Kevin Ashe has just achieved something few municipal politicians ever do: he now occupies two centres of political gravity at the same time.
On October 26, Pickering voters returned Ashe to the mayor’s office. Barely two weeks later, the Province of Ontario appointed him Chair and CEO of Durham Region. Beginning November 15, he will be both Mayor of Pickering and the person expected to lead the regional government representing all eight Durham municipalities.
That is not, by itself, a scandal. It may even prove effective. Ashe has decades of municipal experience and understands both Pickering and Durham exceptionally well. But there is a question we should not be afraid to ask: When Pickering and Durham want different things, which Kevin Ashe shows up?
Because eventually, they will. Imagine a major infrastructure project where Pickering wants one route, one timeline or one funding priority, while the broader interests of Durham point somewhere else. As Mayor of Pickering, Ashe is expected to fight for Pickering. As Regional Chair, he is expected to consider Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby collectively.
Dual Interest May Not Always Align
Those interests will not always align. That isn’t cynicism. That’s government. And that’s where the optics become uncomfortable.
The regional chair isn’t simply a ceremonial referee. Ashe will preside over regional council, serve as CEO of the corporation, help guide policy discussions and advocate for Durham with other levels of government. Ontario’s governance framework also gives heads of council significant executive and budgetary responsibilities.
At the same time, he remains Mayor of Pickering. One person. Two mandates. Two councils. Two sets of expectations.
- Supporters will reasonably argue this could be an enormous advantage.
- Pickering now has a mayor with an extraordinary understanding of regional decision-making.
- Durham gets a chair who knows first-hand the pressures facing one of its fastest-growing municipalities.
- There may be efficiencies, relationships and institutional knowledge that make the arrangement work extremely well.
Consider The Difficult And Not The Easy Day
But good governance cannot rely solely on confidence in the person holding the office. It also requires structures that remain credible when interests collide. Interestingly, the province itself recognizes a distinction between the two roles. Ashe will occupy the chair’s seat at regional council, while Pickering will appoint someone else to represent the municipality at the regional table.
That matters.
The regional chair is supposed to lead Durham — not function as Pickering’s additional representative. So consider the difficult day, not the easy one.
- What happens when Pickering Council formally supports something regional council opposes? Does Mayor Ashe publicly advocate for Pickering, then sit down moments later as Chair Ashe to preside over the opposing regional debate?
- What happens when Durham’s preferred infrastructure investment benefits Whitby or Oshawa while Pickering believes that money should be spent closer to home?
- What happens when the interests of the city that elected him collide with the interests of the region he was appointed to lead?
There may be absolutely no legal conflict in many of those circumstances. But political conflict and the appearance of conflict matter too. There is also a more practical question: time.
Being mayor of a rapidly growing city isn’t a part-time responsibility. Neither is leading one of Ontario’s largest regional governments, responsible for enormous infrastructure, transit, water and wastewater, housing, social services and other essential services.
Pickering residents deserve a full-time mayor. Durham residents deserve a fully engaged regional chair. Can one person realistically be both? Perhaps Kevin Ashe can.
But the burden should now be on him to demonstrate it.
- That means transparency.
- Clear boundaries between the two offices.
- Public explanations when Pickering and Durham disagree.
- Appropriate recusals where legally required.
- And no ambiguity about which constituency he is representing when major decisions are made.
Because the most important question isn’t whether Kevin Ashe now holds too much power. It’s whether, when that power is exercised, the public can always tell whose interests come first.
Note: The author is a prominent resident of the City of Pickering
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