Strong Mayor - Strong City?

[Dundasguy]

Originally Posted by adam

Dundasguy, you may be able to sway my vote next municipal election if you have some valid points. Can you list them?

Both Burgerboy and DiIanni are cut from the same cloth, neither of them are above the skullduggery we have seen from our municipal politicians. Guys like Collins, Jackson, Clark, etc. who I think will take a run at the office in the next election bring nothing to the table except more failure.

If you want to see some real change in the city, my sugesstion would be to vote for a total outsider in the next election in both you ward and mayoral race. That would really send a message that the old order is dead.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by adam

2-way street conversions
commuter bike lanes
redesign of the farmer's market and library
streetscaping of king st
ethics commissioner
public input on issues like Light Rail and City Hall
making Light Rail a priority - its crazy an urban city like Hamilton has such poor public transit
providing the proper environment so the James St North arts community could flourish

These are just a few things he's done for us that stick out for me personally. Eisenberger has helped move the city forward for the benefit of its citizens instead of like the previous mayor who did things for the benefit of his favourite cronies while the city itself continued to rot.

Do the rest of the research yourself and inform yourself. Hamilton is an urban city that has been held back for far too long.

Thanks for that list. An interesting one that I think is debatable. For example why do you have LRT on the list? I took a walk around town last night and I didn't see any LRT lines here in Hamilton. Right now, at this stage of the game, all that we have when it comes to LRT is an IDEA....a good idea that even the Non-Eisenberger folks like myself support 100%. But to give Eisenberger the credit for LRT is like placing the cart a head the horse sort of speak. Its also like giving the weatherman on TV all the credit in the world for it being a warm, bright, sunny day. He just happened to get lucky that day and was at the right place at the right time. If Di Ianni was in power right now down at City Hall he too would support the idea of LRT coming into town but then the question then becomes, would Ryan McGreal be ready to give credit to Larry Di Ianni for making LRT a priority in Hamilton? hmmmm

I too have my list for Eisenberger and my list is actually a lot longer than yours. My list is a list of everything that is wrong with Eisenberger as the Mayor of Hamilton and a list of everything that he's made a mistake in. Unfortunately for the Eisenberger camp I am not about to present my list right now because to do so would give his camp the opportunity to do something about it since he still has 2-years left in his term. So for me the timing is of the essence here. The best time for me to present a list like the one I have would be one month leading to the next municipal election, 2 years from now.

The time is ticking away and the time is running out for Eisenberger.....tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic.............

[ryan_mcgreal]

Originally Posted by Dundasguy

Both Burgerboy and DiIanni are cut from the same cloth

I've met, corresponded and talked with both politicians, and my impression is that they're not "cut from the same cloth", except insofar as they're both municipal politicians.

It's not just their policies, which after all are not much different: it's their personalities, their styles of management, and their passions. I won't rehash their differences in management style, as I wrote a long piece earlier in this thread.

In terms of their passions, Di Ianni focused most of his energy on competing the Red Hill Valley Parkway (and attracting industrial employers in highway-accessible business parks) and ramming through a new industrial park around the airport; whereas Eisenberger has focused on light rail transit and active transportation improvements, anti-idling and environmental improvement, and ethics reform.

Eisenberger generally supports the RHVP and airport-related development, though he didn't stick his neck out for the former and wants the latter halved in size. Similarly, Di Ianni generally supports light rail and environmental improvement, though as Mayor he didn't stick his neck out for the former and spent little time on the latter (his recent vocal endorsement of Dion's Green Shift notwithstanding).

Both emphasized downtown revitalization, though Di Ianni's approach was to wrangle backroom deals with developers to pour public money into building replacement (a deal that Eisenberger ultimately saved) whereas Eisenberger's approach is to transform existing public amenities so they act as anchors for urban reinvestment (the Gore).

These may not be radical differences, but they do speak to significant incremental differences in the priorities of the two mayors: where they direct their office resources, and where they spend their political capital.

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

Thanks for that list. An interesting one that I think is debatable. For example why do you have LRT on the list? I took a walk around town last night and I didn't see any LRT lines here in Hamilton. Right now, at this stage of the game, all that we have when it comes to LRT is an IDEA....a good idea that even the Non-Eisenberger folks like myself support 100%. But to give Eisenberger the credit for LRT is like placing the cart a head the horse sort of speak. Its also like giving the weatherman on TV all the credit in the world for it being a warm, bright, sunny day. He just happened to get lucky that day and was at the right place at the right time. If Di Ianni was in power right now down at City Hall he too would support the idea of LRT coming into town but then the question then becomes, would Ryan McGreal be ready to give credit to Larry Di Ianni for making LRT a priority in Hamilton? hmmmm

I too have my list for Eisenberger and my list is actually a lot longer than yours. My list is a list of everything that is wrong with Eisenberger as the Mayor of Hamilton and a list of everything that he's made a mistake in. Unfortunately for the Eisenberger camp I am not about to present my list right now because to do so would give his camp the opportunity to do something about it since he still has 2-years left in his term. So for me the timing is of the essence here. The best time for me to present a list like the one I have would be one month leading to the next municipal election, 2 years from now.

The time is ticking away and the time is running out for Eisenberger.....tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic.............

LOL...trust me, you can release your little 'list' anytime you want. Nobody will care.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

I too have my list for Eisenberger and my list is actually a lot longer than yours. My list is a list of everything that is wrong with Eisenberger as the Mayor of Hamilton and a list of everything that he's made a mistake in. Unfortunately for the Eisenberger camp I am not about to present my list right now because to do so would give his camp the opportunity to do something about it since he still has 2-years left in his term. So for me the timing is of the essence here. The best time for me to present a list like the one I have would be one month leading to the next municipal election, 2 years from now.

So let me understand this correctly. You have feedback on how the Mayor can better benefit Hamilton, but you are going to keep it from everyone (including the mayor and his team) because you have a problem with the mayor. Is my understanding correct?

If it is then that's very un-civic and narrow minded of you. Please explain to me how that benefits Hamilton?

If you released your list now, and it contained many great suggestions and ideas that went un-acted upon by the mayor in the next 2 years. Then I think you'd have a really great case for your opinion of the current mayor.

Hiding the list from the public seems to me to be petty and casts you in a less than favourable light.

[ryan_mcgreal]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

But to give Eisenberger the credit for LRT is like placing the cart a head the horse sort of speak. [...] If Di Ianni was in power right now down at City Hall he too would support the idea of LRT coming into town but then the question then becomes, would Ryan McGreal be ready to give credit to Larry Di Ianni for making LRT a priority in Hamilton?

After the provincial funding announcement, staff and council were still uninterested in light rail (with the exception of councillors McHattie and Bratina). I talked to senior Public Works staff a year ago and they still saw LRT as a long-term idea - ten to fifteen years at least. It wasn't for another month or two that they even decided to launch the feasibility study, and it wasn't until this April/May that they started to become truly enthusiastic about it.

Eisenberger was already working toward LRT before the MoveOntario 2020 announcement. One of his first acts as mayor was to change the name of the Bus Rapid Transit office to the Rapid Transit Office and convince Council to approve a staff budget. He also started talking to staff about making LRT a bigger priority and studying its feasibility as a shorter term project.

He pushed to have Hamilton included in the Metronlinx purview and secured a seat on the board. (My understanding is that Di Ianni had also done some groundwork prior to the municipal election in this regard.)

It was because Hamilton was part of the GTTA that we could start think about capital funding through Metrolinx, and it was because Hamilton had a staffed rapid transit office that we could actually launch the rapid transit feasibility study. None of that would have happened without the behind-the-scenes work Eisenberger did to get LRT on the staff agenda.

There's a lot of grumbling right now that it looks like Hamilton will be one of the later recipients of Metrolinx capital funding due to the less advanced state of our planning, but the fact is that we would still be at square one if not for Eisenberger's advocacy and we would be way down on the Metrolinx agenda.

At the same time, Eisenberger was one of the first public figures in Hamilton to start publicly endorsing light rail (for example in his September 2007 State of the City speech), again long before it moved into the political mainstream.

Let me state clearly that had these things happened when Di Ianni was mayor, and had Di Ianni made LRT as much a priority as Eisenberger has, I would have no compunctions about crediting him for it.

When Di Ianni recently wrote an opinion piece for Chris Ecklund's blog in support of LRT, I was happy to publicize it and draw attention to it, just as I was happy to publicize the endorsements of the Chamber of Commerce, the Realtors Association, Conservative MP David Sweet, former regional chair Terry Cooke, and everyone else across the political, economic, and urban spectrum who sees LRT as a positive investment for the city.

[SteelTown]

Mark Chamberlain, currently citizen of the year, hinted me might run for Mayor.

[SteelTown]

In case you don't know who Mark Chamberlain is.....

He's the founder and former CEO of Wescam. Currently President and CEO of Trivaris. Pretty sure he was born and raised in Hamilton. Went to Waterloo University. A poverty activist, Chair of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty. And best of all he's the Chair of Metrolinx.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/bioMarkChamberlain.aspx

An impressive resume.

[ryan_mcgreal]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Mark Chamberlain, currently citizen of the year, hinted me might run for Mayor.

Very exciting. How did Chamberlain get the inside scoop on your plans, though? :-)

[SteelTown]

Sorry should have been "he" opps.

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Sorry should have been "he" opps.

And that should be 'oops' . Just a little good natured ribbing.

[SteelTown]

whoops

[SteelTown]

Here's an article suggesting Mark Chamberlain could run for Mayor.....

http://www.thespec.com/article/343812

[raisethehammer]

I'm glad you mentioned the state of the city in 2007 McGreal... I was going to mention that as a turning point moment when the mayor flashed up a snazzy image of LRT and asked the audience "imagine seeing this in Hamilton?".
Everyone in the room was clueless about what they were looking at, but loved the look of it.
Since then the planning has gone at breakneck speed. No way in heck this would be happening with DiIanni or any of our other trashy mayors in the past couple decades.

[Dundasguy]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

I'm glad you mentioned the state of the city in 2007 McGreal... I was going to mention that as a turning point moment when the mayor flashed up a snazzy image of LRT and asked the audience "imagine seeing this in Hamilton?".
Everyone in the room was clueless about what they were looking at, but loved the look of it.
Since then the planning has gone at breakneck speed. No way in heck this would be happening with DiIanni or any of our other trashy mayors in the past couple decades.

Now if he could only make a descision on the City Hall cladding...

When I see some execution from this guy, then he will make me a believer.

[adam]

There is a certain Ancaster counsellor with cronies in construction who is holding it back. Mayor Fred is trying to be as fair as possible. He asked for public input. First time I've seen a mayor actually care what the public thinks.

[highwater]

Originally Posted by Dundasguy

When I see some execution from this guy, then he will make me a believer.

That's the whole point of this thread. Under our current system, the mayor only has one vote on council. He/she can only hope to lead decisively by exerting their influence on their fellow council members. In Hamilton, disproportionate power is wielded by suburban and rural councillors whose agendas are often antithetical the good urban governance that Eisenberger clearly gets, so his hands are tied. Now you could argue that if he were a stronger leader, he would be able to bring these councillors around, but that would require them to go against the wishes of the majority of their constituents. As the saying goes, it is very difficult to get someone to understand something that their livelihood depends upon them not understanding.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

LOL...trust me, you can release your little 'list' anytime you want. Nobody will care.

Nobody will care? Hmmmm, That's what you think.

When I find out who is running for Mayor in the next election and I decide for myself who I think the best candidate is I will approach their camp and submit my list for them to have a look at.

[Boomtown_Hamilton]

Originally Posted by FairHamilton

So let me understand this correctly. You have feedback on how the Mayor can better benefit Hamilton, but you are going to keep it from everyone (including the mayor and his team) because you have a problem with the mayor. Is my understanding correct?

If it is then that's very un-civic and narrow minded of you. Please explain to me how that benefits Hamilton?

If you released your list now, and it contained many great suggestions and ideas that went un-acted upon by the mayor in the next 2 years. Then I think you'd have a really great case for your opinion of the current mayor.

Hiding the list from the public seems to me to be petty and casts you in a less than favourable light.

Thanks for the feedback and your honest opinion on the matter.

First of all, I don't think the mayor and his team would be open to any input I may have on how I think he can better improve himself and our city. He and members of his camp already know that I have never really spoken of him in a favourable light, they have seen my posts and have read my opinions of him on the hallmarks blog and because of it I don't think are open to any ideas OR contructive criticism I may have on him. Personally, I don't think he can take it, the constructive criticism, and I also don't think he would be open to it especially coming from me.

I don't have a problem with him as a person, I just question his leadership abilities. I don't like him as the Mayor of Hamilton, plain and simple. I have some problems with the way he conducts himself. I just think that as a leader he should be leading by example and he has done a very poor job of it in that department. That is my opinion and that is the perception that a great many folks in this town have of him.

I will say this though, the day that he got rid of Ken Audziss was a HUGE step in the right direction!!!

[FairHamilton]

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

Thanks for the feedback and your honest opinion on the matter.

You are welcome.

Originally Posted by Boomtown_Hamilton

First of all, I don't think the mayor and his team would be open to any input I may have on how I think he can better improve himself and our city. He and members of his camp already know that I have never really spoken of him in a favourable light, they have seen my posts and have read my opinions of him on the hallmarks blog and because of it I don't think are open to any ideas OR contructive criticism I may have on him. Personally, I don't think he can take it, the constructive criticism, and I also don't think he would be open to it especially coming from me.

Am I missing something here? You won't your ideas 'out there' because you are worried he'll act on them in the next 2 years. But, you also don't feel they'd be open to your input.

If you feel they won't act on the list then there is nothing for you to lose, and everything to gain by posting them.

I don't get it.