“I’m a geek, you’re a geek” • RaBIT on TV

This week, I had the privilege of spending some time with Steve Paikin, and talking about the merits of municipal ranked ballots and runoff voting.

Watch here.

Thanks for your support

UPDATE  (April 11) • Good news, in regards to this story.  The National Council of Fair Vote Canada has voted to reinstate Desmond Cole and Katherine Skene on the Toronto Chapter Executive. Also, they have accepted the nominations (previously rejected) for National Council, for Sarah Lambert, Gautam Lamba, and others.

There is also now a comprehensive agreement in place that allows both RaBIT and Fair Vote to work collaboratively. (Details to come shortly…)

I want to personally thank Jim Harris who has been working tirelessly to forge a consensus and encourage a healthy dialogue and required compromise on all sides. He is truly a master of mediation.

As someone who is a committed volunteer for both RaBIT and Fair Vote, I’m thrilled to see everyone on the same page. Thanks Jim, and also thanks to our Executive Director, Wayne Smith. And thanks to all members of National Council who supported this positive step forward.

Now, let’s get to work. If you support proportional representation, and you’re not a member of Fair Vote… join today! It’s only $10:

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Original post:

A couple of weeks ago, three members of Fair Vote Canada were expelled from their elected positions on the Toronto Chapter Executive (myself, Desmond Cole and Katherine Skene).  One week later, three members were told that their nominations for the Fair Vote National Council had been rejected (Sarah Lambert, Gautam Lamba and Katherine) – simply because they had volunteered with an external group.

I’ve been involved with community organising for 15 years.  I’ve volunteered for dozens of groups in Toronto, I’ve been employed by about 15 non-profits, I’ve served as a Director on boards such as the Mayworks Arts Festival, and I’ve been a member of two political parties.  I’ve seen my share of conflict.  But in all that time, I can say that I’ve never experienced this kind of exclusionary, top-down, anti-democratic behaviour.  It’s stunning, and the worst part is that it’s happening within an organisation called “Fair Vote”.

Attack of the Three-Storey Podium!

Have you ever wondered how your neighbourhood would look with a brand new three-storey podium?  I have.  I think it would look really weird.  I have serious concerns about the practicality of such a podium, the inevitable noise pollution, and the lack of integration with the surrounding architecture – not to mention a complete lack of retail space.

An Evening with Mike and Friends • Tues Nov 27

I’ve always had trouble with partisanship.  In 2006, I was labelled a ‘promiscuous endorser‘ by NOW magazine for endorsing Adam Vaughn, Helen Kennedy and Desmond Cole – who were all running against each other. I thought each one of them would each make a fantastic City Councillor.

In my teenage years I was a young Liberal.  In my twenties I was a New Democrat.  For most of my thirties I’ve been multipartisan, or as I prefer to call it, ‘transpartisan’: transcending the notion of politics as a team sport and working towards less polarisation and more collaboration.

The prefix ‘trans’ is often used to describe a bridge between two places, or something that unites many things together (ie: the Trans-Canada Highway).

And so it is, on November 27th my highway will be taking an exit at the “Third Annual Evening with Mike and Friends“.  Mike who, you ask?  Mike Schreiner.  Mike Schreiner WHO, you ask?  Mike Schreiner – the leader of the Ontario Green Party, and you’re not to blame if you have never heard of him.  Mike is an articulate and inspiring leader, but he suffers under the weight of a political system that discriminates against new voices:

My mom: Chief Director of Customer Service

With all the talk about increasing “customer service” in Toronto, you would think that our own City Hall would have a couple of full-time receptionists who can help people find their way.  In fact, you would think that in a city of 2.5 million people, our City Hall would have three or four receptionists! Hey, why not even go a step further?  We often hear that we should run the city “like a business”.  Well, the smartest businesses are the ones that have swarms of customer service reps and ‘greeters’ who are readily available to offer assistance.

But here at City Hall we have one part-time receptionist on duty, sitting behind an enormous desk.  Often, her chair sits empty and there is simply a sign that says:

Salt in the Wound • Jarvis and the City’s bike budget

Over the last year, I’ve written extensively about the pending removal of the Jarvis bike lanes.  There are so many reasons why Council should back down on this plan: reasons related to safety, fair process, wasted dollars, and community support for Complete Streets.

Now, we can add another reason.  Not only is the removal of the Jarvis bike lanes a colossal waste of money (the lanes are brand new) – but guess where the money is coming from?  I’ve been able to confirm with the City that the money to REMOVE the lanes is being pulled directly out of the limited budget the City has to INSTALL bike lanes!  So not only are cyclists losing a major bike lane, serving 1000+ cyclists during rush hour, … but we’re seeing our own capital budget reduced at the same time.

“I’ve got no quarrel with that” • Would the real John Parker please stand up?

“Do you think we should be consulting the local residents before we make this decision?”
~ City Councillor Mike Layton

“I’ve got no quarrel with that”
~ City Councillor John Parker

During the 13 years that I’ve been following meetings at City Hall, I’ve learned a lot about how the democratic process is supposed to function.  It’s a complicated process – one that I’ve tried to de-mystify for my readers last year by writing “Inside Baseball: The rules of City Council” and a chapter in Local Motion called “Finding your way through City Hall”.

The process can seem complicated and burdensome, but every part of it exists for a reason.  The process is designed to include input from a variety of sources, such as from expert staff or from residents who will affected by a decision.

When procedural steps are avoided, or ignored, the system breaks down and the process is no longer democratic.  One of the worst cases I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been watching Council meetings since Mel Lastman was mayor, and Jack Layton was a rogue Councillor), was last year when John Parker moved the motion to remove the Jarvis bike lanes at the June meeting of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.

The first DNA award goes to…..Pemberton, BC!

Village of Pemberton CAO Daniel Sailland, Communications Coordinator Jill Brooksbank & Mayor Jordan Sturdy.

Last week, I had the privilege of delivering an award to the Mayor of Pemberton, British Columbia.  Here’s the story behind the award:

Drivers for Jarvis • Batch #3!

Since I first posted about Drivers for Jarvis, I continue to receive new requests from across TO from those who want to join the campaign!

I’ve pasted some recent photos below, and the full list can be found on the Cycle Toronto website.

Wanna add your name to the list?  Get in touch: dave@pigeonhat.ca

Crowd Funding: Help bring the Fourth Wall exhibit to life!

Six months ago, the Fourth Wall exhibit was installed at the Urbanspace Gallery for a successful three month visit.  The exhibit explores 36 proposals aimed at transforming our local democracy.  At the end of January, the exhibit was removed from the walls of the gallery, and we’ve been trying to figure out how to bring it back to life in other formats.