Hall or Showplace: What did we promise? What got done? What didn’t? What happens next?
Accountability matters — I expect residents to hold our feet to the fire.
Rebecca Schillemat
To strengthen public confidence, as mayor I will improve communication by listening, taking action based on input from residents and experts, and informing residents of the results. This will be accomplished by:
- Establishing a weekly office hour open for Everyone to speak with the mayor
- Hosting annual ward town halls with ward councillors
- Launching interactive performance dashboards on the City’s website
- Publishing an annual report on the council’s progress that will be mailed to residents.
Under what circumstances, if any, would you use strong mayor powers? Please provide one example.
Michael Eamon
Americans love democracy, but also strong executive powers. They originally brought strong executive powers to the municipal level. And, like many American concepts, they are now becoming a part of our political life.
I am against the authoritarian and undemocratic aspects of Strong Mayor powers. I can potentially see the value of strong executive powers when there are hundreds of representatives in a legislature. I cannot see that value when there are only 11 members in a city council. I do not intend to use strong mayor powers to overrule the opinions of democratically elected councillors. I will ask councillors to offer an honest take on the views of citizens (no matter how controversial) and find a common path forward. I know this will take time, but it is time well spent. I will encourage councillors to be the best representatives that they can be and foster honest, productive discussions for the good of the city. I don’t think this can be done with the threat of being overruled at a moment’s notice.
There are elements of Strong Mayor legislation that might benefit the city without affecting the democratic process. For example, any budget approved before January is automatically deemed a “strong mayor budget” even if it received unanimous consent from council. Passing budgets early can result in cost savings for the city, in getting tenders out sooner, potentially securing better prices for services, etc. In this case, I would consider exercising this strong mayor power.
(Editor’s note: Under the province’s strong mayor power legislation, the mayor is required to propose the budget for the municipality each year by February 1, sharing it with council and the public. Within specific timelines, council can then propose amendments to the budget, which the mayor can veto, and council can override a mayor’s veto with a two-thirds vote. If the mayor does not propose the budget by February 1, council must prepare and adopt the budget.)
Rob Hailman
I do not intend to use strong mayor powers. I will, to the fullest extent possible in law, delegate strong mayor powers back to council. I will, categorically, never veto a decision of council or bring forward a by-law requiring only one-third support, as these two acts are an affront to our democracy.
There are some cases, such as proposing the budget, where the mayor must use strong mayor powers under the Municipal Act. As was the practice in Peterborough until the 2026 budget, I will treat these solely as a formality and instead ensure council follows a budget review process similar to that which was used before the imposition of strong mayor powers.
Brian Lumsden
I will do everything in my power to clean up this opioid crisis and to keep the taxes low.
Jacob Méthot
Under absolutely no circumstances whatsoever would I use strong mayor powers. They are grossly anti-democratic at best and ignore the voices of thousands. I understand their use as something to push through more housing, but doing so without hearing each representative of Peterborough’s vote is disgusting.
Firing department heads means that the entire city staff turn into people who work at the will of one person in charge — the mayor. Some have families, some have children, and all have livelihoods. It’s a terrifying prospect to walk into work and wonder if your career is in jeopardy.
Using it to push through the budget, even if no changes are made, rushes the process and takes credit away from hard working councillors who make sure each aspect reflects the needs of the city.
Neil Morton
I’ve always been a culture guy, a glue guy, bringing people together. So, my goal is always to seek consensus and collaboration with council and to working together. I have no intention of using strong mayor powers in normal course of council activity. They are, however, an important tool in the toolkit provided by the province to most Ontario mayors, and one that I may use in an accountable manner on a limited basis to move forward issues I campaigned on and was elected to implement. My objective as Mayor is to govern in an open and transparent manner. I’ll always seek the advice and expertise of city staff, and garner council support on the key issues before us. I’m determined to accelerate key priorities like housing, economic development and infrastructure — areas of critical importance to Peterborough and, frankly, areas where we’re falling behind. Using strong mayor powers will never be my first choice, but should they be required to advance city priorities like keeping taxes affordable, restoring downtown or creating new housing, they will be used transparently, carefully, and in limited circumstances.
Keith Riel
I’ll use strong mayor powers when they’re the right tool to move important work forward. That includes the budget, organizational and written staff-direction powers available to the mayor, used where they help advance priority files.
I won’t use these powers as a shortcut around democracy. Winning the support of Council and the public is non-negotiable. I also won’t use the special bylaw powers to force through a bylaw that couldn’t win an ordinary majority of Council.
For example, if a shovel-ready affordable-housing project is stalled between City departments, I would use the lawful powers available to the mayor to establish responsibility and get the file moving.
Whenever I use a strong mayor power, I’ll publish the decision required by law, a plain-language explanation of why I used it and, afterward, what it achieved. I expect to be held accountable for those decisions.
Rebecca Schillemat
Strong Mayor Powers should never serve as a substitute for collaboration, clear communication, and mutual respect at City Hall. As Mayor, I will work constructively with all members of Council to establish a transparent governance framework that prioritizes consensus and respectful discussion. By setting clear planning guidelines, maintaining open channels of communication, and standardizing application processes, we can achieve our housing and economic targets democratically without needing to rely on vetoes or unilateral staff changes.
As Mayor, I am committed to consulting with every elected councillor to understand their perspectives and build a collaborative framework for decision-making. Using Strong Mayor powers unilaterally undermines democratic governance and removes valuable opportunities to refine plans through teamwork. Improving operational efficiency and municipal processes from the start addresses the root causes of delay, ensuring decisions reflect the best interests of the majority of Council and our community.
kawarthaNOW has reproduced written responses from candidates verbatim, without editing for grammar or format. Any errors, factual or otherwise, or any use of AI-generated content originate with the candidate. Editor’s notes may be provided in some cases to address factual errors.
