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At the Monday senior staff meetings, he takes an active role in drawing up agendas, determining what items will be discussed by council and dealing with other regional ‘business because he feels, if he didn‘t "staff are going to tend to make decisions which are political." â€" Gray, who has never missed a regional council meeting since he was electâ€" ed chairman, only gets to vote when there is a tie. That‘s why the regional chairman is sometimes viewed as a controversial fiâ€" gure by the public. Residents forget or ignore the ‘fact that 12 other counâ€" cillors also voted the way Gray did, he said. One thorny issue, the grant to Waterloo Region Planned Parenthood had regional counciliors evenly divided. Jim Gray completes his first term as regional chairman this fall and will seek reâ€"election. PROFILE Gray must see to it that the information showing ‘‘both sides of issues‘"‘ are provided to the regional councilliors. By accepting the regional chairmanship, he also had to give up his seat on Kitchener Council but as Gray points out "I‘d much rather do what I‘m doing than anything else." The words of Jack Young, the first chairman of Waâ€" terloo Region, were echoed recently by his successor Jim Gray. Dec. 1978, he immediately quit his engineering job with Voisin Development Ltd., a housing corporation, where he had been employed for about 24 years. Fiftyâ€"five year old Gray, formerly a Kitchener alderâ€" man, has served as regional chairman for the past two years. ""I love it. I thoroughâ€" ly enjoy council and staff and making the system of government work,"" says Gray. When Gray was elected to his $42,000 a year post in By Marg Kasstan A regional chairman is ‘"a leader among equals." Chairman Gray‘s a ‘leader among equals‘ Personally, Gray feels reâ€" gional government is ‘‘a form of government that can work if we work at it," but he feels the tendency is for municipalities in the sysâ€" tem to ‘‘constantly kick at Paraphrasing Winston Churchill‘s comments about democracy as an analogy of his perception of regional government, Gray said "it‘s a terrible form of governâ€" ment but it‘s the best one we‘ve got." ‘‘Regional government has not been popular across the province. It was more or less imposed on the then counties by the province. Being imposed is not entireâ€" ly popular." While these duties may have the outward appearanâ€" ce of being dull for some people, they aren‘t for Gray. He even finds them exciting at times. ‘*There‘s rumblings of disâ€" content in every region,"" he said. There are no great achieâ€" vements or failures in Gray‘s books. He simply deâ€" lights in the dayâ€"toâ€"day operation of regional goâ€" vernment â€" ‘"working with the seven municipalities and making it work." 3 Cambridge‘s decision to look for alternate ways to get out of the system doesn‘t appear to bother Gray terriâ€" bly. Gray figures he casts a deciding vote about half a dozen times a year, but always on very high profile issues. The regional chairman works about 40 hours a week, attends approximateâ€" ly 600 meetings a year, signs countless documents each day, greets several citizen‘s groups and appears at various social functions and speaking â€" ~engagements throughout the area. He later won reâ€"election as alderman in Kitchener and after about four years on regicnal council, was"seâ€" lected by his peers as Waâ€" terloo Region‘s second chairman. This fall, Gray hopes he will be reâ€"elected as regionâ€" al chairman. Gray has been involved in government work for a long time. He was hired ""sight unseen‘‘ when he was 23 years old as assistant enâ€" gineer for the City of Waâ€" terloo and emigrated to Canada from Bangor in northern Ireland. He held that position for seven years before moving on to Voisin Development Ltd. He was first elected to Kitchener council as alderâ€" man in _ 1959. When Kitchener Mayor Joe Meinâ€" zinger ‘died in 1962, Gray filled in as mayor for six months. For about a decade, he dropped out of political office while remaining acâ€" tive in various boards and committees in the area. As a _ member _ of Kitchener‘s committee of adjustment, Gray was apâ€" pointed to the region‘s land advisory committee in 1973. Gray doesn‘t get upset when individuals charge that regional councillors are sometimes parochial in making decisions. After all, the regional chairman says, their power stems from their electoral bases. ‘‘There‘s no obvious overâ€" staffing,"" Gray maintained. 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