2018 Ottawa Municipal Election

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by jleiper

If I may, that depends on who you elect. Once a week, I have "pop-up" office hours in the ward, which are virtually always packed with people coming by for three hours to chat big and small picture stuff. I read and reply to my own email. I spend hours each weekend writing a newsletter that is substantive and informative about any issue moving forward through the system.

Past two weeks, I've been trying to take "holidays", with no more than a couple of hours in a row to myself. City and my staff have been looking for decisions on small construction projects, noise exemptions, transit routes, and a couple of planning files; not to mention the snake and Magee House! I've been talking to a resident and by-law about the condo signs that are popping up all over. I've been working with residents and the architect on a controversial CoA project. I'm working through neighbour issues on a new supportive housing project that opened recently. This is all just a dull roar, and nothing like what I've got my fingers in when I'm actually on the job and not on vacation.

A few nights ago, I was looking at the sidewalk reconfiguration at Parkdale/Wellington where I'd had several onsite meetings with the developer and City to make sure we could keep that open when the original plan was to close it. There was a barrel in the way of the new route, which I moved. People saw me, and it became an impromptu pop-up, and I walked away with several to-dos.

Your councillor isn't sitting around eating bon-bons and sipping champagne. They're not an MP or MPP without a lot of connection to what we call case work. It's an on-the-ground job.

Yes, if you're looking for a new stop sign somewhere, or suggesting a new advance green, the councillor's staff will probably do the work of getting an answer from the City about why that can or can't be done. If you're calling your councillor with something you should be calling 3-1-1 about, yeah, the councillor's staff will probably deal with that - fixing a pothole, replacing a green bin, etc. But if your councillor's advocacy matters, and there's a real chance that their involvement will be key to the outcome, I don't know many councillors around the table who don't jump in.

City staff aren't accountable to individual councillors, but they do exercise a lot of deference. Since I got elected I've been very impressed at their responsiveness to every question under the sun (the City is a very complex place) and ability to brief so that councillors can provide guidance. When that guidance is in line with policy or staff's delegated authority, they defer, and it's a ton of these little decisions the councillor has to make each week that never see the light of day of a headline.

The story I'm coming out of this term with is a sidewalk that was supposed to be closed. Separate from the current re-configuration, the developer was going to be installing a hydro vault at Parkdale/Wellington in prep for the new development. They were going to close the sidewalk for three weeks or so. When I saw that (remember that I read my own email), I didn't see that that was acceptable given the distance between lights through that stretch (next one is Rosemount/Carruthers). I kept saying there has to be a better way, getting told it was the only choice, then finally asked staff and the developer to meet me there. Onsite, they described the challenges and regulations. I noted that the developer's property in the parking lot was empty, and asked why they couldn't remove a small portion of decorative fence, build a couple of asphalt ramps, and fence off a pedestrian detour. And that was exactly what they did. At minimal cost, there was a very convenient and safe by-pass to the construction.

Your councillor can't always achieve the outcome you want. They don't have authority over most things - just moral suasion. Only Council can direct City staff, not councillors. But, I would suggest most councillors around the table get that this is a customer service job, and that they have to get some mud on their boots.

Suggesting that councillors' staff members deal with most issues does a disservice to the work that doesn't show up in the media. City Hall isn't the West Wing. Anyone running for office had better be prepared to hit the ground running on more small, grunt work issues than they probably even knew a councillor has to deal with every day. Councillors' staff members keep the ball rolling, and I couldn't do it without them, but the buck stops here.

Kitchissippi is literally being torn up and re-built day by day. Even if the councillor's office budget was significantly increased to hire more staff, there's no way I could be hands-on to many more files. There's only so many hours in the day. Reducing the number of councillors would simply mean that on issues like a sidewalk closure, the chance of getting the councillor's attention would be dramatically reduced, and I believe that that would be a negative outcome for everyone's quality of life.

Good summary of your job. I may not always agree with you but you put 110% or more into your job and for your community and I hope your constituants appreciate it.

[Norman Bates]

Originally Posted by jleiper

If I may, that depends on who you elect. Once a week, I have "pop-up" office hours in the ward, which are virtually always packed with people coming by for three hours to chat big and small picture stuff. I read and reply to my own email. I spend hours each weekend writing a newsletter that is substantive and informative about any issue moving forward through the system.

Past two weeks, I've been trying to take "holidays", with no more than a couple of hours in a row to myself. City and my staff have been looking for decisions on small construction projects, noise exemptions, transit routes, and a couple of planning files; not to mention the snake and Magee House! I've been talking to a resident and by-law about the condo signs that are popping up all over. I've been working with residents and the architect on a controversial CoA project. I'm working through neighbour issues on a new supportive housing project that opened recently. This is all just a dull roar, and nothing like what I've got my fingers in when I'm actually on the job and not on vacation.

A few nights ago, I was looking at the sidewalk reconfiguration at Parkdale/Wellington where I'd had several onsite meetings with the developer and City to make sure we could keep that open when the original plan was to close it. There was a barrel in the way of the new route, which I moved. People saw me, and it became an impromptu pop-up, and I walked away with several to-dos.

Your councillor isn't sitting around eating bon-bons and sipping champagne. They're not an MP or MPP without a lot of connection to what we call case work. It's an on-the-ground job.

Yes, if you're looking for a new stop sign somewhere, or suggesting a new advance green, the councillor's staff will probably do the work of getting an answer from the City about why that can or can't be done. If you're calling your councillor with something you should be calling 3-1-1 about, yeah, the councillor's staff will probably deal with that - fixing a pothole, replacing a green bin, etc. But if your councillor's advocacy matters, and there's a real chance that their involvement will be key to the outcome, I don't know many councillors around the table who don't jump in.

City staff aren't accountable to individual councillors, but they do exercise a lot of deference. Since I got elected I've been very impressed at their responsiveness to every question under the sun (the City is a very complex place) and ability to brief so that councillors can provide guidance. When that guidance is in line with policy or staff's delegated authority, they defer, and it's a ton of these little decisions the councillor has to make each week that never see the light of day of a headline.

The story I'm coming out of this term with is a sidewalk that was supposed to be closed. Separate from the current re-configuration, the developer was going to be installing a hydro vault at Parkdale/Wellington in prep for the new development. They were going to close the sidewalk for three weeks or so. When I saw that (remember that I read my own email), I didn't see that that was acceptable given the distance between lights through that stretch (next one is Rosemount/Carruthers). I kept saying there has to be a better way, getting told it was the only choice, then finally asked staff and the developer to meet me there. Onsite, they described the challenges and regulations. I noted that the developer's property in the parking lot was empty, and asked why they couldn't remove a small portion of decorative fence, build a couple of asphalt ramps, and fence off a pedestrian detour. And that was exactly what they did. At minimal cost, there was a very convenient and safe by-pass to the construction.

Your councillor can't always achieve the outcome you want. They don't have authority over most things - just moral suasion. Only Council can direct City staff, not councillors. But, I would suggest most councillors around the table get that this is a customer service job, and that they have to get some mud on their boots.

Suggesting that councillors' staff members deal with most issues does a disservice to the work that doesn't show up in the media. City Hall isn't the West Wing. Anyone running for office had better be prepared to hit the ground running on more small, grunt work issues than they probably even knew a councillor has to deal with every day. Councillors' staff members keep the ball rolling, and I couldn't do it without them, but the buck stops here.

Kitchissippi is literally being torn up and re-built day by day. Even if the councillor's office budget was significantly increased to hire more staff, there's no way I could be hands-on to many more files. There's only so many hours in the day. Reducing the number of councillors would simply mean that on issues like a sidewalk closure, the chance of getting the councillor's attention would be dramatically reduced, and I believe that that would be a negative outcome for everyone's quality of life.

Jeff - I wish you were my councillor. But sadly mine is quite likely the least engaged of all your colleagues.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Shad Qadri, Georges Derouze, and Michael Qaqish and Eli El-Chantiry are of non european ancestry although I"m not sure why european ancestry is a determinant.

Last time I checked there were no formal impediments to prevent more women or people of non-european ancestry to run for Council.

I didn't say there was. Someone pointed out that a benefit of a large council is diversity. That doesn't seem to have happened.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I didn't say there was. Someone pointed out that a benefit of a large council is diversity. That doesn't seem to have happened.

Perhaps it has.

Perhaps it hasn't.

But you know what mathematically cannot possibly be very diverse?

A smaller elected body.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Perhaps it has.

Perhaps it hasn't.

But you know what mathematically cannot possibly be very diverse?

A smaller elected body.

Vancouver had a 10 person council and it seems a lot more diverse than Ottawa's.

https://vancouver.ca/your-government/city-councillors.aspx

[MisterOttawa]

You couldn't pay me enough $$ to be a city councilor. Most councilors work hard and make themselves available to their constituents - at least in my experience. We usually only hear about the problems and not about their successes. It's easy to complain about them or about their decisions but if you don't like the way things are handled in your Ward, you can always run as a candidate in 2022.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Vancouver had a 10 person council and it seems a lot more diverse than Ottawa's.

https://vancouver.ca/your-government/city-councillors.aspx

I really don't see your point when I look at the picutre.

Besides, Vancouver is only the central city and Vancouver has a bigger immigrant population.


Ottawa also includes suburbs and rural areas.


I would say under the circumstances, Ottawa is doing fine.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Vancouver had a 10 person council and it seems a lot more diverse than Ottawa's.

https://vancouver.ca/your-government/city-councillors.aspx

It does not seem that way to me. And it's not ethnic diversity I'm thinking of, to be clear: it's political diversity. The smaller the elected body, the fewer points of view there will be in it.

Vancouver is also just the central city of a much larger metropolitan area, so the comparison to amalgamated atrocities like those in Ontario is not nearly as apt.

[rocketphish]

Ford suggests Ottawans want smaller city council

Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: September 10, 2018

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has suggested that Ottawa city council might soon come under the same kind of scrutiny as Toronto’s.

In an interview with Global News Radio 640 Toronto, Ford was asked if he intends to shrink other city councils in the province in the same way he’s cutting Toronto’s almost in half.

“Right now, we said we’re going to focus on this. But I’ve had numerous calls from Ottawa. I tell you, I don’t know what’s going on out in Ottawa,” Ford told guest host Anthony Furey, who normally hosts National Post Radio on SiriusXM Canada.

“But I’m getting endless calls from the Ottawa region,” the premier continued. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been getting calls from all over the province.”

Ford made the comments after announcing that his government will use the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to effect a dramatic reduction in the size of Toronto city council.

“We’ve made a lot of decisions over the years politically,” Ford said, “and I’ve never made a decision that was so popular than this decision. And again, it’s within the constitution. We’re following the constitution, because if it wasn’t in the constitution, we wouldn’t be doing it.”

Ford had previously said that Ottawa was a special case. In late July, when he was asked why Ottawa — a city with one-third the population of Toronto — should have just two fewer councillors, Ford said comparing the two cities was illogical.

“Let’s not even compare Ottawa,” Ford said then. “It’s apples and oranges, apples and oranges, when you compare a town the size of Ottawa, a beautiful city, compared to a city the size of Toronto, you can’t even compare it.”

Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod has said that Ottawa is a unique case because it is, geographically, so much larger than Toronto and includes a sizeable francophone community.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/ford-suggests-ottawans-want-smaller-city-council

[acottawa]

I think I would like to see a borough system where there are a smaller number of full time councillors on the main city council and borough councils that would not be full time jobs (maybe receiving and honorarium and expected to attend a borough council meeting one time per month). Borough councils could advise the main council and maybe be delegated issues of a purely local interest.

[Buggys]

If we go to a borough system, then why not meld community associations with the system somehow?

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Buggys

If we go to a borough system, then why not meld community associations with the system somehow?

First of all, boroughs are effectively what we had before 2001 with Regional council.

Second, community associations are not democratic organizations and are often special interest groups. They are very uneven. I cannot remember when our neighbourhood had a community association. Some areas have very active associations, others have none.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

First of all, boroughs are effectively what we had before 2001 with Regional council.

We had two layers of government, with their own bureaucracies, full-time (mostly) councillors, buildings, etc. I am not suggesting creating new municipalities, just a new channel for public engagement.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Buggys

If we go to a borough system, then why not meld community associations with the system somehow?

Oh hella no. Nope no no no no no no. The NIMBY associations are as politically entrenched as it stands.

[zzptichka]

De-amalgamate and boom smaller council.

[danishh]

wards 5/20/21 only have the population to justify 2 councillors between them. There we go, I reduced council size by one councillor.

the bigger problem with our local democracy is we've waited 6 years now to redistribute based on the 2011 census results (released in 2012). By the time we elect a council based on 2016 census numbers (2022), the 2021 census numbers should already be out.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by danishh

wards 5/20/21 only have the population to justify 2 councillors between them.

Stittsville (ward 6) has a similar population to those 3. Consolidate 5 with 6 and 20 with 21. Now we've gone from 4 to 2.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Paul29

Stittsville (ward 6) has a similar population to those 3. Consolidate 5 with 6 and 20 with 21. Now we've gone from 4 to 2.

There is a bit of a problem with this. When Ottawa was amalgamated, there was a great concern about the loss of rural input. It is very easy to merge rural wards but is this good for the democracy of this city?

It already is a problem in that the city dictates pretty well everything going on in these rural areas. Eliminating further rural wards does not help.

This is the down side of the excessive amalgamation that took place in 2001.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

There is a bit of a problem with this. When Ottawa was amalgamated, there was a great concern about the loss of rural input. It is very easy to merge rural wards but is this good for the democracy of this city?

It already is a problem in that the city dictates pretty well everything going on in these rural areas. Eliminating further rural wards does not help.

This is the down side of the excessive amalgamation that took place in 2001.

On the flip side, why should rural residents effectively have double the electoral say of someone in Barrhaven or Vanier?

Because that's what the current electoral discrepancy results in.

[J.OT13]

Ford is enacting the Notwithstanding clause on the grounds that he is elected and the judge is not. But that doesn't work, because Toronto City Council is elected, and they don't want a reduction in size.