By Tony Dean

The departure this month of Jamison Steeve, the Premier's Principal Secretary and Chief of Policy is another big jolt in the political world at Queen's Park.

Dalton McGuinty credits Steeve as a driving force behind budgets, Throne Speeches and election platforms.

This follows news a couple of weeks ago of political Chief of Staff Chris Morley’s departure.

Two thoughts on this:

First, how did these guys hang in there so long? Both are long-time staffers who have worked through a succession of grueling 24/7 jobs on the way to reaching the peak of their political careers.

Doing these jobs well requires the political religion and a relentless drive to support a political leader and his or her philosophy and values. In the rough and tumble world of politics this sometimes comes at the expense of civility.

This cannot be said of Steeve and Morley. Each has brought professionalism and grace to tough jobs in an unforgiving world.

Second, good leaders build leaders behind them. Last week I wrote about new Chief of Staff David Livingston. It’s also worth looking at who is stepping in behind Jamison Steeve.

John Brodhead becomes the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Cabinet Affairs. He is responsible for overseeing all policy development across the government and ensuring the Premier’s priorities are being delivered. He has played various roles in the McGuinty Government, including executive director of communications and senior policy advisor.

Like Morley and Steeve, Brodhead has a keen interest in complex policy issues. He likes wrapping his arms around tough challenges and finding workable solutions. He will ask hard questions of his public service colleagues, but is unlikely to lose his respect for them.

Brodhead will continue to be supported by Karim Bardeesy, Director of Policy and Research. Bardeesy has a long track record as a political staffer and communications skills honed at the Globe and Mail.

Steeve and Morley deserve a well-earned change. But there is lots of depth behind them.

Tony Dean is a former Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Ontario Pubic Service. He is currently a professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance and continues to advise governments on public policy.

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