Is Toronto about to get a makeover? Chow could set new tone with council appointments: experts
CBC
Is Toronto City Hall on the cusp of a serious makeover?
Newly-elected Mayor Olivia Chow has signaled that change is coming to key committees and appointments, and it looks like she'll be applying more than just a fresh coat of paint.
A motion coming to council this week, which will be one of Chow's key items at her first meeting, kickstarts the work.
Chow said she's been busy talking with members of council about their priorities since she won the city's top job last month.
Among those priorities, she said, are a "deepening housing crisis, a sense of unease in our communities, and a transit system that is less reliable."
"It is through these conversations that I have been made even more hopeful for the future of our city because I can see clear common ground across city council."
If passed, Toronto's clerk will continue the discussions the new mayor started with councillors about where they'd like to be appointed to committees, local boards, city corporations and other agencies. That will be followed by a report recommending a new slate of appointments for council's consideration, potentially as early as September.
The appointments matter.
Council committees are key pinch-points that can speed up or slow down a mayor's policy agenda. So, understandably, mayors tend to wield the power they have to appoint the chairs and members of those committees to make their lives easier.
Former councillor John Filion said Chow's motion suggests she may being trying to strike a more conciliatory tone than just installing key allies. It might also mean that when she unveils her choices, they'll reflect councillors across the political spectrum, he added.
Filion said former mayors Mel Lastman and David Miller did to try to keep the peace at council. Chow herself was appointed by Lastman as the city's child advocate even though the two differed in their politics.
"I expect that she will be including everybody who's willing to work with her and move the city ahead together," he said.
Filion said the appointments process also has the potential to establish, or deepen, good working relationships among councillors themselves, he added. Chow will want to minimize dysfunction at city hall to pass her agenda, he said.
"When people are fighting, especially when they're fighting over nothing, it just uses up so much time and energy," he added.
This First Person column is the experience of Shannon Flaman, who lives in Red Deer, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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