City Council — September 2015
September 30 – October 2, 2015
68 posts
From today's council meeting, I learn that the Magna Carta will be on display at Fort York starting October 4: http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=eab2be9b82e0b410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=3e97c5ceae447410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&WT.rd_id=magnacarta
(Rob Ford, you might remember, voted against the Magna Carta: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2014.ED32.7)
Now at @torontoist (!), here's @neville_park's preview of this week's Toronto council meeting: http://torontoist.com/2015/09/city-council-preview-september-october-2015/
You can stream today's meeting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc7g0dmRUkU but we're still in the super dull "setting the agenda" phase, so maybe wait.
Mammoliti is wearing a pro-taxi "I choose David Not Goliath" t-shirt. Chair Nunziata orders him to remove it. He complies.
"This is the second time I've taken off my shirt in council," says Mammoliti. (He's wearing a dress shirt underneath the T-shirt.)
Possible outcomes of today's Uber debate: 1) Defer 2) Council "bans" it 3) Policy made on the fly with amendments 4) Staff recommendations
Rob Ford wants to bring vote on contracting out east-end garbage to today's council meeting. He'll need two-thirds of council to support him
Ford says the city is "losing millions every month" by not contracting out east-side garbage, but the staff report contradicts that.
Rob Ford's motion to consider contracting out garbage today fails 8-34. So close. http://t.co/M2dVF8Kkto
Worth noting: Council currently considering THREE reports re: taxi industry, one of which has been in the works since 2011.
Given the apparent complexity of regulating cabs, maybe council should turn its attention to something simpler, like quantum teleportation.
We are now told that Councillor Justin Di Ciano has a "surprise presentation." I think it's the Blue Jays mascot.
Councillors have rally towels. "OK Blue Jays" is playing. Yes, the mascot is here. Oh wow. Someone make animated gifs of Nunziata.
My favourite part of "OK Blue Jays" is the lack of ambition. What do we WANT? A bat. A ball. Nine men. Bleachers for part of the year.
Seems to be a problem with my feed of today's Council meeting. It's been replaced by a baseball game. I can't seem to fix it. Oh rats.
To hell with jinxing it. The Blue Jays will win this game and clinch the AL East.
The Jays' line-up for Game 2: Kawasaki, Hague, Colabello, an office chair, Kawasaki w/ fake moustache, Diaz, Pompey, Barry Davis, Barney.
Someone at council should really move to recess the meeting to watch the bottom of the 9th of the Jays game.
Justin Smoak hits a home run! I wish I could think of some puns that work with his last name but it's basically impossible.
Works for both the council meeting and the Jays game. https://x.com/neville_park/status/649359960409829376
Neville Park (inactive)@neville_park
CALL THE GOD DAMN QUESTION
Bottom of the 9th. The last time the Jays clinched their division I was 9 years old. Time has made me bolder. And older.
John Gibbons is going to lean back so far in his chair after this. He's going to bend space and time. He'll be asking questions to himself.
The Toronto Blue Jays.
David Price has a GoPro camera on his head for some reason. I don't even know what's real.
I do not own a car so here is what I would do if I had one: honk honk honk honk honk honk honk [pause] honk honk.
Meanwhile, council votes 32-12 in favour of Mayor John Tory's motion to look at a regulating Uber & similar services. http://t.co/z9owcjnrbs
Whoa. Council votes 24-20 to ask Uber to stop operating pending the report on regulations. http://t.co/i5Sctzp528
Uber's likely response: "Haha, yes, we have always been willing to comply with local council requests. We'll get right on it."
Vote on the Uber item as amended carries 34-10. (A bit surprised by Berardinetti's consistent anti-Uber votes.) http://t.co/lLl1Xvd3jU
I am SHOCKED. https://x.com/jpags/status/649371964478353408
They literally covered the walls in the visitor clubhouse at Camden Yards in plastic wrap. Jays will go nuts. http://t.co/3LnUm9nMDD
Are any of these players going to actually drink alcohol or are they just going to spray it at each other?
A good point! The Blue Jays closer is not old enough to drink in the United States! https://x.com/theyellowline/status/649412368280199168
Jennifer Fox@theyellowline
@GraphicMatt aren't a few too young to drink in US?
So hey, young superstars: you can drink champagne at 19 in Canada. Sign with us.
"One beers! Two beers! Three beers! Four beers!" yells Josh Donaldson. Hazel Mae is drenched in beer. But NO ONE IS DRINKING.
Who knew that "GOGGLE SPONSOR" was a thing during MLB playoff celebrations?
Council won't debate asking the province to halt the privatization of Hydro One today. Motion fails 14-25.
Coun. Ainslie wants the province to create a recall provision for mayors and councillors. Wonder what prompted this?
Councillor Justin Di Ciano has an anti-ranked choice ballot motion. He says ranked ballot issue hasn't been given its "due course."
Now Coun. Berardinetti calls ranked ballots a "confusing democratic option." Oh come on.
Coun. John Campbell wants to look at increasing the cost to run for mayor or councillor, and to require a petition. http://t.co/twLw4Sp896
Mihevc has a smart motion that would look to delegate more matters to community councils. I never want to watch council debate a tree again.
Council rejects the idea of asking the province for a recall provision for mayors & councillors. 3-40. http://t.co/jyQrZX3Wr7
Council votes 11-32 against motion that only residents of Toronto be eligible for campaign donation rebates. http://t.co/4Vb1F0iVlr
Council votes 11-32 against @mary_margaret32's motion for term limits. http://t.co/e7fA3JrgbM
And now council votes to ask the province NOT to allow ranked ballot voting. 25-18. So weird. http://t.co/g2kSy7TJO7
(Whoops! Deleted a tweet. Wrong vote was displayed on screen.)
Council votes 26-17 in favour of Campbell's motion to raise the registration fee for council/mayor candidates. http://t.co/eBgu0nuW8Y
In better news, both parts of MIhevc's motion re: delegating matters to community council pass by significant margins.
Council votes 25-18 to request that province allow (non-citizen) perm residents right to vote in T.O. elections http://t.co/XVJwL58bxe
To be clear: today's vote on ranked ballots is just a request that province not implement them. Province can (and does!) ignore council.
If province stays on course and gives municipalities the option of using ranked ballots, council will have another vote.
Coun. Norm Kelly has a motion that the city look into more signs like the NPS Toronto sign. He says it's urgent, for some reason.
Kelly's attempt to get his sign item on the agenda fails. http://t.co/JtNVTRhXK2
Just one councillor votes against the primary recommendations in the Syrian refugee item. See if you can guess who. http://t.co/jNfb7cJeRa
On to the tree-related part of this council meeting. Rob Ford thinks this tree should be removed. http://t.co/3z8T7UGzYm
Now Ford wants to vote against provisioning space in an development for a future East Bayfront LRT station.
Ford says LRT platforms should be placed "at the bottom of Lake Ontario." Anyway, he loses 39-1.
Coun. Shiner now talking up the merits of tunnelled Gardiner from the DVP to Jameson. Highway tunnels near lakes are cheap and easy, right?
A Gardiner tunnel is twentieth century technology. Real forward-thinking cities are using tesseracts.
Back at council, Coun. Anthony Perruzza wants another report on tunnelling the Gardiner. Nothing ever ends. http://t.co/83pjkvdc65
Motion for a staff report on the "Rainbow Road" design and its potential application for a redesigned Gardiner. http://t.co/XmiEZQZ1D4
Perruzza's motion to ask for yet another report on Gardiner tunnelling fails 4-30. So close. http://t.co/HnL1FpieNL
Nunziata: "Councillor Perruzza, it's obvious you haven't read the report."
Council votes 30-2 to have staff remove all signs from city hall office windows. Sign-loving Ford missed the vote. http://t.co/ziLvMsIhW1
