5915 replies to this topic

[DustMagnet]

I wish they would identify who is behind New Council. Keeping the electorate in the dark can backfire when hype doesn’t match the candidates and/the platform.

Perhaps, but this also keeps the focus on the platform and messaging, and not on identity politics.  The people who execute the vision are secondary to the vision.

 

So in the case of either an unknown, unproven candidate or a known, proven candidate that has some baggage those qualities will be subsumed by the bigger picture.

 

I'm not saying that's going to be a successful strategy (or that that's their strategy at all), but I could certainly see that as the approach.

Edited by DustMagnet, 25 June 2018 - 01:40 PM.

[Nparker]

...I'm not saying that's going to be a successful strategy (or that that's their strategy at all), but I could certainly see that as the approach.

I bet it won't be a successful strategy. I suspect at least half of the current CoV council got elected on name recognition and not on their voting record or policies.

[rmpeers]

I bet it won't be a successful strategy. I suspect at least half of the current CoV council got elected on name recognition and not on their voting record or policies.

On that subject, is there an easy way to check how each of them has voted on various issues?

[Nparker]

..is there an easy way to check how each of them has voted on various issues?

Great question. Does anyone know the answer?

[J_Loveday]

Not yet. Council passed a motion to create a searchable voting dashboard and attendance record tracker.  I'm hopeful that it will be online prior to the election.

Great question. Does anyone know the answer?

[J_Loveday]

Kudos to Councillor Lucas for bringing the motion forward to create the voting database. 

[Nparker]

Thank you for your follow-up Jeremy.

[Kungsberg]

Not yet. Council passed a motion to create a searchable voting dashboard and attendance record tracker.  I'm hopeful that it will be online prior to the election.

Jeremy, is the voting & attendance dashboard going to be retrospective at all, or just from now going forward?

 

Also, will there be any attempt to outline the reasons (even if only briefly) behind the votes?  I've noticed that there can be quite different reasons why various Councillors vote the way they do on a particular issue, for instance. On paper it might look like they're 'like-minded', but in fact when you hear the full reasoning why they can or cannot support a motion, they can be quite far apart. 

[Rob Randall]

Jeremy, is the voting & attendance dashboard going to be retrospective at all, or just from now going forward?

 

 

I'm pretty sure it won't be retroactive.

 

Also, will there be any attempt to outline the reasons (even if only briefly) behind the votes?  I've noticed that there can be quite different reasons why various Councillors vote the way they do on a particular issue, for instance. On paper it might look like they're 'like-minded', but in fact when you hear the full reasoning why they can or cannot support a motion, they can be quite far apart.  

 

 

I don't think it's possible to have the reasoning summarized accurately and succinctly as the reasons are sometimes complex and the summarizer runs the risk of editorializing or oversimplification.

 

But there will be votes that surprise you. For instance, Madoff votes yes for a skyscraper--only because the zoning and density were already enshrined. Often you're sure a councilor will vote a certain way but they vote the opposite way because of some legal hitch or technicality they uncovered.

[J_Loveday]

I'm pretty sure it won't be retroactive.

 

It will only be immediately impactful if it is retroactive. In the spirit of transparency and open, responsible government, I'd support spending a bit of staff time to make it retroactive. 

 

 

I don't think it's possible to have the reasoning summarized accurately and succinctly as the reasons are sometimes complex and the summarizer runs the risk of editorializing or oversimplification.

 

But there will be votes that surprise you. For instance, Madoff votes yes for a skyscraper--only because the zoning and density were already enshrined. Often you're sure a councilor will vote a certain way but they vote the opposite way because of some legal hitch or technicality they uncovered.

 

I agree that just a vote tally doesn't tell the whole story and that the full story behind each vote might be surprising. That being said, it is still a step in the right direction.

 

Jeremy, is the voting & attendance dashboard going to be retrospective at all, or just from now going forward?

 

Also, will there be any attempt to outline the reasons (even if only briefly) behind the votes?  I've noticed that there can be quite different reasons why various Councillors vote the way they do on a particular issue, for instance. On paper it might look like they're 'like-minded', but in fact when you hear the full reasoning why they can or cannot support a motion, they can be quite far apart. 

 

Reasoning will not be given. Residents will have to watch the videos from the Council debates or inquire to specific councillors for the reasoning behind their votes. 

[Mike K.]

This just in...

Councillor Isitt may be behind New Council. We'll try to get more info, but it sounds like the councillor is trying to push a slate.

[Nparker]

...Councillor Isitt may be behind New Council...

[RFS]

This just in...

Councillor Isitt may be behind New Council. We'll try to get more info, but it sounds like the councillor is trying to push a slate.

We were hoodwinked!

[Bob Fugger]

This just in...

Councillor Isitt may be behind New Council. We'll try to get more info, but it sounds like the councillor is trying to push a slate.

The content of their website seems at odds with Dear Comrade’s political ideals. I don’t think he gives a toss about core services or fiscal responsibility. The answer is always more government paid for by the rich land and business owning classes.

[RFS]

This is like that moment in the star wars prequels when Senator Palpatine reveals himself as Darth Sideous

[Mike K.]

Ok, hold up. That might not actually be the case. I was just contacted by another individual who says that’s not the case, and this individual is definitely in the know.

See, this is why New Council needs to come forward with their slate. The rumour mill is going nuts.

[nagel]

Silliest rumour ever.

[sdwright.vic]

Rumour creates buzz though.

[spanky123]

Ok, hold up. That might not actually be the case. I was just contacted by another individual who says that’s not the case, and this individual is definitely in the know.

See, this is why New Council needs to come forward with their slate. The rumour mill is going nuts.

 

Didn't the newcouncil group have their members listed on their website at one point? 

 

Edit: Looked it up and newcouncil was founded by Stephen Hammond. Nothing to do with Isitt.

Edited by spanky123, 26 June 2018 - 07:58 AM.

[AndrewReeve]

This just in...

Councillor Isitt may be behind New Council. We'll try to get more info, but it sounds like the councillor is trying to push a slate.

 

Definitely not. Pretty sure that the slate Isitt is working on organizing is called Together Victoria. 

 

Ross Crockford wrote about them in Focus the other month:

 

 

"Together Victoria (formerly “Organize Victoria”) formed because progressive candidates didn’t run an identifiable slate in 2014, “preventing the opportunity for strong progressive turnout to be translated into a strong majority at the council table.” Its objectives, developed in five workshops with more than 100 participants, are to “create a city that is affordable and inclusive”, “prioritize infrastructure that impacts social and environmental justice”, and “foster greater democratic engagement” — although it also says its members may be suspended if they are “not able to acknowledge and address their own oppressive behaviour.” (Focus contacted Together Victoria’s principals, but they declined to be interviewed until they officially launch in mid-May.)

 

Together Victoria apparently aims to field three new candidates, apparently in the hope of knocking off business-oriented incumbents Geoff Young, Margaret Lucas, and Chris Coleman, who got the last three council spots in 2014. Rumoured nominees include Laurel Collins, a PhD candidate in sociology and leadership studies at UVic, Sharmarke Dubow, a refugee worker for the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, and Sarah Potts, an organizer for the federal Greens."