Comment 46334

By Pxtl (registered) - website | Posted August 26, 2010 at 13:46:05

While I'm a big supporter of alternative voting methods, I tend to think that the ward system itself is the problem. Considering the hyper-low-profile of ward elections (the coming one being an exception thanks to the stadium controversy) I tend to think that ward councillors wield way, way too much power compared vs. the Mayor.

While it may seem less democratic to consolidate the power of the city into the Mayor's office, the fact is that the public is not informed about the actions of the rest of council, and thus can't make informed decisions at the polling station for their ward representatives. Without even political-parties to give them a quick vague idea of each candidate's platform at the polling station, most citizens are voting blind.

Here's the thing: the mayor has as much power as once councillor, plus he officiates the meetings. That's it. However, we have 15 councillors and 1 mayor, which means your vote for your ward representative is 15 times more powerful than the vote you cast for the mayor's office... and yet which vote is getting the more informed decision?

We talk about accountability, but we simply aren't well-informed enough to keep the various councillors accountable.

However, the municipal governance process is run by the Province, so it ain't gonna change.

Comment edited by Pxtl on 2010-08-26 12:48:05

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