Funny, that.

Photo (used without permission) courtesy of 

Vicki Cronis-Nohe | The Virgnian-Pilot

I'm down in Norfolk, VA visiting family. And while I've been down here, I've taken in some of the sights.

No, not the beaches; my brother and his wife live right on Chesapeake Bay, so there's no need for me to wander down the road to Virginia Beach, regardless of its unquestionable attractions.  And no, not the traditional touristy-things that tourists partake in. (Although yes, I did witness the tall-ships procession known as 'Op-Sail', but again, mostly from the top of the dunes at the verge of the public beach here where I'm staying.)

The 'sights' I've taken in have more to do with community activism.

Attending 'civic league' meetings. Watching 'Council' proceedings on television. Reading scads and scads of newspaper articles and op-eds, contacting and speaking with former municipal candidates...and going with my brother to witness him vote for his 'Superward 6' choice.

What I'd like to share with you today has to do with the second item.

Last night, after a long, hot, sunny day filled with all kinds of invigourating family adventures, I sat down and prepared to watch the Miami Heat/Boston Celtics game. But I got waylaid.

I ended up watching a chunk of a Council meeting re-broadcast.

Now, I'm no 'political weenie'. Yes, I'm energized in my own community activism endeavours (mostly misunderstood, but not an uncommon occurrence, all things considered), but I'm not such a geek as to feel the need to catch something like this on a Saturday night. Except that...

Except that I was captivated by the proceedings. Yes, the subject matter was intriguing. (More on that in a second.) But what finally registered with me was the complete and utter contrast with how things are done here, in a city of about a quarter-million, about half of Hamilton's, and yet being part of Hampton Roads, which has about 1.7 million residents, isn't precisely a small southern cousin-city. How different the demeanour is at Council meetings, how the very tone and tenor is markedly different from what transpires at 71 Main Street West in Hamilton, and how markedly different the 'broadcast' is. (And for the record: yes, the City of Norfolk has its own television channel,)

OK, back to the 'raison d'etre' for the meeting, and this should definitely be of interest to Hamiltonians: Waterside.

This downtown Norfolk feature is almost thirty years old, and they're debating what to do about its revitalization. (If you go to the local paper, The Virginian-Pilot, and do a search, you'll come up with articles such as this one.)

Downtown revitalization. A national, continental, global concern. Nothing new there. But take a look at the meeting that I sat and watched, one that delayed my viewing of the NBA Eastern Conference Championship Final Game 7 broadcast. (Here's the standalone link.)

Even accepting that there are two different types of Council meetings, a 'Formal Session' and a 'Regular Session', I'm sure you'll agree that even to the casual viewer, some things are clear. 

Firstly, that the City of Norfolk accepts the sharing of proceedings with its residents, its constituents, its tax-payers, its stakeholders with an entirely different mindset than the City of Hamilton does. In other words, Norfolk has recognized and accepted that they're asking people to watch something, to take the time to do so, and that this request comes in competition with everything else in its residents' lives. So, in a nutshell, they've embraced the reality that Council meetings compete with everything else the resident can choose to view.

The City of Hamilton seemingly doesn't see things this way. I'm not sure how explain this. Indifference? Arrogance? Ignorance? Regardless, the bottom-line is that the City of Norfolk accepts that they have to present a product that's worthy of the viewer's time. So there are multiple camera angles. There's a sense of immediacy. The more cynical might frame all this as 'entertainment'. My response to that dismissive attitude would be a hearty 'Good luck with that!'

The second thing that's readily apparent, even if you just scan through the above video, is what actually unfolds here bears little resemblance to what goes on at City Hall Council Chambers in Hamilton. 

My goodness, this looks more like a group of intelligent, dedicated people getting together to discuss a vital issue than does the seemingly-mired-in-formal-process junk that passes as tradition at 71 Main Street West. 

Here's the thing: local politics is the closest we come to 'true democracy'. Which means it should be the closest we come to the origins of governance, clan sitting around the fire discussing the welfare of all. 

Yes, you need procedures. But when these procedures inform the goings-on to such an extent that you veer away from the basic tenets of communication, of discourse and of dialogue, I kindasorta think you might want to consider re-calibrating. 

Norfolk City Council has fractious sessions. There have been some notable incidents of grandstanding, of conflict just in the past year. But for all that can be said about the American political system being more a 'sport' than a governance process that remains true to its roots, what I've witnessed in Norfolk is testimony to the notion of 'keeping it real'.

My wish is that Hamilton finds a way to examine this aspect of relaying our governance, and that we consider making some changes for the most important reason on the table: for us, its people. 

M Adrian Brassington