Are there pending cracks in Patrick Brown’s popularity in Brampton?

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Published March 6, 2020 at 9:39 pm

As we are moving into the second year of his mandate, the once improbable idea of Patrick Brown as mayor of Brampton is becoming more settled in the minds of the residents of Canada’s ninth largest

As we are moving into the second year of his mandate, the once improbable idea of Patrick Brown as mayor of Brampton is becoming more settled in the minds of the residents of Canada’s ninth largest city.

One thing that can be said about Brown is, since taking office in December of 2018, is that the mayor has been everywhere. Literally everywhere. He has been to various restaurant openings in Brampton, new businesses that sprang up in town and virtually every public and community event that is available. 

The man’s improbable comeback story, from being seen as a pariah in Progressive Conservative circles to becoming mayor, is nothing if not impressive even for detractors. 

Meanwhile, there has been a flurry of activity taking place with regards to major initiatives in the city, in the absence of any concrete movement towards achieving those goals. Hallway medicine is one of the top issues in Brampton, what with the overcrowding of hospitals and the lack of beds. 

The city launched a rather loud and ambitious lobbying effort, dubbed the so-called “#FairDealforBrampton”, which highlighted the difference in health care spending in Brampton in comparison to other communities in this province. So far, while there was a verbal commitment recently from Premier Doug Ford that there will be another hospital in the city, nothing has been set in stone. With Brown and Ford having actual meetings in person, that is at least one good sign things could be moving along and we won’t have to focus on stories about Ford trying to make the lives of Brampton’s people miserable…unless you’re with the NDP.

There are little to no opinion polls conducted at the municipal level, so it is hard to come by any concrete data at this point to ascertain how popular Brown is as mayor. From the online reaction to his announcements and his appearances, things are moving in a positive direction. 


But there are some concerning issues under Brown’s tenure that may change that view. It’s just at this point, they may be too “inside baseball” for the average resident to comprehend, let alone care.

Recently, the city’s integrity commissioner ruled that Brampton Focus, a self described ‘media outlet’ operating in the city promoting issues and community events, breached city bylaws when they received a $150,000 grant last year. A resident filed a complaint accusing city councillors of violating bylaws when they awarded the money as a ‘sole sourced contract’ to Brampton Focus.

Questions also arose whether the organization actually constituted as a local media outlet or were in fact a lobbying group, as one of its former directors is a current city councillor which drew additional accusations of conflict of interest. The complaint named Brown and all members of council. 

Although this matter did not relate directly to Brown for the most part, it is the peculiar hiring practices Brampton has had when it comes to senior management that raises more eyebrows. 

David Barrick was hired as Brampton’s new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) last October and Jason Tamming was brought on as the city’s strategic communications director. Barrick had also served as CAO of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA).

But a two year investigation by the Ontario Ombudsman found that Tamming wielded ‘improper influence’ in the hiring of a man named Carmen D’Angelo as CAO for Niagara Region in 2016.

“The Regional Municipality of Niagara’s 2016 CAO hiring process was an inside job, tainted by the improper disclosure of confidential information to a candidate – a candidate who was ultimately successful and became the region’s most senior administrator,” Ombudsman Paul Dubé wrote in his report, entitled Inside Job.

At a time when a growing city like Brampton should be looking for the best and brightest talent to serve its city government, the growing trend of hiring bureaucrats from Niagara Region, with 12 municipalities carrying a population 100,000 smaller than Brampton, has been somewhat strange.

Why not seek out more qualified candidates who have worked in big cities and instead focusing on hiring from a mid-sized jurisdiction that is dealing with different issues than Brampton?

Former Brampton CAO Harry Schlange also originally came from Niagara, although he had some skills managing a large city administration. In contrast, Barrick had only a few months overseeing a small regional conservation authority before being thrusted into the role of running Canada’s ninth largest city.

All this makes you wonder just what other shenanigans are happening inside Brampton City Hall under Brown’s tenure.

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