LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

Glen Peace: A Man of Integrity

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted March 5, 2008)  

A little bird whispered to me some time ago that Glen, Hamilton’s top bureaucrat, was submitting his resignation to Council today. In fact when I saw Glen at a holiday function during Christmas, he indicated that this budget cycle would probably be his last. I am not surprised, therefore, that he has been true to his word.

The first time I met Glen Peace, he was Hamilton’s Fire Chief. I was then a Councillor in the City of Stoney Creek. We had just been amalgamated by the province and Glen came to the city to tell us that he was going to oversee the integration of fire services across the new city even before amalgamation became official. I wanted so much to dislike him. I was insulted, as a Councillor, that staff wasn’t even waiting for the former municipality’s body to go cold before burying it. I thought it was unseemly haste that brought this fire chief to our municipality. And yet, I couldn’t dislike this man. He oozed sincerity, strength and leadership. We had had a problematic senior administration in our fire department, and Glen knew that there was work to be done. He was right of course.

Our paths later crossed when I became a Councillor in the amalgamated City of Hamilton. Glen was one of our department heads in charge of Emergency Services. Again, he was always forthright and direct in his approach to Council. We all appreciated that. I felt the power of his administrative skills when I got involved in a silly tussle with my Council colleague and friend, Frank D’Amico, over of all things a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Let me explain briefly. A member of my church was dismayed that the statue of Mary adorning a small garden in front of her son’s school had gone missing. It was actually moved by the parish priest to another location. This parent had seen an abandoned statue on a wall at the empty nun’s quarters on the West Mountain, in Councillor D’Amico’s ward. Not following Council etiquette, I asked staff if we could move the statue. Staff concurred. D’Amico learned about it and objected. He and I argued briefly. It made the papers; and the statue was actually moved to Dundas as the result of the controversy. By this time Glen was Director of Community Services. He arbitrated the silly argument and brought me and my friend Frank together for a meeting. He then proceeded to TELL us how we were going to resolve the issue. No questions asked; no advice taken. This is what we are going to do, he said. He was right and strong.

I then became Mayor of our city. Unbeknown to me when I took over I found great dysfunctionality in the City Manager’s office. There was mistrust at various levels, and the perception of a lack of concerted administrative attention to the needs of the community. I had also received some complaints from high profile community members. All this took me by surprise because I actually thought highly of the individual. Of course I proceeded to check out impressions with senior staff and members of Council. It was obvious that a change needed to be made. So early in my term, I brought a recommendation to Council that saw a major change in administrative direction. We terminated, without cause, the CAO and replaced him on a temporary basis with Glen Peace. Why Glen? Because I had gone to his peers and asked who might take over on an interim basis. They all pointed to Glen for his honesty, integrity and leadership skills. Council agreed. Glen did not disappoint.

During the three years I spent as Mayor of our City, we accomplished a lot. We tackled poverty, improved relations with our provincial government, built the Red Hill Expressway, initiated a study of the Airport Lands, invested in the McMaster Innovation Park, created an Invest in Hamilton Team, wrestled our budget shortfalls to manageable numbers, improved staff-Council relations, made some further administrative changes, continued to revitalize our downtown, secured a Lister Block deal, secured funding for our Industrial Park from the province, secured funding to improve our harbour from the Federal government, improved service delivery in a number of key areas, took our water system back in house, constructed a new hockey rink, a composting facility, and upgraded some community venues, brought the budget process to the people- and many more initiatives. None of them would have been possible if we did not have a strong relationship with our chief city bureaucrat. Glen was always true to his word. He has a tremendous work ethic and came to city hall to help solve problems. He wasn’t afraid to say no, and this may have gotten him in trouble with some members of Council. I saw this ability as his main strength.

I am not sure what else is in store for Glen Peace. He is still young and has much to contribute. He still has a few months of work to go before he retires, but I’m sure he will surface in a meaningful way in our community. For now let’s just say that Hamiltonians owe him a sincere debt of gratitude.

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