In 2022 I ran on three key values: Vision, Communication, and Collaboration. Each of those values had three key goals. I hope to return to council for the 2026-2030 term, so I thought it worthwhile to evaluate how well I did in achieving those goals. Those values and goals have been on the front pageContinue reading “End of Term Evaluation: Collaboration”
Tag Archives: democracy
Concentration of Power
I rarely look at federal politics these days. It is good for my mental health to focus on matters I can actually do something about. Provincial matters are unavoidable for me, because the province (increasingly) directly controls municipalities: the provincial government determines what municipalities can do, how we can do it, and has veto powerContinue reading “Concentration of Power”
AMO Conference Report
Last week I attended the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, which was full of good information and networking opportunities, as conferences tend to be. Here’s a brief rundown of what I learned. Keynote Speaker: Andrew Coyne Andrew Coyne gave a barnburner of a talk about the state of democracy in Canada amid our troubledContinue reading “AMO Conference Report”
Strong Mayors in Brighton?
Brighton is one of 169 municipalities in Ontario that were just given Strong Mayor powers. I have some serious concerns about that, and have seconded a Notice of Motion expressing opposition to it. As I sit down to write this, Consider This released an interview with Mayor Brian Ostrander on the subject, you can listenContinue reading “Strong Mayors in Brighton?”
Filling a Vacant Council Seat
As much as I’m still uncomfortable with saying that there’s a vacant council seat in Brighton, especially with Councillor Faretis’ celebration of life still to come this Saturday, council was required to declare his seat vacant within the first two council meetings after his passing. That was this past Monday. Council postponed determining how hisContinue reading “Filling a Vacant Council Seat”