The best cure for insomnia is to read a Procedural By-Law, but bear with me: it can also be dramatic! It lays out exactly how meetings of councils and committees are supposed to happen, who needs to be there, what kinds of things can be discussed and how and in what order, when a closed-sessionContinue reading “The Power of Procedure”
Tag Archives: municipal politics
How Do I Make Decisions?
Council provides strategic direction to municipal staff, on behalf of residents, to determine the policies that shape the present and future of our community. Someone asked me this week how I make decisions on behalf of residents, and the answer was longer than they had time for! So I’ll put it here. Context and ProcedureContinue reading “How Do I Make Decisions?”
When You Have a Concern About Development
Development is constantly in the news these days, between governments of all levels looking for ways to speed it up to citizens’ and resident groups expressing opposition to particular developments. Brighton is no different: we’ve had some big development proposals lately, and residents have expressed opposition to some of them. I thought I’d address someContinue reading “When You Have a Concern About Development”
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?”
Housing Solutions, and the Limits Thereof
There’s been a lot of coverage of proposed housing solutions during this federal election campaign, and that’s hopeful. Mike Moffatt and Justin Ling both have posts that dig in deep enough to explain the difference between them. But there are a few limitations to these plans that I haven’t seen covered, and I have aContinue reading “Housing Solutions, and the Limits Thereof”
Working with Nature
Days 2 and 3 of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Sustainable Communities Conference are in the books! Tomorrow I’m headed home. If I tried to give you a play-by-play of the past two days we’d be here all night. But there were some common themes that came up over and over again, and it’s worthContinue reading “Working with Nature”
Affordable Housing, and Managing Growth
Today is the first full day of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Sustainable Communities Conference, held this year in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It’s been a very busy day, and my mind is buzzing with possibilities for Brighton, but I’ll focus on the two main sessions I attended today. Affordable Housing This morning I attended aContinue reading “Affordable Housing, and Managing Growth”
A New Councillor
On Friday, Brighton Council heard short presentations from nine excellent candidates to fill one open seat on council. We asked each of them questions to draw out their strengths and potential points of comparison between them. Each one of them was and is remarkable: it takes guts, passion, and responsibility to stand for a councilContinue reading “A New Councillor”
Political Analysis, Punditry, and Gossip
As I write this, we’re flooded with political questions at every level. Internationally, we’re hearing analysis about which parties can support peace (or war) in Gaza and Ukraine, or getting details about the indictment of the President of South Korea, not to mention the non-stop speculation about what incoming US President Donald Trump will doContinue reading “Political Analysis, Punditry, and Gossip”
Do You Want to Join Council?
I’m not yet over my sadness at the loss of Councillor Faretis, but I am nonetheless happy that Brighton is in the process of choosing a new councillor to serve out the remainder of the 2022-2026 term. The details of the appointment process will be confirmed on a special meeting on December 24th at 9am,Continue reading “Do You Want to Join Council?”