By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Longtime Brigham mayor Steven Neil stepped down earlier this summer, four months before the end of his mandate and more than six months after telling reporters he didn’t plan to seek reelection later this year. Former councillor Philippe Dunn succeeded Neil and will serve at least until the Nov. 2 election. When Neil resigned with less than a year left before the election, councillors had the option of scheduling a byelection or of voting to choose a mayor among themselves; they chose the latter option. Dunn, a lifelong Brighamite and son of a former mayor who has served on council since 2013, was the only councillor to put his name forward.
Neil was first elected mayor in 1999 and served until 2013, when he decided not to run; in 2017, he ran again and was re-elected. In the last election in 2021, he was acclaimed. In addition to his political involvement, Neil runs a farm and works as a corporate jet pilot; he told the BCN he decided to step down as mayor because he no longer had any work-life balance to speak of.
“The people close to me have known for three years that I wasn’t running again,” he said. “I’ve been balancing the town, the farm and my job since 1999. I’m away as a pilot for days or weeks at a time, and when I get back I’m always swamped with meetings. I would show up to meetings in my pilot’s uniform or do Zooms from the cockpit. I was stretched thin and I wasn’t able to give 100 per cent to anything. A lot of my colleagues, who are retired, semi-retired or work locally, may be able to balance things a little more easily, but the transfer of responsibilities from the government to towns is increasing and I just didn’t have time anymore.”
He said he waited to step down until the 2025 budget and audit of the town’s finances were completed. “My biggest pride is our finances – we went from high debt to no debt to having everything in place to maximize grant requests.”
He looked back proudly on the town’s recycling program, which was launched on his watch; getting a functional running water system installed in the Guay sector; working with the Granby Zoo and local private landowners on a riverbank conservation project; refurbishing a bedraggled park into a popular baseball and soccer field; overseeing the creation of a town forest on a former tree plantation; and the “green fridge” food sharing project, for which he still plans to volunteer.
He expressed frustration at the provincial government progressively passing more responsibilities onto municipalities, where they usually – at least in the case of smaller towns like Brigham – fall onto the shoulders of part-time elected officials and small teams of civil servants.
“When the [Coalition Avenir Québec] government first got elected, I was apprehensive, and then I was quite content, but then they changed direction again and lost control of their financial vision. Now, they’ve passed responsibilities on to us because they can’t afford to do certain things, [which creates] more meetings, more committees, more red tape,” he said. As examples, he cited recent requirements for towns to establish demolition committees and carry out building-by-building audits for asbestos and sources of soil contamination. “That’s a lot of money for a small municipality, it’s a big job and we can’t be endlessly hiring staff.”
“It’s wonderful not having to worry about every single thing, not having to worry about flooding or about downed trees every time we get high winds, not having to answer 25 emails, knowing that when I get home I can really be home and spend time with my family,” said the now former mayor, speaking with the BCN in a brief phone interview between two flights.
Neil has joined a growing list of more than 800 mayors and councillors across the province who have headed for the exit, for various reasons, between the 2021 election and the planned end of their mandates this fall. While he’s conscious of the difficulties that municipal elected officials face, he encourages those considering running for office later this year to take the plunge. “It’s a very big commitment, and it is at times unrewarding, because people tend to not understand the sacrifice. If you are someone who takes things personally, it’s probably not a job for you, but if you’re able to roll with the punches, then go for it, because the towns need it,” he said.