[Editorial comment:
Is Pickering a better place to live after these 4 years with Kevin Ashe as Mayor? A significant number of Pickering residents would struggle to answer this question positively. They would be very skeptical about it.

Taxes have risen; homelessness has increased; violence and crime make headline Pickering news daily; Food Bank use at St. Pauls on the Hill Food Bank is setting records; the cost of living continues to soaring relentlessly…and Mayor Ashe takes home over $300,000 annual salary. Is something wrong with this picture? You bet there is.

Residents are more than upset with the ‘state of the Pickerring union.’ They are darn right angry. Many residents find it increasingly stressful dealing with the ever worsening situation: the cost of living, rising food costs, and ever increasing property taxes. Do you think Mayor Ashe may be suffering as well  given his income, not to mention the likely perks that he receives from lobbyists and developers.

Changing the mayor might give City of Pickering residents some relief, short term as it is likely to be. The tax relief alone would go a long way to help lighten the burden of budgets for many residents. But growth and development of the City is another distressing worry for residents. Traffic congestion for such a small city is unjustified; crime rates seem to increase in line with the DRPS budget requests. Taxation and cost of living are foregone conclusions, always difficult, today absolutely unacceptable. Who’s to blame? Carney? Ford? Yes, but as well, Ashe, Brenner, Butt, Cook, Nagy, Pickles and Robinson.

Is it time for a change? Given the inertia of change in Pickering, the seeming stasis of the current councillors and the size of the Mayor’s compensation, maybe Pickering voters should consider the question with greater seriousness: Is it time to elect new municipal leaders? ]

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A little bit of history….

Pickering’s 2022 Mayoral Race

Kevin Ashe won Pickering’s open mayoral seat on October 24, 2022, taking 7,867 votes (38.8%) in a three-way race decided by 1,233 votes.

An Open Seat After 19 Years

For the first time in nearly two decades, Pickering voters chose a mayor without an incumbent on the ballot. Dave Ryan, first elected in 2003 and the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history, announced in April 2022 that he would not run again, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

His exit opened the door to a three-way contest that local coverage later called a photo finish. It pitted a veteran of council against two first-time mayoral hopefuls from outside City Hall.

The Candidates

Kevin Ashe entered as the most experienced candidate. The son of George Ashe, Pickering’s first mayor in 1973, he had served as a Catholic school board trustee, as Ward 1 city councillor from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2010, and as Ward 1 regional councillor since 2015. He ran on jobs, affordability and environmental sustainability, promising to keep property taxes in line and to grow the commercial and industrial tax base.

Janice Frampton, a 38-year resident with 35 years in the airline industry, founded the Taxpayers Coalition of Pickering and Ajax. Her campaign centred on controlled growth. She argued the city did not need “40, 50 and 60 storey condos towering over our neighbourhoods” and called for infrastructure to keep pace with development, more resident input, and greater transparency.

Bradley Nazar, a Metrolinx employee and former Canadian Armed Forces reservist, had worked on Parliament Hill and in the Ontario public service. His “Protect, Invest, Improve” platform called for a Pickering hospital, opposed a north Pickering airport, and proposed a lobbyist registry and a website tracking how council members vote.

What the Race Was About

Growth was the thread running through all three campaigns. Pickering was absorbing rapid change, from high-rise plans near the city centre and GO station to new neighbourhoods in Seaton. Each candidate offered a different answer to the same question: how fast, and how tall?

• Density and traffic. Frampton made opposition to towering condos and gridlock her core message. Ashe tied new housing to transit corridors instead.
• Taxes and revenue. Ashe pledged to hold the line on property taxes, using casino revenue and a larger business tax base to protect services.
• The federal airport lands. Nazar opposed an airport and wanted the farmland preserved. Ashe floated solar and wind projects on the lands.
• Accountability. Frampton and Nazar both ran on transparency, reflecting frustration with how council did business.
• Transit and services. Ashe promised more bus rapid transit funding, faster snow clearing for vulnerable residents, and more programs for seniors and youth.

The Results

Ashe won with a plurality, not a majority. Just over 20,000 votes were cast for mayor, and more than six in ten voters chose someone else.

Frampton finished 1,233 votes back, and Nazar trailed her by only 839. The regional council races were just as close: in Ward 1, Maurice Brenner beat Tom Hayes by 110 votes. In Ward 2, Linda Cook won with 40.7% over Gary Strange’s 37.5%. David Pickles in Ward 3 was the only incumbent regional councillor re-elected.

After the Vote Ashe promises vanish

Ashe took office in November 2022, and the issues from the campaign followed him in. Within weeks, the province’s Greenbelt land swap put farmland in north Pickering at the centre of a provincial controversy. Ashe drew criticism for shifting his position on it, and later for using the “strong mayor” powers he had said he opposed. In 2024 he asked the province to revoke a zoning order so housing could be built near the federal airport lands.

The close 2022 split suggests a divided electorate on growth, which is likely to shape the October 26, 2026 vote as well.

Sources

• 2022 Durham Region municipal elections
• Kevin Ashe
• Dave Ryan (politician)
• AjaxPickering.ca: Kevin Ashe
• AjaxPickering.ca: Janice Frampton
• AjaxPickering.ca: Bradley Nazar
• INdurham: Mayoral races in Durham Region

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So, where does that leave us?

We need change. We need new leadership. Elect new people who will at least start off with making some positive changes.

You decide
Though we avoid campaign endorsement, preferring that voters learn about candidates themselves. we urge residents to learn about the candidates: attend their meet and greets, go to candidate forums, hear and read candidate promises and material. Learn about each candidate.

We do NOT endorse any candidates
We do think some candidates deserve more serious examination than others. Here’s our list of candidates who may deserve more attenion….

MAYOR
Janice Frampton…it’s time for a change and she promises concrete and positive changes for Pickering

WARD 1
Brenner may be acclaimed, but we must not let the grass grow under his feet.

A great group of candidates but two that deserve serious consideration: Michael Sandalsingh and Priya Vadivel.

WARD 2
Cook is the incumbent but bread gets stale with time. Van Rooy, serious, motivated and positive….very deserving of consideration.

WARD 3
Pickles regional…ok…incumbent, perhaps ‘long in the tooth’ in office?

Nagy, incumbent, responsible for ??? Waterfront events, end of story. John Meloche seems to offer the most detailed campaign information, However, the other candidates deserve a look see, Lepine-Fisher, Snyders, and Viapiana.

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