Decision Day

[talktooloose]

Municipal Election Post.

I suppose it's a good sign of a healthy democracy, but I'm alarmed that I don't know who I'm going to vote for this evening to be councillor in my ward. I'm back and forth constantly between Adam Vaughn and Helen Kennedy, both of whom have activist, progressive policies and believe in the integrity of downtown and its neighbourhoods.

I'm leaning towards Kennedy because she worked with Olivia Chow for so many years and Olivia's team did amazing things. This means Helen knows City Hall from the inside. On the other hand, Adam has been connected with city politics as an activist and journalist for years so he's not exactly an outsider. Margaret Atwood endorses him but then I didn't like Oryx and Crake so "meh"!

brotherlawrence works for the Adam campaign and he's pretty smart, but his explanation of why-not-Helen didn't have much resonance because i can't even remember it two weeks later.

Adam is against party politics at City Hall (meaning, the David Miller et al NDP unofficial caucus) but I've not actually seen any downside to this axis so I'm not really convinced it's a problem.

Both would do a good job. Maybe I'll vote Desmond Cole because he's cute.

Also, did anyone else know there were ".to" domains? Hot.

Comments

[shawnsyms.livejournal.com]

.to is the country code for Tonga; they have gotten smart about leasing out its use.

To be honest, I'm a bit dubious about the notion that "partisanship" at City Hall is evil. And I also find Vaughan to be a bit of a single-issue (anti-development) candidate. At least with the NDP you know that they have thought out positions on a wide range of issues. Vaughan was quoted as saying that kids should not be allowed to buy spray paint without their parent being present, and that laneways should be gated to prevent their misuse...

[talktooloose.livejournal.com]

The laneway issue has been taken out of context, the Vaughn camp insists. He says he meant little dead-end alleys in Kensington. He also says that people have misquoted him as being opposed to the St. Clair streetcar lanes and that he was just unhappy with the process vis-a-vis pedestrian and business owner input.

But it's unclear why these ideas are being put forward so unclearly by his campaign in the first place. And I agree: the spray can bullshit is worrisome.

I see the theoretical potential for partisanship becoming a problem at City Hall, but it's hard to imagine which NEFARIOUS NDP AGENDA I should fear. It's a bit like Pitfield trying to make the Gardner a campaign issue when the Mayor has no intention of burying it anyway.

LOLZ at use of Tonga domain. Rock on.

[shawnsyms.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard anything about him and the St Clair ROW, though he's closely aligned with John Sewell, who has been vociferously opposed to it.

>>it's hard to imagine which NEFARIOUS NDP AGENDA I should fear.

Yes. The thing that concerns me about the "anti-partisan" advocates is the notion that neighbourhood community organizations are the be-all and end-all of progressive politics. Just because a bunch of people who live somewhere support or oppose something doesn't make their position a de facto progressive one.

[talktooloose.livejournal.com]

The St. Clair stuff was strange. Posters began appearing around the riding that just said, "Adam Vaughn opposes St. Clair Streecar Right-of-Way". So he makes a video which is the lead item on his website in which he shows one of the posters and says it doesn't come from his campaign but then he doesn't deny it either.

I actually phoned the office who said, "it's just the process, just the process he doesn't like." Hmm, interesting about Sewell. My instinct for the last 24 hours has been to go Kennedy.