Andrea Horwath says her 1st year as Hamilton mayor focused on transforming city hall
She's been a 'steady force' but more cautious as a leader than expected, expert says
This week, CBC Hamilton is looking back at this council's first year. This is Part 1 of a three-part series.
When Andrea Horwath became the mayor of Hamilton one year ago, she began her term unravelling the inner workings of city hall.
She says she was "quite surprised" by what she found.
"There's no doubt about it, but certainly the city needed to refocus," the mayor said, citing what she said was a lack of transparency and urgency from city staff.
"There were issues around how we deal with big problems."
Horwath sat down with CBC Hamilton for an interview last week to discuss her first year in office that she says has been dominated by behind-the-scenes work to improve city services, transparency and accountability.
'A city that people feel cares about them'
Horwath and the city's 15 councillors were sworn in on Nov. 16, 2022. Four days later, she said she learned from staff that sewage had been leaking into Hamilton Harbour from a Burlington Street-area pipe for 26 years.
With the Chedoke Creek "sewergate" fresh in the city's history — in 2019 it was revealed billions of litres of untreated sewage had seeped into the creek and the previous council had kept it secret — Horwath said she called staff together.
"I said, 'What did you learn from last time? What did you learn when we had another incident that went very badly in terms of how you communicate with the public?'" said Horwath, who had said during her campaign that transparency at city hall would be a priority.
"I was surprised to see that they were looking to do similar things in terms of not giving information out quickly. But when there's a leak, people deserve to know what's happening and that we're on it."
This spurred the city to hold a news conference with Hamilton Water director Nick Winters and general manager of public works Carlyle Khan that evening, Nov. 22. They informed residents about the leak and the city continued to provide updates until repairs were completed early this year.
She also pushed city staff to apologize for the spill, she said.
Filling the city manager vacancy left by Janette Smith, who retired this fall, will help, Horwath said. She's looking for someone who has the passion and energy to bring staff together.
"It's about having a city that people feel cares about them and is responsive to their needs," Horwath said.
Horwath 'more muted' than expected, expert says
Hamilton resident Chris Erl, a politics and public administration postdoctoral fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University, said while the mayor has been a "steady force," she's also been "more muted" than expected.
"It seems to be that rather than providing strong leadership, we see the mayor take a backseat and be a little more cautious," he said.
He said supporters had hoped she'd be a stronger leader for improving conditions for people experiencing homelessness or would be louder about the "surprise" move by the province to remove land from the Greenbelt.
She's also not shown she's on the side of workers, despite her previous role as leader of the Ontario New Democrats and support she's received from organized labour groups, Erl said. The Hamilton bus driver strike, for example, isn't something he expected to happen under her leadership.
Meanwhile councillors such as Cameron Kroetsch, Nrinder Nann, Maureen Wilson and Craig Cassar have "really shone" in place of the mayor when it comes to homelessness, road safety, active transportation and the Greenbelt, respectively, Erl said.
He acknowledged it's only been one year since she took office and it does take time to make the big changes people expect.
There have already been some noticeable delays. Horwath promised during her campaign that she'd set up a committee within 90 days of council "tasked with recommending improvements to access, transparency and accountability at city hall." The co-chairs of the new task force were instead announced in early October, 11 months after her inauguration.
Horwath's office said the mayor has meanwhile encouraged a "tone of collaboration" at city hall and has supported councillors in their advocacy work.
"Leadership is not about taking credit or dictating an approach, but about supporting the development of city staff and the collaborative functioning of council so that important work can be done by many, on behalf of all residents," said Siri Agrell, who worked for former Toronto mayor John Tory and is now Horwath's deputy chief of staff.
"She's proud of the work she's done, and excited to achieve even more on behalf of the people of Hamilton."
Karl Andrus with the Hamilton Community Benefits Network said he's seen Horwath make strides on building more supportive and affordable housing, but should be pushing the province to find new revenue streams for municipalities, as Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has done.
Challenges for Year 2
Lyndon George, executive director of the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre, said there were high expectations of the mayor because of her political career. George worked for Horwath when she was NDP leader.
"But the reality is we still have a governance system in place that is bureaucratic and feels like it's unable to respond to the pressures and realities of the times," George said.
When asked how he'd describe the mayor's performance over the last year, he said: "Ask me again in two years' time."
One major challenge for Horwath and council in the year ahead will be making decisions for the next city budget. Hamilton residents are likely facing a double-digit tax levy increase next year.
Horwath said the city is looking at drawing from reserves to ease financial pressures and sustain services.
"Theoretically, reserves are there for rainy day funds," Horwath said. "And I would say right now it's pouring. And it's a very, very difficult time right now."
Clarifications
- A previous version of this story said Hamilton Water Nick Winters held a news conference in November 2022. Winters spoke at it but the city in fact led it.Nov 20, 2023 1:50 PM ET
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