A curious anomaly in the provincial Municipal Conflict of Interest Act allowed Frank Dale, the newly elected chair of Peel Region, to vote for himself, in a ballot he otherwise would have lost, thereby landing a job with a $184,898 salary and juicy pension entitlements.

The Toronto Star’s Urban Affairs Reporter, San Grewal, explains:

“Through three rounds of balloting, Dale cast his vote for himself, with rivals eliminated after each round. In the fourth round, he tied with Sanderson — 12 votes each. If Dale had not voted for himself, he would have lost. Instead, he won in the fifth and final round, a tiebreaker, in which he again voted for himself.”

“Sanderson couldn’t vote for himself because he is not a member of council.”

John Sanderson, who came from nowhere and almost won, complained the process was “completely unfair”. The round-by-round balloting is detailed here.

Sounds like a bit of a pantomime to me.

Another reason – as if any more are needed - for all Regional Chairs to be elected by the voters at large.