Over at The Hamiltonian, I've been involved in a discussion about LRT, entitled LRT- Yes or No?'
In the end, I've been accused of –essentially– believing in a fantasy, having my head in the clouds, attached to a pie-in-the-sky concept...by 'Anonymous'. (Who seems to be everywhere!)
You know what? That's fine with me. I don't mind having people with extraordinarily narrow vision (actually, it's not 'extraordinary' It's quite normal; most people don't give a good-Goddamn about local politics, and this person is serving a valuable purpose in reminding me of this truth) making these kinds of declarations.
Because I realize that what I'm proposing is a wholesale shift of perception and context on the parts of the residents of The Amalgamated City of Hamilton, that it's a bit much to imagine, especially when it appears at first glance that I'm asking EVERYONE to spend HOURS each week doing their civic duty.
I'm not.
I'm looking at providing far more tools than are currently available for civic engagement and as a result of those tools being used initially by those who are inclined to want to participate in their local governance...and as a result of the inevitable shift taking place...wherein people are empowered and begin thinking of their roles in their neighbourhoods, their communities and their city differently, the general attitude towards local governance...'vote every four years, complain privately along the way, then vote again'...turns towards something far more participatory...as well as being something far more collaborative.
A goal for 2014?
50% voter turnout (up from 40%)
40% voting according to 'name recognition' (down from 60%)
Both of these as a result of having:
6 town hall meetings per year in each ward
6 town hall meetings per year across the city for the city, featuring the Mayor
'Pie-in-the-sky'?
Maybe.
But seriously; what's the alternative?
The default setting for whiners and moaners is 'Vote the bums out!' and get a new crop in.
Resulting in what, exactly?
If we continue to promote what amounts to a closed system, one where information is begrudgingly piecemealed out to citizens, where there isn't genuine participation and involvement on the parts of the residents, where there's hardly more than a moiety of authentic engagement between the people of Hamilton and its paid leaders...
...then nothing changes.
To me, to hang your hopes on one, or even a handful of 'super candidates', shining stars who have an entirely different approach to the log-jam, blinkered one that Hamilton's 'legacy malaise' has promulgated for decades, that is 'pie-in-the-sky' thinking.
That is 'unrealistic'.
To believe that this arrangement is going to somehow take us to a better place is, to me, a 'pipedream'.
Here's a parsed version of the Comments section of The Hamiltonian article:
My Stoney Creek wrote " I don't trust the average person to care enough to make the effort to educate themselves about LRT even to the degree they might in choosing their next holiday destination"
Absolutely right and that's why politicians are unaccountable. if your in Stoney Creek, youll see that in ward 10 and, as used to be the case in ward 11 too
Absolutely right and that's why politicians are unaccountable. if your in Stoney Creek, youll see that in ward 10 and, as used to be the case in ward 11 too
"Absolutely right and that's why politicians are unaccountable. if your in Stoney Creek, youll see that in ward 10 and, as used to be the case in ward 11 too"
Actually, I wasn't referring to politicians at all. I'm referring to residents.
They're the ones who vote in the Councillors, remember? And they're the ones who vote in incumbents, right? Such as in Ward 10? So to turn things around, who's really 'unaccountable' here?
If you want 'accountable' politicians, here's my visceral reaction: get more involved. Be accountable. Change the 'hands-off' construct we currently have in local governance. 'Increase the relationship of engagement between residents and their City Council'. Specifically, press for regular town hall meetings. If our Councillors are constantly acting in isolation, and people are apathetic, what would you expect to be the result? Let's increase the dialogue, the discourse. Let's have a better form of democracy unfolding, shall we?
Actually, I wasn't referring to politicians at all. I'm referring to residents.
They're the ones who vote in the Councillors, remember? And they're the ones who vote in incumbents, right? Such as in Ward 10? So to turn things around, who's really 'unaccountable' here?
If you want 'accountable' politicians, here's my visceral reaction: get more involved. Be accountable. Change the 'hands-off' construct we currently have in local governance. 'Increase the relationship of engagement between residents and their City Council'. Specifically, press for regular town hall meetings. If our Councillors are constantly acting in isolation, and people are apathetic, what would you expect to be the result? Let's increase the dialogue, the discourse. Let's have a better form of democracy unfolding, shall we?
My Stoney Creek said "If you want 'accountable' politicians, here's my visceral reaction: get more involved. Be accountable."
I have to agree with you there. But we know that there will always be people who don't have the time to get as involved as you want them to be. People have jobs, worries, children etc. They are counting on good people to do their jobs abd thats why Councilors have to make themselves accountable.
I have to agree with you there. But we know that there will always be people who don't have the time to get as involved as you want them to be. People have jobs, worries, children etc. They are counting on good people to do their jobs abd thats why Councilors have to make themselves accountable.
Anonymous:
It's not a question of how involved *I* want them to be. The idea of "I'll vote every four years and leave it to people I will pretty much end up moaning (and worse) about" is atrocious. Unacceptable in a country where its citizens are blessed with so much.
It's a question of priorities. Do people want good governance, do they want to feel cynicism or faith towards their City Council? If so, then the paradigm we've constructed...based on apathy...has to change.
Don't look for salvation from any particular Councillor. Especially if you invoke a 'hands-off' policy throughout their term. (And I'm not talking about contact that involves the Councillor serving as 'trouble-shooter', which is not what they should be spending their time doing.) That is an absurd approach. The answer lies with all of us.
Yes, there will always be people who 'don't have the time'. Surely to God that can't be almost *everyone*...?
It's not a question of how involved *I* want them to be. The idea of "I'll vote every four years and leave it to people I will pretty much end up moaning (and worse) about" is atrocious. Unacceptable in a country where its citizens are blessed with so much.
It's a question of priorities. Do people want good governance, do they want to feel cynicism or faith towards their City Council? If so, then the paradigm we've constructed...based on apathy...has to change.
Don't look for salvation from any particular Councillor. Especially if you invoke a 'hands-off' policy throughout their term. (And I'm not talking about contact that involves the Councillor serving as 'trouble-shooter', which is not what they should be spending their time doing.) That is an absurd approach. The answer lies with all of us.
Yes, there will always be people who 'don't have the time'. Surely to God that can't be almost *everyone*...?
"Don't look for salvation from any particular Councillor" You can say that again. Do you ever read the Stoney Creek News out there? Read it and follow the "activity" of Ward 10 and the4 association with developers/ Thats your first hint. People have busy lives and the vision of engagemnt is a pipe dream. who has time to gather all the info on all the topics- even the major one? Thats your councillors job to represent the best interests of the community and city. Noone has time to get THAT involved. Seriously! They should wake up though and see the smoke and mirrors. Don't you see that?
"Thats your councillors job to represent the best interests of the community and city."
The problem is that this notion is a flawed concept. The notion that we-the-employers hire these 'employees' and then hand them the keys and say 'We'll check back in in four years' is ridiculous. And it's especially ridiculous with how the world's changed. Access to information alone has meant that the landscape is shifting. The previous design...what you're clinging to *despite* having an easily-identifiable enmity towards the Councillor in Ward 10...hasn't ever really worked that well, and as things continue to shift, will be all the more antiquated with each passing year.
As for the 'nobody has time!' response... I'm sorry, but this reminds me of those who have kids but have no time to parent. (That wasn't an apology for the comment, by the way.) People make time for what they feel is important. If people felt that being involved, being engaged was important, just part of their value system, this discussion becomes moot.
Besides; you're looking at the prospect of what I'm talking about while using the current circumstances as a reference. That's a flawed lens. I'm talking about a much different paradigm being created.
And the great thing is that what we'd be working towards would be a much better way of local governance, providing less headaches and generally, a better quality of Life.
At least that's what *I'm* interested in working towards.
The problem is that this notion is a flawed concept. The notion that we-the-employers hire these 'employees' and then hand them the keys and say 'We'll check back in in four years' is ridiculous. And it's especially ridiculous with how the world's changed. Access to information alone has meant that the landscape is shifting. The previous design...what you're clinging to *despite* having an easily-identifiable enmity towards the Councillor in Ward 10...hasn't ever really worked that well, and as things continue to shift, will be all the more antiquated with each passing year.
As for the 'nobody has time!' response... I'm sorry, but this reminds me of those who have kids but have no time to parent. (That wasn't an apology for the comment, by the way.) People make time for what they feel is important. If people felt that being involved, being engaged was important, just part of their value system, this discussion becomes moot.
Besides; you're looking at the prospect of what I'm talking about while using the current circumstances as a reference. That's a flawed lens. I'm talking about a much different paradigm being created.
And the great thing is that what we'd be working towards would be a much better way of local governance, providing less headaches and generally, a better quality of Life.
At least that's what *I'm* interested in working towards.
My Stoney Creek, you're unrealistic. To make good decisions, you have to know many facts and a lot of information that changes quickly. Noone is gonna be able to keep up with that and still do their jobs. Pipedreams.
"Pipedreams"
Yeah. How silly am I to want to make things better?
Because things have never gotten better by people thinking outside the box, striving for something that someone else has deemed 'unrealistic', have they?
Yeah. How silly am I to want to make things better?
Because things have never gotten better by people thinking outside the box, striving for something that someone else has deemed 'unrealistic', have they?
