City of Brantford Council discussed Mayor Kevin Davis’ decision to appoint Councillor Rose Sicoli as Deputy Mayor of External Relations, during the Committee of the Whole, planning and administration meeting on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
During the meeting, Councillor Linda Hunt moved an amendment asking that Davis terminate the deputy mayor for external relations position immediately. The item was carried on a vote of seven to three, noting that Davis, and Ward 2 Councillors John Sless and Gino Caputo voted against the item and that Sicoli was not present for the meeting.
While the amendment may have been passed, Davis said earlier that it was an overreach, and he would be sticking by his decision.
“In my view, if this passes, it’s an overreach by the council in an area that it does not have authority,” he said. “I’ll tell you right now, you can make the request all you want, I’m not changing my decision.”
The issue revolved around the Friday, August 1, 2025, announcement that Davis had appointed Sicoli as the new Deputy Mayor of External Relations, using his Strong Mayor powers under the Municipal Act.
Later, during a committee of the whole, planning and administration meeting on Tuesday, September 16, Ward 4 Councillor Linda Hunt said that council and staff had received the same memo from the mayor in regards to the appointment just 12 minutes before the City’s release to the public on August 1, noting it was the Friday of a long weekend.
“I believe the Mayor had ample opportunity in advance of the decision to have a dialogue with council as a whole regarding the need for a deputy mayor to be appointed,” she said on September 16. “Unfortunately, this left nine councillors with the inability to adequately answer constituent questions, leaving us with a basic response of, ‘I have no idea.’ To me, that is not an adequate response to be able to provide a constituent that asks a question.”
At the same meeting, Hunt introduced a resolution calling for a review to determine whether the mayor should have consulted council before making his decision, and if he was permitted to do so with or without his Strong Mayor powers.
Davis went on to say that he was not against acquiring more information, but that despite other communities appointing their own deputy mayors, there were no rules in the Municipal Act in regards to the appointing of such a role.
Now nearly two months later, the report, prepared by CAO Michael Bradley, stated, “the delegation of the Deputy Mayor for External Relations position was deemed necessary by the Mayor, and is permissible under the Municipal Act.”
In a recent memo from the mayor, which came forward alongside the report, he explained that his decision came down to several factors including the tariff situation with the U.S. doubling his workload. He went on to say while he typically has no issues attending larger conferences like AMO, FCM, or meetings with the Ontario Big City Mayor’s Caucus (OBCM), in the event he can’t attend, it’s preferable to send one representative to ensure continuity.
“If I can’t make it, you have to have a continuity. You have to have a continuous presence because issues carry over from one meeting to the next,” he said. “So although it’s okay to send any member of council for a ribbon cutting, if you’re talking about an organization, especially like OBCM where we have our most impact, you really need to have a consistency there, and it’s really got to be one person in particular.”
Davis said this became more apparent to him after he was unable to attend the AMO conference due to ongoing back issues and after obtaining an injury to his wrist during a biking accident while visiting the Yukon in July. While he had already been toying with the idea of appointing Sicoli as deputy mayor, he decided to proceed with the decision after he returned home, and sent her to the conference in his place.
Following a lengthy discussion in regards to the legality of the mayor’s decision, what his role as mayor includes, what the Strong Mayor powers allow, how the issue should have been handled, and the perception of favouritism, Hunt then moved her amendment.
She said while the mayor cited Section 284.6 of the Municipal Act as giving him the authority to make the appointment, the section does not apply because it deals with the Strong Mayor powers related to changing the organizational structure of the municipality, starting with the CAO, not council.
“For that reason, I don’t believe that Section 284.6 was, in fact, the correct section of the Municipal Act to use.”
Councillor Richard Carpenter went on to say that the problem as he sees it, ultimately comes down to Strong Mayor’s powers.
“It’s anti democratic,” he said. “It gives special powers to a mayor over a council when the councillors are all elected individually. I know the province brought it forward, but I find it to be a violation of the democratic rights of every citizen who fought for freedom and democracy. I’ve never supported it and I still don’t.”
Councillor Dan McCreary added that a majority of the councillors had heard from the community about the issue at hand, and that he still felt as there don’t appear to be any answers they could provide in regards to the mayor’s decision-making process.
“I’m not sure that the community is of a mind to accept what’s happened here. I certainly look at this possibly being the most divisive thing that’s been before this council in 2025,” he said. “…I think for the benefit of the folks who sit in this room and the folks who work in Corporation of the City of Brantford, I believe there’s merit to ask for this [the termination of deputy mayor role]. Whether the mayor chooses not to do that is up to him because he is a Strong Mayor, however, I look at the benefit to the community of continuing this, and I don’t believe there is any.”
Councillor Gino Caputo said while the mayor’s decision may be questioned by some residents, no one has personally approached him about it.
“It must be the area that Councillor Caputo and I represent, because I wasn’t approached on this either,” added Councillor John Sless. “I was questioned as to the individual that was selected, but I wasn’t questioned about why somebody was selected, and I think there’s a big distinction there. I think the problem isn’t out in the community, it’s around this table. …From my perspective, at least the area that I represent, it’s not an issue.”
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Sicoli’s wardmate, Councillor Michael Sullivan, said unlike Sless and Caputo, he too had heard a lot about the process and the need for the decision.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
