CHARLES DICKENS PENNED HIS CHRISTMAS STORIES every December for an eager public. It was a years-long effort that would eventually culminate into a 508-page volume of tales using all manner of story lines – a copy of which is included in my personal collection. Well, I’m no Charles Dickens, but after having studied municipal politics for four decades, I’ve often thought of penning a short story of my own, or perhaps even a full-scale novel.
Like modern-day writer Arthur Hailey, the British-Canadian novelist known for his meticulously researched, best-selling thrillers that delve into the inner workings of various industries, I thought I could capture the public’s attention with a story line about the fundamentals of life at City Hall. Of course, I would also imitate the style of certain writers who deliberately exaggerate their characters for a bit of comic effect.
In that regard, there are a handful of elected officials at city halls right across Durham Region who would make it downright easy to portray real people and actual events under the disguise of fictional names. I’d begin with Oshawa’s Derek Giberson, and I’d cast him as the odd man out – a character who starts off as a political underdog but manages to successfully navigate the corridors of power thanks to a mayor who becomes his political benefactor. Of course, by the end of the novel Giberson’s character would prove to be entirely ego-driven and self-destructive, as his hopes for the future are crushed by sheer incompetence.
My friend Brian Nicholson, a man now of a certain age, would also find a prominent place in my cast of characters. If you read Dickens’ novel Bleak House you may well recall the character named Grandfather Smallweed, a man physically dependent on others for most of his mobility, and often described as a "clothes-bag" who needs to be "shaken up" by his caregiver. Well, Brian can still walk on his own – at least for the time being – but after 40 years at city hall he’s certainly earned the name “Grandfather Smallweed” or one very much like it. Oh, the fun I could have creating a character who ends up being the perfect compound of geriatric statesmanship.
As enjoyable as all that would be, there are a few real-life sub-plots that are playing out right now at city halls in Clarington, Whitby and Pickering that one doesn’t have to somehow create as a writer. The circumstances of each appear to have been perfectly arranged, not only as part of a potential best-selling novel, but to qualify for a series of nail-biting reality-TV shows.
The top of the list is the drama over at Clarington City Hall where Ward 3 Councillor Corinna Traill was recently arrested and charged with two counts of uttering threats after a three-month police investigation. What we know is that the charges stem from an alleged voicemail left for Tom Dingwall, a former Durham Regional Police officer and potential mayoral candidate. Dingwall alleged the message contained threats to kill him and to sexually assault his wife if he did not withdraw from the next mayoral election.
I know… it sounds like a script right out of an end-of-season episode from the 80’s television show ‘Dallas’. Traill, for her part, denies leaving the voicemail and claims artificial intelligence was used to manipulate her voice. She was released on an undertaking and is due in court in January 2026. As one might expect, Tom Dingwall has called for her resignation from elected office. What makes this story unusual is the fact Ms Traill is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and now runs her own law practice specializing in – among other things – civil litigation.
Second on the list of local real-life political dramas comes from the darkest shadows over at Whitby Town Hall. Here, taxpayers have already come together to contribute a heart-warming $100,000 just to pay for investigations of various sorts involving a dispute surrounding Mayor Elizabeth Roy and Regional Councillor Steve Yamada.
The plot in this story wastes no time in capturing even the most casual of observers, as one of the main characters decided the only way to keep the dispute alive was to march straight over to the Ontario Human Rights Commission and file a complaint. Now there’s a real page-turner for you.
Councillor Yamada has set his sights against Mayor Roy, the Town of Whitby, the Town’s integrity commissioner, Regional Councillor Rhonda Mulcahy and Ward 3 Councillor Niki Lundquist – who is, as it so happens, a human rights and labour lawyer by profession and a Senior Director of Equity and Education at Unifor National. I suppose the rest of us can feel somewhat fortunate to have escaped getting caught in Yamada’s big net.
This latest twist in the Whitby storyline could cost an additional $150,000 to $250,000. The total contribution needed from the caring and compassionate taxpayers since the start of the dispute could amount to as much as $350,000. That ought to help make their Christmas merry. The Roy-Yamada feud began late in the autumn of 2023 when it became clear the Mayor didn’t want councillor Yamada to serve as her Deputy, and she even sought a legal opinion on the issue at the time. Perhaps prayer would have been more effective – who knows?
The last item on my short list of literary-style dramas emanates right out of Pickering City Hall. To draw a parallel to the ongoing war of words between Mayor Kevin Ashe and councillor Lisa Robinson, one need only look to my favourite 19th century author Anthony Trollope. The first novel in his famous ‘Palliser’ series was ‘Can You Forgive Her?’ which was the start of a six-volume journey through the intricacies of British political life - first written and published in serial form starting in 1864.
The way things have progressed over there in Pickering, any attempt to somehow chronicle the lengthy dispute between councillor Robinson and, well, most of the rest of the world, would take at least a dozen such volumes to complete. But think of the television rights. I may have finally discovered a way to support myself in my old age.
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