Kevin Ashe talks dual role as Pickering mayor and Durham regional chair

Kevin Ashe will be sworn in as mayor of Pickering on Nov. 16 and will chair his first meeting of Durham regional council as regional chair on Nov. 25, he says in a new interview.

Ashe says he plans to appoint regional committees and their chairs and to bring in a draft regional budget by the Feb. 1 legislative deadline. He says he will not use the regional chair's veto powers, noting he used strong-mayor powers in Pickering only for a chief administrative officer organizational review and for committee appointments.

Pickering will appoint another person as its regional councillor, Ashe says, and he will seek advice from the integrity commissioner on any conflicts between the two roles. He will collect one paycheque: his salary will be paid by the City of Pickering, with the difference charged back to the Region. He says he has received mandate letters from the province.

Ashe names affordability, mental health, addiction and homelessness, infrastructure, transit and community safety as his priorities, and says he will speak up against the province on immigration and asylum shelter costs and health-care costs.