July 19, 2022
With files from Silas Johnson, Video Editor
Yesterday, surrounded by family and many supporters, Patrick Brown announced that he would be seeking a second term as the Mayor of Brampton. The municipal election will be held on Monday, October 24th.
Brown’s first term as Mayor has seen many successes and a few challenges. The success comes in the form of freezing property taxes, improving public transit, expanding parks and recreation services to meet growing demands, assisting seniors living in the City, and securing funding for a new hospital, a new medical school, and a cybersecurity hub with associated high-tech jobs. His challenges come from a group of Councillors, known as the Gang of Six, who are desperate to hold onto power.
The Gang of Six, led by self-appointed Deputy Mayors Martin Medeiros and Pat Fortini, formed an alliance with Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon in an attempt to undermine the efforts of the Mayor. Earlier in the term, after an investigation led by the City’s Integrity Commissioner, Dhillon was reported to have engaged sexual misconduct against a Brampton business woman while on city business. The Gang of Six (Martin Medeiros, Pat Fortini, Gurpreet Dhillon, Jeff Bowman, Doug Whillans and Charmain Williams) then fired the Integrity Commissioner.
When Councillor Dhillon filed a judicial review related to the Integrity Commissioner report, a 3-judge panel of Ontario Superior Court, primarily dismissed Dhillon’s legal challenge. He was ordered to pay the Integrity Commissioner $20,000. It is unknown if Dhillon has paid this fine. Thereafter, Dhillon participated in the decision to fire the Integrity Commissioner, who in turn, is now suing the City of Brampton for unjust termination.
For his part, Patrick Brown asked Dhillon to resign from Council, calling his action not only egregious to the Brampton business woman, but to also all taxpayers. Brown refused to form an alliance with the Gang of Six to rule Council with an iron fist and fire any staffer who got in their way.
Other candidates for the Office of the Mayor include Jermaine Chambers, Vidya Sagar Gautam, and Cody Vatcher. For a full list of who has registered for the municipal election, and to learn more about who is running for Brampton City Council, click here.
