York Regional Council

York Regional Council is the political body for the Regional Municipality of York in Ontario, Canada. Created in 1970, it consists of 20 elected representatives plus the Regional Chair. The elected members are the mayors of each of its nine municipalities (Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Newmarket, Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and Whitchurch-Stouffville), as well as an additional eleven Regional Councillors from the more populous municipalities—four from Markham, three from Vaughan, two from Richmond Hill and one each from Georgina and Newmarket. These members are elected via double direct election.

The Regional Chair is elected at large by the members of Regional Council at their inaugural meeting and serves a four-year term. The chair was appointed by the provincial government for its first two terms upon creation of York Region.[1]

Regional Council usually meets on the third Thursday of each month at 9:30am. Meetings are held at the York Region Administrative Centre offices in Newmarket.

Members (2010-2014)

The chairman and CEO of York Regional Council is Bill Fisch.[2]

Municipality Representatives
Mayor Regional councillors
Aurora Geoffrey Dawe None
East Gwillimbury Virginia Hackson None
Georgina Margaret Quirk One - Danny Wheeler
King Steven Pelligrini None
Markham Frank Scarpitti Four - Jack Heath, Jim Jones, Gordon Landon, and Joe Li
Newmarket Tony Van Bynen One - John Taylor
Richmond Hill Dave Barrow Two - Brenda Hogg, Vito Spatafora
Vaughan Maurizio Bevilacqua Three - Michael DiBiase, Gino Rosati, and Deb Schulte
Whitchurch-Stouffville Wayne Emmerson None

Members (2014-2018)

The chairman and CEO of York Regional Council will be elected once members are sworn in on December 1, 2014

Municipality Representatives
Mayor Regional councillors
Aurora Geoffrey Dawe None
East Gwillimbury Virginia Hackson None
Georgina Margaret Quirk One: Danny Wheeler
King Steven Pelligrini None
Markham Frank Scarpitti Four: Jack Heath, Jim Jones, Nirmila Armstrong, and Joe Li
Newmarket Tony Van Bynen One: John Taylor
Richmond Hill Dave Barrow Two: Brenda Hogg, Vito Spatafora
Vaughan Maurizio Bevilacqua Three: Michael DiBiase, Mario Ferri and Gino Rosati[3]
Whitchurch-Stouffville Justin Altmann None

Regional Committees

There is no executive committee, rather ideas are brought forth in regional committees and voted upon by the council.

Boards, Subcommittees and Task Forces

Services

Services under the region's scope include:

Regional Chairs

The Regional Chair is the CEO of the Region and serves, ex officio, on all Committees. The position replaced the former Warden of York County (1850-1970) and is selected by the other members of Regional Council.

Regional Chair Term of Office Notes
Garfield Wright 1971-1978 Former Town Councillor (1958-1961), Deputy Reeve (1961-1962) and Reeve (1964-1969) of East Gwillimbury; Former Warden of York County (1968-1970); Appointed Regional Chair by Lieutenant Governor in Council
Bob Forhan 1978-1984 Former hockey player and high school teacher; Town Councillor and Mayor of Newmarket (1971-1978); CAO of York Region (1978-1996)[4]

[5]

Tony Roman 1984 Regional Councillor and Mayor (1970-1984 and 1988-1992) of Markham, Federal Member of Parliament for York North (1984-1988). Died 1992.
Eldred R. King 1984-1997 Chairman of GO Transit, member of the Markham Township School Board and councillor on Markham Township Council, member of Whitchurch-Stouffville Township Council and Mayor of the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. Died 2011.
Bill Fisch 1997–present Lawyer, formerly practicing in Thornhill, Ontario (1976-1997); Former Councillor, Ward 7 (1988-1994) and Regional Councillor (1994-1997) for Markham

Former Regional Councillors

Regional Councillor Term of Office Notes
Ronald Moran 1972-1991 Former Deputy Mayor of Markham;[6] Died 2013 [7]
Donald Cousens 1994-2006 former mayor of Markham
Tony Roman 1971-1984 and 1988-1992 former mayor of Markham and Regional Chair, Died 1992.

York Region Administrative Centre

York Regional Council main operations are located at 17250 Yonge Street. The four floor complex was designed by Canadian architect Douglas Cardinal and opened in 1992. It features an organic building shape with various towers located at the end. The main entrance features two clock towers.

Before 1992 it sat at 50 Eagle Street now home to the Newmarket Courthouse.

References

  1. Carter, Terry (13 May 1970). "Towns to win in regional land 'stakes". The Era. pp. 1, 17. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  2. "York Region Chairman and Chief Executive Officer". York Regional Council. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  3. City of Vaughan 2014 Elections: Local and Regional Councillors (unofficial results), City of Vaughan, October 28, 2014.
  4. "Changing Faces: York Region Governance from 1792 to the Present" (PDF). york.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  5. "Meet sports Class of 2010". Yorkregion.com. 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  6. "Markham civic centre showcased on 20th anniversary". Yorkregion.com. 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  7. "Grassroots politician’ remembered for role in city’s Civic Centre". Yorkregion.com. 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2014-05-02.