Toronto City Council this morning going through the altogether useless process of appointing a replacement for Councillor Chin Lee in Ward 41. Appointee will attend two council meetings before next election.
I wrote about how much I hate the appointment process for filling empty council seats at @signaltoronto last month: http://signaltoronto.com/by-election-or-bust-council-should-stop-appointing-people-to-fill-vacancies/
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti casts a vote — the only vote she received — for Iola Fortino in the Ward 41 council appointment process. Fortino is hyperconservative and celebrated Rob Ford’s decision to skip Pride. In her speech to council, she linked crime to an “immigration problem.”
Councillor Ainslie and Councillor Perruzza cast votes for Kevin Clarke in the second round of Ward 41 appointment balloting.
Here’s where things stand after two rounds of balloting. Surprisingly close race for a position that only barely matters. Round three voting is happening now. https://x.com/Samantha_KB/status/1011647110587080704
Still no winner on the third ballot for Ward 41 appointee. Toronto City Council goes fourth.
No winner in the fourth round! Chang: 15; Megardichian: 12; Ratnam: 12 Megardichian & Ratnam will have their names placed into a “tin.” Name drawn by City Clerk will be excluded from fifth and final ballot.
Mammoliti is against the drawing of names. He wants council to keep voting with these three until a winner is somehow decided. Di Ciano wants tied candidates to get voted on in a one-on-one contest, with winner advancing. My idea? Make ‘em climb the Aggro Crag.
Council votes 32-7 to do a fifth ballot with all three names. It is possible this meeting may get stuck in a feedback loop, playing out until the heat death of the universe. Or maybe some councillors will change their votes.
Ballot Five is a THREE WAY TIE. 13-13-13. The City Clerk can’t help but LAUGH. Oh my god.
So, by the rules, names of Megardichian, Chang and Ratnam will now be put into a container and one name drawn out. The name drawn gets eliminated, and we go to a final one-on-one round. But councillors dislike this idea. Mihevc wants to try doing a ranked ballot.
But rules are rules. Ratnam’s name gets drawn from what looks to be some variety of festive tin. Ratnam is eliminated. Final round is Megardichian vs. Chang.
Please confirm the source and nature of the tin when you get a second, @TorontoCouncil. The people want to know.
Sixth ballot is the final ballot! Chang: 19; Megardichian: 20. Miganoush Megardichian is the new councillor for Ward 41. That took a while.
The results of the sixth and final ballot for Ward 41 council appointment. No obvious ideological split with this one, probably owing to the fact that this is an extremely short-term appointment.
Toronto Council has now started their regular meeting. First on the agenda is shelters, including the plan to buy temporary structures. Second is the appointment of Toronto’s next city manager. Live stream is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjPH0vXVDmY
Mystery solved! During today’s council appointment process, names were drawn from a Scottish candy tin. It once held candy; today it held democracy. https://x.com/TorontoCouncil/status/1011696364047273984
Coun. Sarah Doucette has a motion to move Ward 13 (Soon to be Ward 17) to Toronto & East York Community Council. It’s currently in Etobicoke-York which many residents do not like.
Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti moves that council adopt Option 3 for Community Council boundaries, which would look like this.
This is the rare Mammoliti motion that isn’t terrible. It’s intriguing because CC4 (downtown) could end up being the most progressive government body anywhere in Canada.
Now Coun. Ana Bailao moves to put Ward 16 — the ward she’s running in — into Toronto & East York Community Council. Everyone wants to be part of Toronto & East York! The cool kids’ table.
Coun. Burnside says he will support the Doucette motion to put Ward 17 into Toronto & East York, because Wong-Tam and Layton have given him a signed pledge to never mention again that Toronto & East York sees many, many more items than all other Community Councils.
Now Coun. Perruzza wants to move around Ward 7 and Ward 33. Maybe we should just put all the wards into @TorontoCouncil’s Scottish candy tin and draw ‘em at random.
Frances Nunziata, the former and final mayor of York, rises to wonder why Doucette and Bailao don’t want to be associated with Etobicoke-York Community Council. “We’re a great team!” she says. “It’s not the quantity of items we have, it’s the quality!”
Mammoliti’s motion to have five community councils, including a mid-town community council FAILS 5-31.
Doucette’s motion to put the new Ward 17 (current Ward 13) into Toronto & East York Community Council CARRIES 19-17. A surprise!
Bailao’s motion to put the new Ward 16 — the ward she is running in — into Toronto & East York Community Council FAILS 17-19.
Perruzza’s motion to put the new Ward 7 in North York and the new Ward 33 in Toronto & East York FAILS 2-34.
So, beginning next term, the new Community Council boundaries will look like this, except with Ward 17 in Toronto & East York.
Toronto Council votes 39-2 to name part of the Scarborough waterfront trail after late Ward 44 councillor Ron Moeser.
Council votes 37-4 to add Cressy and Layton’s motion about improving safety along the Bloor Street bike lanes to their agenda. (Before you look at the result, see if you can guess which four councillors voted against this.)
Council votes 27-10 to add Wong-Tam and Layton’s motion expressing support for the provincial sex-ed curriculum to the agenda. Will be debated later.
Council votes 30-12 to add Shan and Mihevc’s motion requesting the feds suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement to the agenda. Deputy Mayor Minnan-Wong holds the item for further debate.
Councillor Perruzza has withdrawn his motion to allow motorcycles to ignore the King Street pilot rules.
Council votes 31-11 to add Shan and Augimeri’s motion expressing support for a $15 minimum wage to the agenda. Coun. Holyday holds the item for more debate.
Crisanti, probably council’s most enthusiastic Doug Ford supporter (besting Ford’s nephew, somehow), voted wrong on the minimum wage item. Re-vote on adding $15 minimum wage support to the council agenda carries 27-13. Will be debated later.
As is the case in every Vision Zero debate, many councillors expressing their appreciation for digital WATCH YOUR SPEED signs that tell cars how fast they’re going when they drive past. There’s evidence that these are effective. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2016/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-94206.pdf (PDF)
It’d be neat if these digital Watch Your Speed signs actually collected data on the speeds recorded/displayed. Good addition to OpenData.
Councillor Paula Fletcher moves to establish a downtown collision reporting centre, referencing @mhoye’s story.
Deputy Mayor Minnan-Wong says in his 24 years (!) on Toronto City Council not even one single speed bump has been installed in his ward. He’s proud of this.
“When you talk to people in my community they don’t want 30 kilometre speed limits in their neighbourhoods,” says Minnan-Wong.
This was inevitable. Budget Chief Gary Crawford moves to refer all significant Vision Zero motions made at council today to next year’s budget process. https://x.com/TorontoCouncil/status/1012089606270062593
After his budget chief admits the $13 million the mayor has requested for Road Safety may not all get spent this year, Tory introduces this motion asking for a report from staff on how they’ll spend the dollars.
The wording of Tory’s motion — “within the next year” — would seem to mean the money could be spent in the first half of 2019.
I’d be genuinely (and pleasantly) shocked if staff spend all $13 million on road safety in 2018. They’ve been very careful to hedge all their wording on this.
Coun. Robinson’s motion to double the number of red-light cameras and also automated speed enforcement in Road Safety Plan CARRIES 34-3.
Mammoliti’s motion to make sure the $13 million for Road Safety is divided up based on number of kilometres of roadway in each Community Council area FAILS 10-28.
But apparently a bunch of people voted the wrong way! We are re-voting on the Mammo motion.
Re-vote on the Mammoliti motion to divide new Road Safety Plan funding based on kilometres of road FAILS 6-32.
Holyday’s motion to use “public-private sponsorship opportunities” to get more “Watch Your Speed” digital signs CARRIES 27-11.
Layton’s motion to evaluate “significantly expanding” the city’s red light camera program CARRIES 37-1.
Fletcher’s motion to add ten “complete intersection” pilot projects to Road Safety Plan CARRIES 35-3.
Davis’ motion to add completing the installation of 30 km/h speed limit signs in Toronto & East York to the Road Safety Plan CARRIES 34-4.
Perks’ motion to increase the capital budget to include a road safety review in every instance of road resurfacing/construction CARRIES 28-10.
Perks’ motion to increase capital budget to look at smaller fire trucks, garbage trucks, etc. CARRIES 26-12.
Perks’ motion to increase the capital budget to put money toward reconstruction of Dundas/Annette/Dupont/Old Weston intersection FAILS 15-23.
Fragedakis / De Baeremaeker motion to spend an additional $1 million in each Community Council area on signage and traffic calming CARRIES 32-6.
Wong-Tam motion to spend up to an extra $4 million in 2018 on road safety along “cultural corridors” like Bloor and Yonge CARRIES 32-6.
Fletcher’s motion to fund a downtown Collision Reporting Centre for when bikes are hit by cars CARRIES 29-9.
I don’t really understand why Crawford’s motion to do this stuff through the budget process wasn’t voted on first. Most of his motion is redundant now! Feels like someone screwed up, but I’ll take it.
Motion to consider reconstruction of Dundas/Annette/Dupont/Old Weston intersection as part of the 2019 budget process CARRIES 36-2.
Tory has amended his motion to change the wording “within the next year” to “in 2018.” Another great victory for us Twitter pedants.
Tory’s motion for a report next month on how the $13 million will be spent in 2018 CARRIES 38-0.
And the Road Safety item — which is really an Operating Variance report from the budget committee — carries 38-0.
Coun. Doucette’s motion to review feasibility of reinstating receptionists outside councillor offices on city hall’s second floor CARRIES 24-9.
City Council votes 25-8 to implement bag checks at the east and west sides of the City Hall rotunda.
City Council votes 26-7 to add barriers separating public and reserved space in committee rooms.
A prediction: there will be a time soon after these measures are implemented when the line-ups for the metal detectors in the council chamber stretch past the elevators.
Another prediction: some people who want to attend and observe a council meeting will be discouraged from doing do after seeing the lines and security hassle. One more prediction: some city councillors will view this as a good thing.
Councillor Perks’ motion that council communicate support for the provincial government’s Green Ontario Fund and also their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions CARRIES 26-5.
The mayor has been coincidentally absent for many of the council votes this week expressing support or opposition to various provincial government policies or directions.
Councillor Joe Cressy, who successfully pushed to extend today’s council meeting, announces he has ordered four party-sized pizzas for councillors to enjoy. Speaker Frances Nunziata wants anchovies and pineapple.
10:28 p.m. and Toronto Council is still meeting. Mayor Tory isn’t happy some councillors aren’t ready to speak when their turn comes up. “I’ve never seen anything so unbusinesslike in my life,” he says.
Council votes 31-1 to implement Community Safety Zones for Vision Zero around elementary schools, and also in a few other places as requested via amendment. Everyone seems very tired.
Cressy and Layton’s motion to accelerate safety enhancements along the Bloor bike lanes CARRIES 31-1.
