What The Job of Mayor Requires, From Someone Who’s Done It

Saint John is headed in the right direction but we need competent leaders to grab the baton and continue this relay. Having done the job, this is what I’m looking for in the people I choose to give my vote to on May 10 and why.

Photo: Kelly Lawson

I believe the Mayor’s role is a full-time job and should be treated as such. There have been others in the past that have taken different approaches but I’ll explain more on that later…

Before entering politics, I served as a senior leader in the private sector for 20 years and had extensive national-level board of directors experience. These experiences have certainly helped in my navigation of the Mayoral role.

Key attributes that would be helpful in the Mayor’s role, in my opinion, based on the REAL requirements and responsibilities of the position and what I learned I must aspire to:

• Understands needs and a commitment to do what’s right for the whole community (citizens first).
• Understands governance and the role of the Council within the legislation of our province.
• Empathetic and caring.
• Strategic thinker who can connect short-term actions to long-term outcomes.
• Able to lead others to achieve positive outcomes for the community.
• Detail-oriented.
• Strong communicator.
• High integrity and ethics.
• Tenacious and able to handle a high level of criticism.
• High energy, passionate and positive.
• Self-confident.
• Able to multitask and absorb large amounts of information.
• A balanced thinker, able to help others understand complex issues.
• A strong understanding of governance and an understanding that Council sets policy and budget. It does not run the day-to-day operations.
• Able to lead an orderly meeting.
• Able to engage with and educate the community on important subjects.
• Understands that they are the chairman of the board of a $200 million dollar corporation — with no authority.

Salary approximately $88,000 per year with no health benefits or pension. There is a budget related to the Mayor’s office to cover duties and expenses related to the role.

The mayor’s office has one staff member, who supports administrative duties, schedules, emails, constituency communications, works with other staff in the city, and strategy development.

Important Things Take Time

Over my five year term, I will have presided over or attended the following direct meetings:

• Approximately 140 council meetings (every two weeks and special meetings when required).
• Approximately 50 Growth committee meetings (monthly meetings).
• Approximately 50 finance committee meetings (monthly meetings).
• Approximately 60 police commission meetings (monthly meetings plus special meetings).
• Regular weekly meetings with city administration and council members.
• Served on the board of Develop SJ, where monthly meetings were held.
• Served as a representative on the 8 Cities of NB Association, where monthly meetings were held.
• Approximately 40 Fundy region service commission meetings (monthly meetings).
• Also, there would have been hundreds of meetings with community groups, business groups, potential investors, and other community leaders.
• Travelled as required for my role, both within the Atlantic Region and across the country.

I would estimate that I worked between 50 and 60 hours per week, with some city business aspects seven days per week.

Council days are typically jam-packed with prep, often reading hundreds of material pages, preparing speaking notes, preparing for media interviews, and meeting with the city manager. These quite regularly turn into 12 to 14 hour days.

Before covid, there were regular public events that I chose to attend. This would include dinner events, arts and culture events, fundraisers, sporting events, birthday parties, etc.

I also spend significant time in the evenings and weekends communicating through social media with the community. I would estimate 10 to 15 hours per week.

The job of Mayor and Councillor is so poorly defined that almost everyone thinks they or their buddy can do the job. But not everyone can do the job well. So, in the absence of a proper job description for these roles in our City, I have created my own, adapted from a City that has articulated traditional job descriptions.

If I Stayed

If the things I get called out for and criticized for not prioritizing in public discourse— snow removal, potholes, sidewalks, etc — are what we decide we want our next Mayor and Council to focus on, we’re in trouble.

I believe the following initiatives (not meant to be exhaustive) will be critical focus areas over the next term, they are what I would focus on if I had another term. Each one of these will contribute to the sustainability of the city and lead to citizens thriving economically, socially, and culturally:

• Focus on improving customer service and culture.
• Performance management.
• Monitor economic development growth outcomes.
• Follow the long-term financial plan and policies.
• Implement the Ernst and Young operational report.
• Achieve provincial municipal reforms.
• Implement the City’s long-term strategic plan, etc.
• Improve social equity.

Expectations Placed on a Mayor

Mayors face enormous expectations. The public often believes that the office holds great power and turns to the mayor with high expectations. In a national study of the power of Canada’s mayors, and through interviews with numerous mayors, past mayors, and people who work closely with mayors, many expressed feeling the pressure of the expectations placed upon them. In the words of one seasoned Canadian mayor:

“It’s a big job. You’re the quarterback, the referee, the equipment manager, and the cheerleader — all at the same time. You’re seen as the person who controls everything, sometimes way beyond local government jurisdiction and definitely beyond what you actually control. People think you’re in charge, but you’re not really. When people are unhappy, they call you. It doesn’t matter what they are unhappy about — a big political issue, a family tragedy, or what happened on their morning commute — they call, and they want results. They reach to the leader who is closest to the people — and that’s the mayor.”

Leadership Roles for a Mayor

(A major reference for me in preparing this was Kate Graham, Being a Mayor is a Tough Job)

Specifically, Canada’s mayors have three leadership roles:

• Political leaders, working with an elected council, officials in other orders of government, and sometimes within a local political party.
• Executive leaders, working with the senior administration of their municipality, local boards, and other organizations responsible for the delivery of services.
• Community leaders, being the chief representative of the community and responsible to work with a large network of people and organizations in that community.

Each of these leadership roles involves different expectations, and specific skills and resources. In practice, mayors tend to gravitate toward one or more of these roles, and the type of leadership provided by the mayor has a profound influence on the governance dynamics in a community.

Empowering Others to Make Things Happen

Mayors are uniquely positioned to empower those around them;

• providing leadership opportunities to other council members,
• drawing and focusing attention to key priorities,
• communicating programs, activities, and accomplishments of a municipality to the media and public,
• amplifying individuals and organizations in the community,
• bringing together diverse groups to tackle community issues, and more.

Just because Canadian mayors do not have independent executive authority does not mean that they do not have power. It’s actually quite the opposite. Mayors occupy a unique position within Canadian municipalities and can — and do — leverage this position to make things happen in their communities.

Leaders Communicate

From all of this, it may sound like the odds are against our municipal political leaders but in public life, many constraints have emerged that keep us moving at the pace of consensus because this is about governing a group of people. So what remains in the role of Mayor and Council is the political work — the responsibility and the ability to shape public decisions toward the best outcomes for the community through effective communication.

Leaders don’t make the tough decisions behind closed doors, it’s listening, learning, representing and serving, and communicating so that we are moving into a better future together. Many of the barriers we face, when I got here, might not have been avoidable, but they could have been talked about and strategies developed to address them.

It’s not only the Council that has to embrace the principles of citizens first, openness and transparency but the administration too. The administration runs the city but the politicians are meant to make sure they are running it in service to the people that pay taxes, support their neighbors, and invest themselves in our community.

Why full-time?

So why do I think we need a full-time Mayor? Hopefully, the insight I’ve just given you has answered that already. I believe it’s about commitment, focus, and staying engaged with outcomes. If the three themes of the role are taken seriously — political leader, executive leader, and community leader — this will require a minimum of 40 hours per week.

Although hours spent are not the measure of success, Council, lead by the Mayor, must set the tone on what success looks like. Strategy, objectives, action plan, metrics, and transparent reporting. Try delivering on that with part-time attention.

Saint John must have members of the Council with the right motivations for service and the competency to listen, communicate, and set policy with a clear, understood direction. The mayor’s role requires the person we select to be an executive leader, a political leader, and a community leader, all in one.

On May 10th there will be dozens of applicants looking for a new job to serve as our representatives. Please get to know them, ask them tough questions, think about the prosperity of the entire city, our need to grow our population, and most importantly, please vote.

Thanks for taking the time,

Don