Bailey reflects on eight years as mayor
Casandra Turnbull
Managing Editor
When David Bailey unseated longtime incumbent Ron Eddy in the 2018 municipal election, he made history as the County of Brant's first openly gay mayor. Eight years later, as he prepares to hand over the chain of office, Bailey hopes residents will remember more than the buildings constructed, roads improved and projects completed during his time at the helm.
He hopes they will remember a mayor who genuinely cared about the people he represented.
For Bailey, whose professional background as a funeral director taught him the importance of compassion during life's most difficult moments, that philosophy became the foundation of his approach to municipal leadership.
“Just the fact that I was elected was a big deal for me, with the demographics of a Conservative County and being a gay candidate.”
His election represented a significant personal milestone, but Bailey also saw it as an opportunity to bring a different perspective to the mayor's office.
“I always said, if it did fly, which it did, I had a clear mandate to changes things a little bit. Make things a little bit more compassionate and kind and considerate.”
Now, after two terms marked by substantial growth, major infrastructure investments, a global pandemic and no shortage of difficult decisions, Bailey is reflecting on what those eight years meant to him and the community he served.
Asked to identify his proudest accomplishment, Bailey points without hesitation to the Cowan Community Health Hub.
“The Cowan Community Health Hub was my crown and glory.”
The facility was developed through Brant Municipal Enterprises, which Bailey chairs, with the County of Brant as its sole shareholder. He takes particular pride in the project's financial success, noting it was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, on time and under budget, without requiring a direct contribution from municipal taxpayers.
Instead, the project was funded through investment earnings and reserves.
“That was a feel-good project.”
Beyond the health hub, Bailey points to significant investments in emergency services as essential accomplishments during his time in office.
With the County's population expanding, ensuring police and fire services had the facilities and equipment necessary to meet growing demand became an important priority.
The construction of a new Ontario Provincial Police detachment was particularly meaningful. For years, local officers operated out of an aging building in downtown Paris that had deteriorated to the point of having mould in the basement. The new headquarters provided a modern facility better suited to the community's needs, while the former building was demolished and its property converted into municipal parking.
Upgrades to fire halls and equipment were equally important.
“We are growing so we have to have trucks to service every part of the county.” A new North end Paris Fire Hall is currently under construction and is expected to be operational next year.
Yet not every accomplishment involved a multimillion-dollar investment.
Bailey also recalls advocating to preserve the Paris Lawn Bowling Club's greens when their future was uncertain during discussions surrounding construction of the community centre.
“We can’t forget about these people. This club has been going for 100 years,” he recalls arguing.
For Bailey, protecting longstanding community institutions was just as important as preparing for future growth.
He also expressed satisfaction that the Bawcutt Centre would remain connected to the historic Old Town Hall rather than being incorporated into the new library development.
“The Bawcutt Centre is where it should be – at the Old Town Hall.”
Among his other sources of pride are the relationships he developed with First Nations communities, connections he considers an important part of his time in public office.
Perhaps no issue defined Bailey's eight years in office more visibly than the extraordinary pace of development across the County of Brant, particularly in Paris.
New subdivisions, expanding neighbourhoods and growing demands on municipal infrastructure transformed the community during his tenure.
But Bailey is quick to point out that much of that growth was set in motion long before he became mayor.
Development plans and provincial growth expectations established years, and in some cases decades, earlier meant his council inherited decisions that were already shaping the County's future.
While residents frequently associated the pace of development with the mayor and council of the day, Bailey said municipalities operate within provincial planning requirements and established official plans. When a development proposal conforms to those requirements, council's ability to prevent it can be limited.
He also emphasized that decisions at the municipal level are collective, rather than the responsibility of one individual.
“I’m only one vote – there is 11 votes at the council table.”
That belief in shared decision-making became particularly evident when the province introduced strong mayor powers, giving designated municipal leaders additional authority over certain decisions.
Bailey opposed the concept and chose not to exercise those powers, viewing them as contrary to the collaborative approach he believed municipal government required.
“I couldn’t understand why the province would do that; the minute you try to silence your council and try to override your staff you are just doomed.”
He said he placed considerable trust in the professional expertise of municipal employees, recognizing that planners, engineers, librarians, financial analysts and other staff members brought specialized knowledge to the decisions facing council.
Rather than overriding those voices, Bailey believed his responsibility was to allow them to do their jobs while working with council to make informed decisions.
While growth brought opportunities, it also created some of Bailey's greatest challenges.
Expanding infrastructure, updating the County's Official Plan and preparing for future development required difficult financial decisions, often involving competing priorities between urban and rural residents.
Bailey acknowledged that what one community considered an essential investment could look very different to residents elsewhere in the County.
“It’s hard to watch a $40 million library go up in the town of Paris when you live on the 13th concession and you’re waiting for potholes to be filled and you’re paying tax like everyone else.”
The challenge, he explained, was balancing what residents wanted with what the municipality needed.
Some advocated for recreational amenities such as swimming pools or cricket pitches, while others were more concerned about deteriorating roads, bridges and other basic infrastructure.
With Paris experiencing particularly rapid growth, Bailey said ensuring that smaller communities and rural residents continued to receive attention was an ongoing responsibility.
The decisions were not always popular, and he recognized that satisfying everyone was impossible.
Still, he viewed those competing demands as an unavoidable part of representing a diverse municipality with different needs across its communities.
Of all the unexpected challenges Bailey encountered, few compared to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public health emergency forced municipal leaders to navigate unprecedented restrictions, economic uncertainty and widespread anxiety among residents.
Bailey recalls the difficulty of communicating provincial decisions that affected some of the most personal aspects of everyday life.
“When covid came and we told people they couldn’t go to church or visit their parents in long term care homes there was so much fear and confusion over so many things. I was a go between the Premier and the people but the messaging still came from me and that was very challenging.”
He credits the County's administration, particularly then-chief administrative officer Michael Bradley, with helping guide the municipality through an exceptionally difficult period.
“We managed to get through that very well. I was very fortunate to have Michael Bradley (now CAO of Branford) as our CAO,” he said.
There were moments during the pandemic when Bailey questioned whether entering municipal politics had been the right decision.
But recognition from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario provided an unexpected source of encouragement.
In 2021, Bailey received the organization's Community Influencer of the Year Award, recognizing his advocacy for local businesses, his work as an ambassador for the County and his involvement with organizations supporting economic development.
The recognition came at a particularly meaningful time, reinforcing the value of his efforts when the demands of public office were weighing heavily on him.
Beyond infrastructure and municipal policy, Bailey's election in 2018 represented an important moment in the County's social history.
As its first openly gay mayor, he became a visible example of changing attitudes toward diversity and representation in a community where he had once questioned whether voters would accept him.
“I fought my whole life to fit in. My goal was to fit in and let people know to be gay in my world is no different than being catholic, or being athletic, or tall or short,” he said.
For Bailey, his sexual orientation was simply one part of who he was, rather than something he wanted to define his entire public identity.
He acknowledges that his election reflected a growing willingness within the community to embrace diversity, something he considers a positive development.
At the same time, Bailey believes lasting acceptance requires understanding, respect and patience. He expressed concern that pushing social change too quickly can sometimes create resistance rather than bring people together.
“I hope we haven’t asked people to accept too much too quick.”
His perspective is shaped by a lifetime of seeking acceptance and a belief that meaningful progress comes from recognizing people's shared humanity.
Despite his accomplishments, Bailey admits that one of the more difficult aspects of public office was learning to accept criticism, particularly when residents questioned his sincerity.
Known for his friendly demeanour, frequent smile and willingness to attend community events, Bailey said some people mistook his personality for a carefully cultivated political image.
“My personality is to always be smiling – that wasn’t a sales pitch. That is just me.”
“I’ve come from a happy place. I’ve lived a good life.”
He also acknowledges that he attended countless ribbon cuttings, grand openings and ceremonial events during his two terms, something critics occasionally suggested represented the extent of his mayoral duties.
But Bailey said those public appearances often marked the conclusion of months or years of work involving municipal staff, council members, community organizations and other partners.
“But behind every ribbon cutting is a whole lot of work. It was always the final steps of something that took a lot of work – and I hated that people minimized that and made it seem frivolous.”
Learning to look beyond those misconceptions became an important personal lesson.
Before entering politics, Bailey worked as a funeral director, a profession that required empathy, patience and the ability to support families during some of their most difficult days.
“It’s a very caring, compassionate business. That is what I’m trained to do. Make the worst three days of your life ‘doable.’”
He carried that same philosophy into municipal politics, approaching difficult situations with the belief that kindness and compassion could make even challenging circumstances easier to navigate.
After eight years in office, Bailey's decision not to seek a third term was not one he made lightly.
He admits going back and forth before ultimately concluding that another four years would be repetitive and that it was time for someone else to lead the County into its next chapter.
“You can’t stay around until everything’s done. You’re only a person in the moment of time,” he said.
Once he accepted that his time as mayor was coming to an end, Bailey said he felt at peace with the decision, describing it as one of the best he had made in years.
He will now hand the chain of office to mayor-elect Jennifer Kyle, who will inherit a County continuing to navigate growth, infrastructure demands and the competing priorities of its communities.
For Bailey, the next chapter will involve considerably fewer meetings, official functions and public obligations.
Instead, he looks forward to spending more time at home with Jim Triemstra, his partner of 43 years, along with friends and their dogs.
“There’s something very wonderful about staying at home. I have a wonderful home and relationship and friends that make me happy.”
And after years of early starts and demanding schedules, Bailey has one particularly simple ambition.
“I want to sit with the second cup of coffee on the porch with the dogs. (No rushing).”
It is a quieter vision of retirement for a man who has spent the past eight years as one of the County's most recognizable public figures.
But Bailey insists that leaving the mayor's office will not change the person he has always been.
“I think the David Bailey you kenw before is the same David Bailey that was the mayor and will be the same David Bailey on my first day of not being the mayor. I’ve learned a lot, met a lot of great people and I loved being the representative of the County of Brant - it is one of my proudest moments!”
And while the challenges of municipal leadership were sometimes greater than he anticipated, Bailey leaves office with an enduring sense of appreciation for the opportunity residents gave him in 2018 and again in 2022.
“I’m very grateful for everything, I’ve had a blast. I’m proud and I’m honoured.”
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