To the editor:
At Monday's city council meeting I will be introducing a motion to ask council for their endorsement of a community engagement and a review of council composition, to take place in 2019 and any possible changes to be put in place before the next Municipal elections in 2022.
Having listened to this debate both before and during my term on council, I can say that pros and cons were presented for different models then and could also be presented now. Eventually, the people of Thunder Bay chose to go with the present system, which in my opinion has served us reasonably well. The real question then is whether or not this is the case from a community perspective, and would another system serve us better.
The key concern seems to be that a couple of thousand people can vote a ward councillor in who is responsible for decisions that affect the whole city and therefore lack the type of accountability required from an all At-Large Council where everyone votes for all candidates. Alternatively, an all at-large council, while taking care of the wider representation and accountability concern, brings with it the risk of electing mostly people with strong name recognition or deep pockets.
A couple of alternative scenarios have been presented in the past. The major one is that we should keep the ward system but have all voters from across the city vote not just for the five at-large councillors but also for the seven ward councillors (cannot be done under the Municipal Act). The second one is to eliminate the ward system all together and have at-large councillors only. Other variations include reducing the total numbers of councillors to fewer than 10. Current legislation allows only for the current mixed system, for an all ward system or all at-large, as well asa reduction in numbers.
In conclusion, I believe that the present system has served our community reasonably well and that whatever structure may be adopted in the future, its success ultimately comes down to individual qualities and effort of councillors and Mayor in reflecting the wishes and aspirations of its citizens. However, the time may have come for a community engagement, evaluation and assessment of the current council composition, to ensure that it properly reflects the changing dynamics of our city and that is why I am putting this motion forward for council consideration.
Frank Pullia,
Councillor At-Large for the City of Thunder Bay
He can be reached at 767-6579 or via e-mail at fpullia@thunderbay.ca
