Reality Bites

From susansherring.ca...

"It’s pretty easy to criticize from the outside of council. And save for the mayor refusing to take your calls, there aren’t many ramifications for pointing out his flaws in a Sun column or on my blog. And frankly, the mayor has lots of flaws – so there’s plenty of material. 

But for a city councillor, especially a newbie, butting heads with the mayor – either publicly or behind closed doors – comes with its own set of risks. While city council theoretically has final approval for all spending, Watson has managed to get a majority of councillors to toe the line and push forward his agenda. And if you butt heads with the mayor, as a city councillor – you risk not getting projects of importance in your own ward pushed through. It’s a tricky situation and politicians can easily find themselves on the outside looking in."

"The all-important finance and economic development committee – essentially the council cabinet – is chock full of city councillors willing to do his bidding. And if you take a closer look at the makeup of that committee, no sign of those pesky, left-leaving downtown councillors who try to get in Watson’s way. In case you missed the dripping sarcasm – that means the downtown wards aren’t represented on the most important committee."

"Councillors – most of whom aren’t considered Watson allies – who ranked certain committees as their number one choice weren’t rewarded, while some – Watson’s ‘yes sir’ group – who had little interest on being on those same committees found themselves getting a spot; those the mayor has the least use for find themselves on relatively insignificant committees they have no interest in. Does this make sense? Of course not. The only person who benefits from this process is Watson himself, who is adverse to opposition – and simply used his power to ensure anyone who questions him get shut out. And he’s handed out enough goodies to almost guarantee the votes will go his way. That’s not democracy."