‘It’s time for a change’: Pat Daly finally has some competition in the upcoming municipal election

A 27-year-old who made an eleventh-hour bid for the job of Ward 7 Catholic school board trustee has a goal: to make it a democratic election."

As someone who thinks that the definition of democracy involves being able to specifically show up and cast a ballot for someone ... the least I could do is make it an actual election," said candidate Michael Di Giacomo.

Just like that, longtime Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) chair Pat Daly, who has run unopposed for years, has competition. Di Giacomo and 25-year-old Nick Agostino, both former students of the board, threw their hats into the ring on Aug. 19, the deadline to register.

I believe strongly in democracy and the democratic process," Daly told The Spectator. I will run as hard as I can and work hard to continue to earn the trust of the Catholic ratepayers of Ward 7."

Daly, 64, may well hold the record for longest-running chair in the province's history, though neither the province nor the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) can say for sure. The Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) has said it knows of no one who's helmed a board longer.

Raised on Twenty Road, between Miles Road and Upper James Street, the incumbent candidate first joined the board in 1985 after his father, who held the position for at least 15 years before him, died suddenly. He began his first term as chair in December 1991, a seat he's held ever since.

The chair's is a one-year term, and Daly has always seen it that way."

My fellow trustees ... are placing their confidence in me in that role for a year each time, and, you know, one has to earn that trust and confidence," he said.

Paul Bennett, a Nova Scotia-based education consultant and adjunct professor at Saint Mary's University, calls trustees like Daly professional boardies."

Their identity becomes totally absorbed in being the chair of or a part of that organization," he said. That's not healthy because they're supposed to be holding that organization accountable to the public, not becoming that organization."

For Daly, public education has been a full-time commitment - a calling," he said - since he first joined the board more than 35 years ago. He left the family business, P.J. Daly Contracting, in the hands of his brothers when he became actively involved" at the provincial level some time later.

Daly doesn't know what he would do if he were forced to pivot to a different career. In addition to his job as chair, he is the current president of both the Canadian Catholic School Trustees' Association (CCSTA) and OCSTA. He has also served on the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) council.

I hope that doesn't happen because I really have been honoured to serve the voters and ratepayers of Ward 7, but if that was God's will, then clearly I hope (to pursue) some other form of service," he said.

In Bennett's view, healthy boards renew themselves," and it's the chair's responsibility to ensure internal succession planning.

That means that your responsibility is to find your replacement and train them, not to hang around for like four decades and discourage anyone that might be wanting to take it on," he said.

Daly has run unopposed in at least the last four elections - 2018, 2014, 2010 and 2006 - as well as in 1985, the year he was first appointed. Now, two younger challengers are taking him on.

Di Giacomo, who has a master's degree in political science and works in the financial services industry, isn't just running to unseat Daly. He also wants, among other things, to combat what he calls the excessive influence" of Catholic ideology at the board - for example, he believes in eliminating the requirement that teacher applicants have a letter from a priest affirming their faith.

No religious institution ... should have the authority to decide who can work in a public sector position," he said.

Meanwhile, Agostino, who runs his own painting and flooring business, said he's not daunted by Daly's entrenched position at the board.

I strongly believe in what I'm advocating for, and I think it's what we need," he said.

That includes mental health. As Hamilton emerges from the pandemic, it's something that should be at the forefront of our concerns," Agostino said. He pledges to advocate for supports for both students and the people who support them, like educators and parents.

The Agostino name has for decades routinely appeared on the board. Nick's father, Ralph - who previously served as a trustee for about 20 years - is running again in Wards 3 and 4, and his sister-in-law, Ellen, is running in Ward 6. His mother, uncle, brother and aunt have also served on the board.

I'd love to take part and do the same," he said.

Both Di Giacomo and Agostino also say they have an advantage because they live in the central Mountain ward. Daly lives in Ancaster.

Agostino said he didn't run to challenge Daly's 35-year tenure, but because he has deep roots" in Ward 7, nieces and nephews at local schools and, as a relatively recent graduate, an understanding of students' needs.

But he also said it's time for a change."

I feel it's long overdue," he said.

In his book The Handbook of Board Governance," Richard Leblanc defines excessive tenure" as more than nine or 10 years on a board.

There are institutional advantages to long-serving trustees, such as institutional memory, but there is evidence that beyond 10 years leads to less independence and less innovativeness," the governance expert told The Spectator.

Leblanc said trustees, and in particular chairs, should be subject to term limits to ensure that there is a talent pipeline for board leadership that is continuously developed."

The main disadvantage is that they tend to be too close to management over time," he said of chairs.

Trustees often keep their seats for years because of the on-the-ground nature of their jobs. They're visible" through public meetings, media coverage and a direct line of communication with parents, he said.

As soon as you are elected, you are a household name inside your ward, and you can use that to your advantage," he said.

Daly believes his lengthy tenure is an asset because it's allowed him to grow in the role, develop an understanding of the system and build relationships at local and provincial levels.

One can be equally effective or ineffective if you've been (in office) a year or 30 years," he said. It depends how serious one takes the role and how hard one works."

Leblanc said corporations are beginning to adopt term limits - often nine, 12 or 15 years for trustees and three to five years for the chair - to promote renewal in boards. But he argues there's even more of a need for limits in government.

It's an elected position and you have such name recognition as an incumbent," he said.

Daly doesn't agree.

My belief ... is that those kinds of decisions should be left in the hands of the voters," he said.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com