The Ontario election is underway. The latest Harris-Decima poll is somewhat encouraging, but it is early.

Yet,  11 points is significant.

Maybe that old Ontario tradition of going one way federally and the other provincially will hold true again.

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The great debate: Is it “dinner” or “supper”?

I call it “dinner” but grew up knowing it as “supper”. Made the switch somewhere.

What do you call that meal that you have sometime during the early evening?

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The NFL is back. Word.

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Re: KHL tragedy. I will never, ever fly on a domestic airline of a country with a long history of corruption. Never.

Thoughts to the families and friends.

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Should people whose butts do not fit on one seat on the bus (I am currently perched on 1/3 of a bus seat as I write this due to a rather, uh, wide load beside me) have to pay for two seats / double bus pass or fare?

I know. I’m being unfair.

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Speaking of buses, I think OCTranspo is going to have to rethink some of their route changes. If Twitter talk is any indication, there are a lot of unhappy riders. Loads of hate! And that includes me to a degree. The 149 was rerouted to miss my area but another 148 or two is not added to make up the slack. This has resulted in very crowded buses and some unwanted changes to works schedules for some.

I’ll be sending a note to them shortly.

I’m hoping that the mandarins at OCTranspo will listen to constructive ideas for improvement.

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Ward 18 Ottawa Councillor Peter Hume has been very helpful lately. First, he was very supportive in our daycare’s continuing effort to somehow slow down traffic on Russell Road.

Then, as you may remember from a previous post, he followed up on his promise to have the City designers draft a plan for the redesign or upgrading of Canterbury Park.

And, here it is!You can go to this website to register your comments if you are so inclined.

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Finally, school is back in play so watch out for munchkins and yellow buses. Already saw one moron in a BMW blow past a bus with its lights flashing… Ee-dee-ot!

As a sidebar, why does it seem like the biggest assholes on the road drive Beemers? Something to do with the plush upholstery off-gassing in the interiors?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Today, I’m going to look at Alta Vista Ward – my Ward – and see what’s happening in my own backyard in the run for Council. There are 4 candidates, but there are only two that I will focus on in this post.

In alphabetical order…

Clinton Cowan

I have spoken with Clinton lately about his ideas on the need for change on Council and on the School Board.  He has some good notions and plans that vary from the beaten path and truly believes that our Councillor should reflect the wishes of  and be responsive to his or her constituents. He doesn’t believe that the incumbent has delivered in most respects and that he represents a change from that old standard.

This is sort of what I have been saying about the School Board. Clinton represents a “new wave” of elected officials who will make this great City even better partly because they are not part of the old guard and still have the ability to think and act in innovative ways. Others of this ilk in this election include Julia Ringma (Council candidate, College Ward) and Lale Eskicioglu (Orléans and Cumberland OCDSB candidate). New players with new approaches.

Clinton is using social media well – being on Facebook and Twitter (though he could Tweet a bit more often) – and he does seem to “get” the whole communications thing.  He is taking the “bloggers” approach to his website content (adding content as time goes on) and it will be fleshed out as the campaign rolls out.

Peter Hume (the incumbent)

I really didn’t have a problem with Peter until the last few years. I have lived in the Ward since 2003 and have made maybe a half dozen requests of the man – all OC Transpo related. In the first few years, he was pretty good at getting back to me. But then nothing. It’s like my enquiries were suddenly slotted into the “don’t bother” file.

And I’m not the only one. Friends and neighbours have seen the same thing. A few of us were concerned about cutbacks to the 148 and 149 bus schedules so we each emailed his office. After being promised a response we received nothing – even after some follow-up notes.

Communication with one’s constituents is essential. I am stressing it in my own campaign and Council candidates must do the same.

He doesn’t use social media very well – I don’t think he has a Facebook page nor is he on Twitter (correct me if I’m wrong, but I cannot find a thing).  His web page is not at all interactive – one page with a clickable link to a “Join Team Peter” page.  Someone should have told him that stuff like this is important in the 21st century.

It’s really too bad, he had some potential. If he is re-elected, I hope he realizes that he does have to reconnect with his constituents.

And, to be equitable, I did try to contact Peter directly a few weeks back to give him a chance to convince me that all of this has been a big mistake, I would have listened to him. But he never got back to me. I did get a call from one of his vols… and that was nice. But I wanted to speak to the candidate. As they say in the Twitterverse: #epicfail.

So, who to vote for?

Mr. Hume, deservedly or not, will be the victim of a widespread rebellion against incumbents in this election. After the LRT debacle, the Lansdowne mess, the OC Transpo strike, mayorlarry’s legal problems, the constant sniping at the Council table, the poor way the Green Bins were introduced… I could go on… but you get the idea. He may not be directly to blame for these missteps, but I think that most of Council will pay in any case.

We need a change at the School Board table and we need a change at the Council table.

I think Clinton Cowan is the guy who will deliver on this.

My money is on him.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

The, uh, City “Council” is meeting today to discuss wassup with the negotiating gerbils and their minions.

Although I am a confimed and happy atheist, I say to these folks – GO FOR IT! What the hell!

In a note to city council Friday announcing the failure, Mayor Larry O’Brien put the blame squarely on the union.

“The federal mediator has suggested that since the parties continue to be so far apart on their demands there is no benefit in continuing mediated talks at this time,” the mayor wrote.

Meanwhile, the breakdown in talks has the public calling on councillors and calling on God.

About 35 people attended a special prayer service Friday night at St. Joseph’s Parish on Laurier Avenue East in downtown Ottawa.

“We were trying to think of a way we could respond,” said pastoral associate Mary Murphy. “A prayer service seemed the most logical because it is based in faith and we believe faith can make a difference

Mayor Larry O'Brien and Councillors Jacques Legendre, Diane Holmes, Peggy Feltmate, Christine Leadman, Peter Hume, Maria McRae, and Clive Doucet in discussion at City Hall during an emergency city council meeting called to discuss the OC Transpo strike on Saturday. Photograph by: Garth Gullekson, The Ottawa Citizen

Above – our elected representatives hard at  burning the Saturday away. My question: where are the rest of them? Still in Whistler?

Oh – and good to see Peter “the disappearing man” Hume in attendance – makes me all tingly to see that he is doing his damnedest to look after we poor saps that used to take the 149 and 148!

Way to go Petey!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Finally someone has written a story about how John Baird, the Minister of TRANSPORT and the political minister for the City has been nowhere to be seen during the transit crisis that is causing so many folks so much pain.

Are we to believe that this schoolyard bully cannot work with the two sides to help bring resolution to this? What’s the point of being in government if you can’t effect change? I hope voters remember his inaction come election time.

He had no problem intervening in the affairs of the City when funding for one of the bygone transit proposals was on the table. But now that there is  REAL CRISIS, he shuts up?

In the past, Mr. Baird hasn’t hesitated to use his power to resolve issues of importance to Ottawa.

Along with his intervention on light rail in 2006, he played a role in blocking a new interprovincial bridge in the west end, pledged federal money to deal with sewage spills into the Ottawa River and helped secure a $1-a-year rent deal for the Queensway Carleton Hospital.

But there are reasons why he might hesitate to plunge as deeply into the transit strike. One is his history with Mayor Larry O’Brien, a fellow Conservative.

By delaying funding for the original light rail plan in 2006, Mr. Baird was broadly seen as giving a boost to Mr. O’Brien’s mayoral campaign.

And the same goes for Pepperhead Poilievre. Clearly the Neocon Ministers for this area intervene only when it is in political best interest.

And of course, the same goes for the entire City Council – with the possible exception of Clive Doucet. My own Councillor, Peter Hume, used to be quite communicative and helpful to his constituents – where have you gone Peter????

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario