THUNDER BAY – With a week left before he officially takes office as Thunder Bay’s new mayor, Ken Boshcoff says he’s been champing at the bit to get started — but his hopes to do so a bit early have been dashed.
With the mayor’s seat vacant for over a month after the early departure of Bill Mauro, Boshcoff said there’s a “pent up demand” for the city’s top elected official to be brought into important discussions and attend community events.
Boshcoff said he had approached city administration to offer to get started on some of that work before the new city council elected on Oct. 24 officially takes office next week.
He heard back from city staff “that the law is clear,” he said. “If that’s what it is, that’s what it is.”
Ontario’s Municipal Act specifies Nov. 15 as the date in which newly elected members of council take office.
Boshcoff said in the meantime, he’s “on the job” and doing his best to tackle a backlog of over 700 messages he’s received through personal channels from residents, local groups, and others.
“People are calling [with] questions on almost every range of topic,” he said. “Vital concerns, whether it’s homelessness or pinhole leaks — I will get them an answer when I can get information properly.”
“I’m trying to help as many people as I can from my home, using my phone and my computer, and through the good nature of the public service here in Thunder Bay, people have been very helpful.”
While Boshcoff said while he accepts administration’s answer that it’s not possible to step into official duties sooner, he called it unfortunate.
“There’s no doubt I could be more effective much quicker, and people would have much more public access to the mayor, if they knew they didn’t have to go to a condo or a coffee shop, that type of thing,” he said.
City manager Norm Gale said he appreciates the newly elected officials are eager to get started.
However, he emphasized the city had little leeway to circumvent the authority of the current city council, which remains in office and has a final meeting scheduled for Nov. 14.
“The reality today is the corporation is governed by the existing city council,” Gale said. “Governance is happening, administration continues to do their work, and we carry on.”
Councillors had the option in early October, before the election, to appoint a replacement upon Mauro’s early departure, but voted unanimously to leave the seat vacant.
Gale declined to comment on whether the vacancy had set the city back, simply reiterating that “city council made a decision to keep the mayor’s seat vacant.”
The newly elected council will undergo orientation sessions before its first scheduled meeting in late November, he said, before almost immediately tackling two major priorities: reviewing the proposed 2023 budget, and setting a strategic plan for its term.
Asked about his first priorities after he takes office on Nov. 15, Boshcoff said he plans to meet with groups dealing with “social issues” in the city to review current efforts on homelessness and other matters.
He expressed optimism the new council will soon find its footing.
“Starting at a run, we’ve got the blessing of having several experienced councillors coming back,” he said. “That will be immensely helpful. I’m hoping as we get the chair positions filled with people with experience and good background, we can really pick up where things left off.”
