This morning I had a lovely phone conversation with the Clerk from Tay Township. I'd enquired after the municipality's experiences with ward boundary reform. Specifically by way of a petition being generated by residents last year. (This was referenced here, last week.) The highlights:
-Communicate with Council and the City Clerk's office regarding the petition even before it's presented. Everyone on the same page before the review process begins means there's a greater chance that the best possible outcome can be achieved.
-Sort out the procedure ahead of time regarding how the petition is presented, so there are no hiccups.
-Get as many names on the petition as possible. Tay, with a population of under 10,000, had 200 signatures on its petition. An equivalent for Hamilton would number about 10,000. So going for 500, or even a 'safe' 750 is minimalism at its best/worst. I won't state what I believe would be an appropriate number, but I'm hoping we don't rush things and have it work against the cause in the long run. (And don't forget that those on the petition must have been on the 2010 municipal elector roll; the City Clerk will be checking the names on the petition against the roll, and any and all non-complying names will be dismissed uncounted.)
-Hit the ground running. Once the petition is accepted by Council, then each party...the petitioners and the petitioned...has to work within the proscribed process: 90 days' worth of consultation, etc. So even now, it's vital to plan on spreading awareness, developing a strategy for penetrating a generally ambivalent citizenry, thinking hard about producing efforts independent of the 'public consultation' (ie, meetings) in order to create a groundswell. (And from my own perspective, the infrastructure to 'get the word out' should be hooked with to Council once we have new ward boundaries in place: who better to continue to spread the word than those people who saw the need in the first place? It's like an election campaign crew being utilized after the victory to maintain cohesion and support.)
-Be aware that 'old grievances' will rise to the surface in a situation such as Hamilton's. That is, those elements that were forced into amalgamation, that went from their own town/city council with multiple members to having one councillor may well still have things to bring to the table, and it behooves all of those who are 'pro-boundary reform' to understand these issues, complaints and grudges and be able to have constructive dialogues about them. Yes, there are undeniable population inequities present in our current ward boundaries, but in the words of Leo on 'The West Wing', "Sometimes it's not enough to be right." Strong resolve tempered by humility, graciousness and patience will stand us in good stead.
-Study up on the Supreme Court of Canada decision in 'The Carter Decision'; it's the basis of how the OMB sees the issue of ward boundary reform.
It was quite clear in talking to Ms Thomas that preparedness is key, especially when the impetus is coming from the residents. (The 90-day time-frame would not have been in effect had Council shown the initiative to deal with this issue.) So from my vantage point, before the end of the month, there should be a steering committee in place, and the core of a strategy sketched out.
As I've said in an Op-Ed piece submitted to The Spec, this is a chance for Hamiltonians to take ownership of a fundamental issue in the city. This endeavour began with us, and we have the right to craft its outcome to the utmost.
Pitter-patter, let's get at 'er...
M Adrian Brassington
Good advice. I lead a petition drive in Windsor that was successful in convincing our Council to change their mind and change our wards rather than letting the OMB do it. One thing to remind all signatories is that in order for their signature to be valid, they must have been an eligible voter in the last Hamilton Municipal election. This is why you need to get more than 500 signatures. The City Clerk will compare your petition against the last election list and strike anyone off it that does not qualify. In Windsor we collected just over 800 signatures and the end result was close to 600 valid signatories once it was checked. Here's a link to the entire process followed by Windsor, including the consultant's reports. While the situation is obviously different in Hamilton, the reports are worth reading to get an understanding of the Carter case you refer to and to grasp all of the factors considered when looking at new boundaries. One final note, including calling back the consultant for further studies after they first tried to shelve everything, I believe the entire cost for the consultant was in the neighbourhood of $60,000. http://www.citywindsor.ca/cityhall/Municipal-Election/Ward-Boundaries-and-Maps/Pages/Timetable.aspx
ReplyDeletePS. I highly recommend Dr. Robert Williams as a consultant, should he still be available. His work was both thorough and fair. He consulted extensively with both City Staff, Councillors and the public.
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