Midland’s newest councillor was the luck of the draw.
Clerk Sherri Edgar drew the name of Jaz Patel from a bowl, following two rounds of deadlocked voting by councillors between Patel and Yvonne Tietz on March 27.
Patel, a local businessperson who moved to the community 20 years ago, beat out Tietz and Cody Oschefski, who had been shortlisted from a group of seven people to replace Beth Prost as a councillor; Prost was elevated to the deputy mayor spot in February, three months following the passing of previous deputy mayor Jack Contin in November.
In his initial presentation to council, Patel said he had “cultivated strong roots in Midland.
“I am driven by a deep desire to serve,” he said.
In the first round to create a shortlist, councillors grappled with who would make it to the second round, after Oschefski and Tietz were chosen by the majority of council. After three rounds of voting, councillors each had a chance to pitch for particular candidates to make it to the final three, with Patel and Terry Condon seeming to have the most favour around the table, and the consensus eventually landing on Patel.
In the second round, each councillor had a chance to pose a question to the three candidates. Questions ranged from each candidate’s understanding of the role of a councillor, what they saw as the council’s priorities, what motivated them to step forward for the position and how they saw themselves fitting into the dynamics of a council.
Mayor Bill Gordon heavily lobbied for Patel, and criticized Tietz’s answers to council’s questions.
You might be interested in
“Even though I know in my mind why she wants to be a councillor, she wasn’t able to articulate that to us (as well as Patel),” Gordon said, noting that Tietz had a singular focus on “high taxes,” while Patel seemed to grasp ongoing issues and the “big projects we need to get over the finish line.”
Other councillors said that their selection went beyond just an afternoon of presentations. Coun. Sheldon East noted that Tietz — the administrator of the OurMidland Facebook group — didn’t support his election as councillor, but that he had “no problem putting aside our differences.
“This is something she has invested in for more than a decade,” he said. “I believe in my heart she is the right fit for our council and Midland.”
Gordon said in bringing Patel onto council, the municipality now had the opportunity to “build a bridge” to Midland’s growing Southeast Asian community.
“He will bring a perspective that is not a critical perspective, but a team-building perspective,” he said.
Patel will be sworn into council at a later date.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Metroland account holder. If you do not yet have a Metroland account, you can create one now (it is free).
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation