The tiny, tidy minds of reformers.
Reading about the recent report on political reform for our cities from the University of Manitoba, reminded me of my old friend David Crombie. It was almost 50 years ago…
Municipal politics
Wildrose-style insurgency smacked down in St. Albert as progressive Cathy Heron elected as mayor
PHOTOS: St. Albert Mayor-elect Cathy Heron with the author of this blog post last night at her victory celebration. Below: Newly elected councillors Natalie Joly, Ken MacKay, Ray Watkins, Jacqui…
Cole considers claiming the mayor’s chair.
The Toronto Star’s columnist on city issues, Edward Keenan, thinks black activist Desmond Cole would bring some excitement to the race for mayor next year. He thinks that the race…
Two NDPers on bicycles.
Reading a fatuous op-ed in the Toronto Star the other morning was funnier than the comics. It was signed by two city councillors who are New Democratic party supporters. And…
Vancouver By-Election Endorsements
Just in case anyone is wondering how I will vote in this Saturday’s Vancouver municipal by-election, here’s the plan: City Council: Pete Fry (Green Party) School Board: Judy Zaichkowsky (Green…
The dogshit dilemma
We have a problem with dogshit. Well, all municipalities do, of course, but ours is increasingly evident: it’s everywhere. And with the growing popularity of pets and our growing population,…
Hepburn’s humour.
Columnist Bob Hepburn must be weaning off the writing habit as he continues for his 30th year at the Toronto Star. Luckily, he has not lost his sense of humour.…
Toronto’s Tory talks the talk.
It was Doug Ford’s challenge. He actually asked Toronto Mayor John Tory to rename Etobicoke’s Centennial Stadium after his late brother Rob. It is very hard to say whether Tory—considering…
Thinking about St. Albert’s aspirants for the mayor’s office: You can elect a candidate, but you can’t make him work
PHOTOS: City Councillor Cathy Heron, who is running for mayor of St. Albert, on the campaign trail. Below: Councillor Cam MacKay, who is also seeking the mayor’s job, fishing in…
FOI filings show Councillor Sheena Hughes’ controversial comments didn’t end with her ‘sack of hammers’ remark
PHOTOS: A screenshot taken from the City of St. Albert video of the Feb. 17, 2015, City Council meeting, showing Councillor Sheena Hughes speaking about changes to the School Site…
In search of leadership.
This is not as simple as Diogenes with his lamp, searching for an honest man. There are many possibilities in life for leadership and many who believe they can fill…
True Integrity? Not The Block…
There’s an interesting article online called, 13 Traits of People With True Integrity that opens with the (unintentionally?) funny line: Integrity, for those who are not familiar, is quite important.…
Montaigne and The Block
I do love reading Michel de Montaigne. And writing about him. In 2014 alone, I wrote ten separate posts about him and his famous book, Essays. But since then, my…
Why not to run for council
A recent article shared with me on Facebook, titled “Five Terrible Reasons to Run for Municipal Office” lists many – but far from all – of the reasons people should…
Why are they called The Block?
Seven members of our council are collectively referred to as “The Block” in common parlance. A fitting nickname for a group that includes its leader, the deputy mayor, Brian Saunderson,…
What is the price of one child?
Children are returning to school at this time of year. In our wisdom, we Canadians have two types of school boards. (This is where our wannabe politicians hang out.) We…
Fear of Ford.
Is he, or isn’t he? Is Doug Ford running for the mayoralty in Toronto next year or for the Progressive Conservatives in the provincial election? And who cares anyway? Oddly…
Leadership Lost.
One of many theories in politics is that the aspiring politico needs to pick a cause. Years ago, I heard a newspaper reporter advise a young Liberal to latch on…
The work of politics
Politics is like many other skills, jobs and pastimes in that it requires work to succeed. Hard work, sometimes, for some folk, and easy for others, but always it requires…