[Vision2020] So, Our City Council Thinks They've Got It Rough, Huh?

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of the Ottawa Citizenat:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/meeting+speakers+hours/5182061/story.html

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One meeting, 168 speakers, 22 hours
 
Raucous council session goes all night
 
 
Torontonians brought their teddy bears and their pyjamas. They broke out in song, recited a poem and spoke through a puppet.

A record 22-hour meeting at City Hall that roared through the night into Friday morning brought out residents and councillors, who displayed impressive endurance at an executive committee meeting about the core service review and contentious cutbacks to the city budget being considered by Mayor Rob Ford and his executive committee.

The focus was cost-cutting suggestions from KPMG consultants on the city's agencies, boards and commissions, such as closing libraries, selling theatres and cutting grants that fund student nutrition programs and AIDS and drug-prevention initiatives.

The clerk said 168 people of a list of 344 spoke from Thursday until the meeting ended after sunup on Friday, a sore spot for some activists who blasted the administration for pushing through the night, making it more difficult for some to stay.

"It matters," said Ben Elling, a 30-year-old policy analyst.

"This whole process has awoken a lot of people who might have otherwise not have participated. There is only so much that I'm willing to let go by before I feel I need to speak up."

A reduction in transit service and the closing of several public libraries have been among the proposed cuts to draw the ire of the public.

Ford, the controversial conservative mayor who has vowed to get the city's finances in shape, and his executive committee listened to people speaking out about the slew of cost-cutting suggestions.

The boardroom was converted into overflow space to accommodate residents propelled into civic action.

At one point the overflow room was bursting with people, but only a smattering of bodies remained at 4: 40 a.m.

A community activist paced the room, going over what he would say during his threeminute address. A cluster of young people formed a campfire-like circle. A woman near the front of the room frequently pounded a desk to show support for strangers.

Elling, a Detroit native, said he settled in Toronto in large part because of some of the services that had been put on the chopping block, such as the "wonderful" transit system.

"You have to remember, growing up in Detroit, I was lucky if I could ever catch a bus, so having a subway that comes every five minutes is pretty impressive to me."

He said he was also impressed by the high-energy overnight scene, which convinced many people to stay longer than they had planned.

A couple of seats over from Elling sat Heather Goodwin, a 38-year-old who works in the film industry, does web design and has just completed her MBA in urban studies.

She said she came to support friends who had signed up to speak.

"I've been planning to leave any minute now, and it has been four hours," she said. "But there are just so many people who are so impassioned, it's exciting to see. The takeaway from this is there are so many more people who care than you really realize."

Coun. Ana Bailao popped her head in at one point, and marvelled at the endurance of Toronto residents. "There are people who have never been here before. It's quite something."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown

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