2018 London Municipal Election

[Blitz]

^ He should at least serve a term on city council before running for mayor. I'm not voting for anyone who doesn't have at least some experience in some form of government.

Regarding the "running the city like a business" thing, this is what former Windsor mayor Eddie Francis did for his three terms in office and he was very successful in doing it. He fought very hard (and somehow won) against the bloodsucking unions and greatly reduced the bloated, inefficient governance that had plagued the city for decades. Granted, it might be a slightly different situation in London though.

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by Blitz

^ He should at least serve a term on city council before running for mayor. I'm not voting for anyone who doesn't have at least some experience in some form of government.

Regarding the "running the city like a business" thing, this is what former Windsor mayor Eddie Francis did for his three terms in office and he was very successful in doing it. He fought very hard (and somehow won) against the bloodsucking unions and greatly reduced the bloated, inefficient governance that had plagued the city for decades. Granted, it might be a slightly different situation in London though.

Francis may have been successful at doing what he did, but was the city of Windsor better off as a whole because of his 'run the city like a business' ethic?

[Blitz]

Originally Posted by Stevo26

Francis may have been successful at doing what he did, but was the city of Windsor better off as a whole because of his 'run the city like a business' ethic?

The city is in a much better position financially now in being able to pay for big projects like the new arena, new aquatic centre, and major infrastructure improvements. The municipal debt was dramatically reduced during his tenure and the current mayor was one of Francis' proteges so he has continued with the same strategy. It just reached a point where things were so bloated that we needed those types of sweeping changes.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by Blitz

The city is in a much better position financially now in being able to pay for big projects like the new arena, new aquatic centre, and major infrastructure improvements. The municipal debt was dramatically reduced during his tenure and the current mayor was one of Francis' proteges so he has continued with the same strategy. It just reached a point where things were so bloated that we needed those types of sweeping changes.

Exactly! People don’t realize how bad the city was run back before Francis, it really was bad! Windsor today has a much brighter future, and has a lot more money to boot!

[MolsonExport]

I think it will go up in smoke.

[haljackey]

Coming this fall:



Via
https://www.reddit.com/r/londonontar...fall_bus_wars/

[MolsonExport]

[Djeffery]

Matt Brown Out. Free Press front page article reporting Matt Brown isn't going to run. I wonder if he already has a job lined up. I think he had a better than 50-50 chance of winning, based on the opposition to BRT crowd splitting the votes. He makes about $130,000, which would be hard to walk away from, for a former teacher with what I would imagine is a hefty child and maybe spousal support bill. Maybe his financial backers from the last campaign are hinting that their money is going elsewhere this year.

The Free Press still hasn't put the story online by 630am, so no link to share yet.

[Pimpmasterdac]

Here LFPress link: http://lfpress.com/news/local-news/l...or-second-term

I can understand Mattress Brown's reasonings for getting out. Long work weeks 100+ hours, constant criticism, plus his affair with Cassidy that neither really cleared the air about. Would've only intensified in campaign season. Now that he's is out, certainly opens up the mayoral race. There's no real pro BRT candidate that's intending to run currently.

[GreatTallNorth2]

I wasn't a big fan of Brown, especially after he came out pro-BRT instead of LRT. But now we have the choice of Dumb vs Dumber. It will be interesting to see what happens with BRT, transit, etc. After all the Shift meetings and detailed planning that has gone into this plan and all the funding basically in place, I'm wondering how the city just walks away and then how we could move forward.

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by Pimpmasterdac

Here LFPress link: http://lfpress.com/news/local-news/l...or-second-term

I can understand Mattress Brown's reasonings for getting out. Long work weeks 100+ hours, constant criticism, plus his affair with Cassidy that neither really cleared the air about. Would've only intensified in campaign season. Now that he's is out, certainly opens up the mayoral race. There's no real pro BRT candidate that's intending to run currently.

If there is currently no pro-BRT candidate, it's a certainty that BRT will end up stillborn and go nowhere. Watch for the anti-BRT crowd to bring out their knives a la Julius Caesar.

I find it interesting that the BRT project has just started getting off the ground and then Brown decides to pull out of politics altogether.

I personally hope that we do get a candidate who will go with a full LRT system instead of BRT. It would be great if the city could take over the CN/CP railway spur that crosses Richmond Street near Oxford and use that as a natural east-west line. A lot of future development is going to happen in the Hyde Park area anyway.

[jammer139]

You do understand that the CN and CP lines running thru London are NOT spur lines? These are the main east west lines across southern ontario.

The chance that either railroad will divert around London and leave the right of ways for LRT is ZERO.

Originally Posted by Stevo26

If there is currently no pro-BRT candidate, it's a certainty that BRT will end up stillborn and go nowhere. Watch for the anti-BRT crowd to bring out their knives a la Julius Caesar.

I find it interesting that the BRT project has just started getting off the ground and then Brown decides to pull out of politics altogether.

I personally hope that we do get a candidate who will go with a full LRT system instead of BRT. It would be great if the city could take over the CN/CP railway spur that crosses Richmond Street near Oxford and use that as a natural east-west line. A lot of future development is going to happen in the Hyde Park area anyway.

[MolsonExport]

fucking London. One step forward, 8 steps back.

I can see it now. Some stupid jerk as mayor and an even bigger jerk (Thugg Ford) as Premier.

I think I will move back to Quebec.

[Spoofy]

.

[Stevo26]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

fucking London. One step forward, 8 steps back.

I can see it now. Some stupid jerk as mayor and an even bigger jerk (Thugg Ford) as Premier.

I think I will move back to Quebec.

It's giving me half a mind to move back to my home town of Sarnia. Even though I haven't lived there in 35 years, have no friends there and only one relative I see only rarely. London is starting to get stupidly expensive to live in, thanks to economic and other policies from a succession of mayors who have been trying to gentrify the city and to hell with everyone else.

Sarnia has many fewer amenities than London does, and there's not much to do there. But it is a very compact city and very easy to get around in if you have a car - the public transit system in Sarnia is pretty poor. Heck, an electric bike that has decent range will get you around Sarnia pretty well.

On the plus side, there is a nice river and a lake, spectacular sunsets, and the climate in Sarnia is somewhat better. In the winter, Sarnia gets maybe half the snow London does, and there are fewer snowstorms and severely cold days.

I can remember only one time where I actually experienced a true 'snow day' in Sarnia, while in London, I've experienced at least three.

[tyeman200]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

fucking London. One step forward, 8 steps back.

I can see it now. Some stupid jerk as mayor and an even bigger jerk (Thugg Ford) as Premier.

I think I will move back to Quebec.

Agree completely, If BRT gets scrapped I'm looking for somewhere else to live. Preferably a city that wants change, not this shithole, with the shitty people and shitty drivers. Which is honestly the main problem. People bitch about needing more roads to be expanded because of traffic, but it could all be avoided if PEOPLE DRIVE FASTER. Only reason traffic sucks here is cause people drive like 50km/h in the fast lane and take forever to accelerate. I just hope there is a good candidate for this year who wants either BRT or LRT.

[HillStreetBlues]

Too bad about Brown, but I can understand his not wanting to run. He messed up badly with that affair, and during the campaign period he would doubtlessly hear about it every day.

From what I heard about him up until his affair, he would have stood a very good shot of re-election. One term isn't enough to get much done (as evidenced by the last four years).

Oh well. London will likely have another poor mayor. Par for the course, unfortunately.

[Dupcheck]

BRT on the ballot is a dead BRT. We know majority does not profit from the BRT directly so they will not support it. If it does get to the ballot i hope we have the choice of LRT on it.

I hope the new city mayor pivots and picks LRT which is a way better option.
If LRT happens then its path is engraved on stone. Businesses love to locate around LRT since it is more or less fixed and sure income to them.
Like some of you mentioned, utilizing current CN/CP train tracks around the city for a LRT system might be smart actually, asking CN/CP to share certain tracks instead.
This way not many NYMBY's will be against it.

[Djeffery]

The mayor is still only one vote, and I think it depends on who it is as to how much sway they have with other councillors (and who they happen to be). I think there are 3 or 4 that have announced that aren't running, and maybe 1 or 2 that might take a run at mayor, and maybe a couple that go down to defeat, so it's hard to say how the next council will look, or how they feel about BRT.

[haljackey]

Will any current elected councilors/ MPs / MPPs run?

Any guesses? Most of council are 1-term councilors. Brown himself was a 1-term councilor before he was mayor.