Strong mayor powers

[danbrotherston]

But not using them doesn't make our society less autocratic or less at risk of corruption as a result, all it does is give conservatives, who won't shy away from using the powers to gain the upper hand, more tools to beat progressives.

Any upper hand for conservatives would require them to have a conservative mayor. I don't think that's the case in Kitchener or Waterloo, for example (not so sure about Cambridge).

And even without using those powers, the mayor's ability to use them will give second thought to opposition: should they try to kill the initiative (which might get overridden by a mayor) or try to negotiate an acceptable compromise?

I dunno...the previous mayor of Waterloo was very much in the neoconservative sphere...and I'd argue the same is true of the current mayor of Kitchener.

They might be less conservative than the mayor of Ottawa or the previous mayor of Toronto, but they're still far more conservative than the current Mayor of Waterloo.

And sure, you can argue that she could have used the threat of those powers to force the opposition into giving her concessions, which is exactly how these powers are most effective...but she cannot do so now, because she has stated she will not use the powers.