Niagara Falls recommends appointment of former councillor Barb Greenwood to fill regional vacancy

Niagara Democracy Watch is The Pointer’s feature aimed at increasing the public’s awareness and political involvement in the Niagara Region by highlighting key agenda items, motions and decisions.

Date: January 20 - 4:00 p.m. | Delegate | Full agenda | Watch live 

Niagara Falls City Council returns for its first regular Council meeting of 2026 on Tuesday. One of the first orders of business will be making a recommendation to Regional Council on filling the vacant position left by the appointment of Bob Gale to Regional Chair by the PC government. 

The domino effect that led to vacant position began on September 26, 2025, when Regional Chair Jim Bradley passed away after a brief illness. 

Bradley had a 55-year career in elected office, beginning as a St. Catharines City Councillor in 1970 and then serving 41 years as a Member of Provincial Parliament, earning him the tag of “Dean of the Legislature”. He returned to municipal politics in 2018, winning one of the six seats representing St. Catharines on Regional Council and, subsequently, was elected to serve as Chair by his fellow Regional Council members. 

Three weeks after Bradley’s passing, the Regional Clerk received correspondence from Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Rob Flack, advising that he would be making an order to “appoint a new Chair of Niagara Region to serve for the duration of the current term of council.” The current terms end this year with a municipal election slated for October. 

The announcement was the third occasion where the Provincial government, under Premier Doug Ford, has imposed a governance decision on Niagara Regional government.

In 2018, the newly elected Premier axed what was going to be the first time “at-large” election of the Regional Chair in Niagara just months prior to the October voting day. In 2022, the Province did not allow Regional Council to elect a chair amongst members, re-appointing Chair Bradley. (The government also re-appointed the chairs of Peel and York Region at the time under the guise that continuity was necessary to ensure the delivery of much-needed housing).  

On December 18, 2025, Minister Flack announced that he would be appointing three-term Regional Councillor Bob Gale (Niagara Falls) as the Regional Chair for the remainder of the Council term that concludes November 14th of this year. The decision confirmed much local speculation that Gale, who had run unsuccessfully as a Progressive Conservative in the 2022 Provincial election, would fill the vacant Chair’s position.

Gale, a former police officer, who transitioned to running a large independent fuel retailer (Gale’s Gas Bar) in Niagara, gained his initial political experience as a member of the Board of the Niagara Parks Commission, where he railed against long established procurement practices. First elected to Regional Council in 2014, Gale had publicly indicated that he would not seek re-election in 2022, only to change his mind shortly before the close of nominations. 

Gale’s appointment still leaves a vacancy. In addition to the Mayor, Niagara Falls has three additional representatives that sit on Regional Council. Although the filling of the vacancy is ultimately up to Regional Council, the Region has a policy that the local municipality be requested to provide a recommendation on whether a qualified elector should be appointed or if a by-election should be held. The Provincial government also passed a regulation eliminating council’s ability to fill the vacancy with a by-election, meaning Gale’s replacement would be by appointment only.

Despite the regulation being put in place, it was unlikely that Niagara Falls Council would have recommended the holding of a by-election, especially in the final year of the council term. Also, as noted in the related City staff report on Tuesday’s Niagara Falls Council agenda, the municipality has a history of appointing the runner-up from the previous election when considering the filling of a vacancy. This Council term has seen two Niagara Falls City Council vacancies filled by the appointment of runners-up from 2022. 

Regarding the Regional Council vacancy, the runner-up in the last election was Barb Greenwood, who was only 114 votes behind Gale in the 2022 election. Greenwood previously served as a Regional Councillor, in 2006-2014 and 2018-2022. 

The City staff report indicates that when contacted about the position Greenwood indicated that she was interested in again serving the residents of Niagara Falls. As a result, the staff report is recommending that Niagara Falls Council advise the Region “that Barbara Greenwood is its preferred appointee to fill the vacancy on Regional Council.”

Also, on the Niagara Falls agenda is a delegation by the new Regional Chair, Bob Gale, who is on what he describes as a “traveling road show” visiting the meetings of all of Niagara’s lower-tier municipalities to introduce himself to the council members and public. 

While at Thorold City Council on January 13th, Gale alluded to the rationale behind his appointment stating, “I was asked to step down as Niagara Parks Commission Chair and put in as Regional Chair. I won’t give you the reasons behind it, but I am sure you can think of it.” He elaborated slightly, by indicating that he had not been happy about “some budgeting things”. 

Going into the Region’s budget considerations for 2026, Gale brought forward a motion that Departments and the Region’s ABC (Agencies, Boards and Commissions) be directed to adhere to a “guidance rate” limiting increases of operating budgets to 3.5 percent. Despite the motion, the proposed increase to the Region’s general tax levy operating budget sits at 6.98 percent. 

While Regional Council was expected to formally approve the increase at a special budget meeting on January 8th, a motion narrowly passed on a 14-13 vote directing Gale and the Region’s Chief Administrative Officer, Ron Tripp “to fulsomely review the budget” before it is slated to return for consideration on February 3rd. Those opposed questioned the appropriateness of the motion. 

“This is highly irregular. We have spent the last six months working on this bloody budget and now all of a sudden at the last minute a couple of councillors are thinking that there should be a machine gunning of what it is that's gone on. Procedurally this is shaky at the best,” argued Regional Councillor Rob Foster (Lincoln).

CAO Tripp had opined that there was no special budget authority accrued to the (new) chair.

“From my perspective everything that could or should or be contemplated in terms of mitigation or decisions to be made has been put before this whole council including the (past) chair (Bradley), the budget chair (Councillor Wayne Redekop) and the now regional chair (Gale).”

Nonetheless, the newly minted Chair will have his opportunity to influence the Region’s budget prior to its final approval.

The related Niagara Falls Council report on filling the Regional Council vacancy can be read here.

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