Joe Pennachetti’s retirement party is off for now.
Toronto’s retiring city manager says Mayor-elect John Tory – along with the needs of a new council during what Pennachetti described as some critical months ahead – convinced him to stay on for a while.
Tory, a new mayor taking office on Dec. 2, said every day the chief bureaucrat remains will be a benefit for the city.
"We have a strong, trusted leader here," Tory said Thursday. Nov. 6, with Pennachetti at his side in the city hall rotunda.
Pennachetti, much praised for his work during the "long four years" of Rob Ford’s administration, had been determined to leave after last month’s election.
His party was planned for Nov. 27.
But both Tory and councillors talked to him about staying longer, he said, and the new council faces several months with "heavy inter-governmental focus."
Pennachetti has said the main threats to the city’s financial health are the province’s cancelled 50-50 commitment to fund TTC operations, and the provincial and federal government’s lack of investment in Toronto’s social housing.
The first four or five months of the new council term are a chance to reinvigorate discussions with other governments aimed at getting the city what it needs, he suggested.
Returning councillors standing near the announcement praised both Tory’s move and Pennachetti’s decision to stay until a new city budget is passed next April.
"It’s critical to keep the experienced hands on the wheel during a time of transition," said John Filion, a North York councillor.
"We’re all glad," added Raymond Cho, from Scarborough.
From an office in one of the building’s towers, Tory continues to receive briefings and meet councillors with an eye to approving committee appointments for the term.
His even-handed approach so far is a refreshing change from the one Rob Ford’s team took during his transition to power in 2010, said Shelley Carroll, another council veteran from North York
"The watchword here is inclusiveness," said Carroll, who said fellow councillors have been impressed. "We’re all being calm and Zen about the next little while."
Former mayor David Miller was "pretty exclusionary" as he prepared to take power, and Ford "had his own style," but Tory seems to be "reaching out to both sides of the aisle in a way that hasn’t happened in some time," said Denzil Minnan-Wong.
"He has an openness about him right now," the North York councillor added, suggesting it’s a style the public wants after four years of Ford.
Minnan-Wong summed it up as "cooperative and conciliatory."
Pennachetti also said he noticed a difference in the transition at city hall. "The mayor-elect this time around is much more involved in details," he said.