City Council Preview: February 2016

Friends, we can all agree that the municipal budget is the most exciting part of the year. But don’t get distracted—there’s a regular City Council meeting this month, too. On the agenda: Uber, fireworks, Toronto Hydro, subways, animal control, and even some good old-fashioned Rob Ford drama.

Let’s check it out, and understand the agenda better than those 15 councillors who never raise their hand in class.

Read more at Torontoist…

How City Council Procedure Works

Tuning in to City Council for the first time—or even watching in person? You may feel lost and confused. Once you understand how council procedure works, you may still feel lost and confused, but at least you’ll know what’s going on.

Read more at Torontoist…

The Cheat Sheet: Nov. 3 City Council

City council revenge caricatures, Edward James Lennox, 1899 - main entrance, Old City Hall, Toronto

Hello again, everyone! It’s so nice to be back. On this month’s agenda: the poverty reduction strategy, hookah lounges, Old City Hall, and probably the first use of “selfie” in council history.

Read more over at Torontoist

On the Campaign Trail in Lake Wobegon

First things first: I hate elections. Suddenly people you could have a normal, genuine conversation with start saying nothing but party talking points. You have to pretend to take debates and campaign promises and interviews seriously, as if they could tell you anything about how the candidate will actually govern in real life. And you can just speculate about any old bullshit that comes into your head and pass it off as serious political analysis. It’s insultingly easy to be an expert on things that haven’t happened yet.

So this is my caveat: 100% of this post is my completely unfounded opinion and by spending energy writing it all I have done is bring the universe infinitesimally closer to heat death. Continue reading On the Campaign Trail in Lake Wobegon

The Cheat Sheet: September 30 City Council

City Council returns after its summer break, and there’s a lot to cover on the agenda. Read about Toronto’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis; taxi clusterfuck; Gardiner clusterfuck; new shelter standards; and more. Did I miss something? Let me know. Continue reading The Cheat Sheet: September 30 City Council

#TOcouncil Google Calendar

As a council-watcher, I live by the City Council & committee meeting schedule. You can download the schedule, but it’s not live—you need to check the web version or follow the City Clerk on Twitter to make sure a meeting hasn’t been cancelled or rescheduled.

To make things easier for myself (and hopefully others), I’ve imported the schedule into Google Calendar and am updating it manually as necessary. You can add it to your own calendar for timely notifications!