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14 hen i think of my hometown, I think of the street ‘ i grew up on. the houses that backed onto each other. no fences. creating one giant back yard with trees, gar- dens and a makeshift bail dia- mond. and hide-and-seek. bocci and croquet. The families held a block party. the Back Yard Bash. in lune. There was a little "burning schoolhouse" fireworks thing a parent would set alight. We'd all sing a song. A dad two doors down gave out cans of grape pop on Hal- loween, which bothered other parents (visions ofcarpcl stains). but my brothers and Sisters and I loved this guy. When you lhink of “home”. do you think of your street? Maybe you think of your neighbourhood. around a school or place of worship. ()r a smaller village in a larger community: Maple in Vaughan. Unionville in OPINION Could our election be followed by byelection? Rather than provincial or fed~ eral matters. they look after ser- vices that we experience right down at street level. Markham. Lcmtmville (love that name. although a lousy place fur a car dealership) in Whitchurch- Stouffville. On Monday we elected the people who will have impor- tant civic leadership roles in our many hometowns in York Region the next four years. Some might say Richmond Hill or Aurora. the larger militia] municipalities that make up our region. Bernie O’Neill Interestingly though. after all this. one of the most important elections isAyet to take place. At the first meeting of York Region council, the members will elect a chairman from “one of the members of the regional council. or any other person”. If the person they elect is a member of one of the local mun- cils. that person "shall be deemed to have resigned as a member of such council. and his seat on such muncil thereby bocmnos vagrant." roads thv art guwrning York Region. 'l‘ratnslaition's’ If a mayor or regional councillor puts their name forward. they could become the chairperson and a hyelec- tion Would he needed to find their replacement in the office to which they were just re~elected this week. Not a great system. but that's what we have for now. tmtil the position is by direct election. it change that would need to he brought in by the province. Sn whn arb thoâ€"pussihililios? What Mr. [immcrsnn has guing in his i‘uvuur is there would hu no expensive hyvli‘cliun in find his replau-nwm. (Smut‘fvillv iusl picked u 32~yvur-n|d with no council experience who runs a farm marka and pvning mu. who last winter worked out west in the oil fields. as their mayor- olm‘l.) The soon-to-be former mayor ofWhltchurchoStouffville. Wayne limmersnn. meanwhile. has made it known he is interested in replacing retiring regional chair Bill l-‘iseh. And these days. there is a notion the public might rather simply see the appointment of a retired politician than one who was just elected. even if one of the latter is better suited for this important job. if it means saving the eost of a bveleetion. The names of some mayors and regional councillors have been tossed around. but at this point these are all just conjec- lure. l‘ho just elected politician Having the right permn in the chairman's seat muld he vitulh impuriunt. They would serve in a key leadership role as uur reginn continues to grow and heemne mnre unified. Is that worth the cost (if u hyelectiun? I guess we'll find mu at that! first reginnul meeting. StouflWIe mydent Bemue O'Neill 18 a Yon Regvon Medta Group editor York Region. our (‘nllm‘tiw hnmv. has hommc am impur- mm and growing (‘ity/rogiun. 'l‘hv rvginnul gnwrmnvnt m'cr- sovs pulicv. lrumil. wuu'r. fond ‘inxpvctinns. public health. pqu medics and more. And makes km dm‘isions on gmwth and del- upmvm. But is that really fair? Should we not gellthc best pcrsun wv can? Arc we being “penny wisv. pound foolish"? who stepped down (or up?) to he the chair/(IEO might be vilified along with the regional council members who picde him or her.