What makes a mayor a good mayor?
I ask this because I believe I just witnessed a good mayor in action. The only thing is, the guy’s not the mayor. He’s the reeve.
Peter Emon sat in the big chair last Tuesday and played the role of Master of Ceremonies for that evening’s Town Council meeting, and I have to say he didn’t look out of place, not one bit.
To some, this might have the appearance of me being a cheerleader for Emon’s mayoral prospects in 2026, assuming the man is even in the running for the position. I recently penned an article outlining a recent integrity complaint against the reeve, the second one since I’ve taken an interest in the workings and personalities of our local government. In the first one, he was found to be in the wrong, and in the second, he was found to be not.
I don’t know Peter Emon personally, and have no experience with him outside of personal observation as he carries out his duties as both Renfrew County Warden and Reeve of the Town of Renfrew. And to be honest, while no one among us can claim perfection, he seems to me to be a more than capable handler of both those positions, something he does simultaneously.
I believe some of the animosity, whether covert or overt, directed towards him is the product of his having been on the past council where everything went to hell in a hand basket, a condition he shares with the current mayor, Tom Sidney.
I have no fingerprints, no smoking gun, no surveillance footage, nor any other form of evidence that would suggest anything untoward about his previous actions or inactions, but I do understand that, having been around for the Ma-Te-Way debacle, and gaining his position as reeve through electoral acclamation, that the man can present as a pretty juicy target for anyone hoping to score any kind of political points at his expense.
And who would do that? I suppose anyone having an ambition to become mayor themselves.
I’ve always questioned the need for a reeve in Renfrew, full disclosure on that. But for me, it was always just a thing that periodically rattled around in my head, right along with all those loose marbles that make their home in there. I’ve never, of course, been in any position to do anything about it, nor have I ever been approached to offer an opinion on the subject.
But the members of Renfrew Town Council can do something about it, and acted earlier in their term by getting rid of the reeve position altogether for the next municipal election, along with the approximately $21,000 a reeve pulls down per year. The thinking was that the mayor would be the Town’s representative for County Council. But for that to happen, the reeve’s salary would likely be folded into the mayor’s salary, which is a shade over $40,000 per year. So one way or the other, Council will be likely be doling out the same salaries, just to one person instead of two.
So if Emon were to run for mayor and be successful, and maintain his position as Warden of the County, he’d be making around $40,000 + $21,000 + $65,000 = $126,000 in salary, which is probably not what his fellow councillors were planning for when they voted the reeve position into the dustbin of history, unless you prefer the ash heap of history. You can take your pick, because unlike other media, I give my readers choices.
His time in the chair went smoothly, I found, although I haven’t yet seen the entire video of the meeting, so maybe all hell broke loose later on and I just haven’t seen it yet. I doubt that it would have, but if it did, that’s like a pot of gold for a guy like me, so I can’t lose either way.
Reeve Emon has a quiet, confident, and knowledgeable demeanour about him, a voice that never really wavers from that middle-of-the-road tone and cadence, so it brings a certain calm certainty around the meeting as a whole. His meeting management is top-shelf, something one could assume would be the case given how many years he’s been chairing Renfrew County Council. He can also draw upon extensive experience to bring insight, clarity, and supportive knowledge to the discussion at hand. Not that the current fellow lacks all or any of these things, but I’m not talking about him, I’m talking about Pete.
If Tom and Pete want to go hammer and tong for the mayor’s chair then so be it, have at it. I have neither a vote nor any say in the matter, but I am saying that I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world for Peter Emon to become mayor of Renfrew. To me, it’s definitely not beyond the realm of possibility.
One thing he might wish to do going forward, something he’s probably already undertaken, is to not respond to any criticism or active attempts to cause him trouble. He should refrain from sending emails, especially ones where some fairly lame humour is there to provide cover for his desire to achieve some measure of retribution. Best to leave that retribution stuff to informed voters, that is if such a beast even exists.
Mr. Emon, though not Italian, should remember that old Italian mafia credo of “la vendetta è un piatto che va servito freddo,” which translates to “revenge is a dish best served cold.”
I’d say a winning campaign for mayor and a significant salary boost to go with his salary as Warden represents something close to a cold dish of significant payback when it comes to the efforts of other councillors to diminish him.
Mayor of Renfrew and Warden of Renfrew County.
I’d be tempted to ask “How do you like me now?”
NEWSMAGRENFREW 