Our Board Of Directors
Our CEOClaiming that Miller's power grab harms local democracy and leaves them as mere scrubs on city council, they've filed six notices of motion to council's Tuesday meeting – fighting back with sarcasm, anger and a power play of their own.
One motion lampoons their plight with a stinging shot at the mayor. It recommends the province "eliminate altogether" the 44 positions of city councillor and that the 2010 election "be conducted only for the position of the Mayor of Toronto."
In lieu of council, the motion recommends the mayor "appoint or dismiss 12 individuals to serve on the mayor's executive or cabinet committee" to handle city affairs; and the mayor "unilaterally hire or fire the city manager ... and anybody else he sees fit."
Changes implemented this term of council already give Miller more power than any mayor in Ontario and reduce council's sway. He appoints and dismisses a 12-person executive as well as all committee chairs. This creates a huge voting block. Adding more is overkill, several councillors say.
But Miller says he plans to have private talks with Premier Dalton McGuinty seeking the right to hire and fire the city manager, and the right to hold secret meetings with his hand-picked executive committee, acting like a provincial cabinet.
"What do you need us for?" asks Councillor Michael Thompson, who's signed two of the motions. "Maybe we just need one person with an iron hand to run the city with a strong political voice, and appoint those that he needs and they can do the job. Some people might say, great, get rid of (councillors). Let's have that debate."
Councillor Mike Del Grande, whose name is attached to four of the motions, anticipates the mayor will sideline the motions Tuesday, with the help of his allies. The dissenters need a two-thirds vote margin to have council debate the issue, and that is unlikely when the mayor controls as many as 17 airtight votes.
Del Grande, Thompson and others are planning to hold public meetings, like U.S. congressional hearings, if they can't get a council airing.
"We are going to go to the public and there's nothing (Miller) can do to stop it," Del Grande says. "We need to shine the light on this and let the general public understand that this is a man who is power-hungry. He gets frustrated easily when his measures are slowed down for a debate."
Councillor Brian Ashton called it "ironic that Miller came to city hall promising openness and transparency but he's going in reverse."
He says the motions "demonstrate an absolute frustration. When councillors have to resort to resolutions to council to have input or to make their points, it marks a breakdown in the structure at city hall. If councillors can't get past the barriers to debate, how do you expect the public to?"
The mini-crisis could be averted if Miller quits circumventing council. It's inconceivable that he would have stood for this just a few years ago. Now, he prattles on while dancing around the essential truth: His quest erodes democracy, polarizes council, politicizes the civil service – and aims to do so by provincial fiat, not council discussion.
The success of the mini-revolt rests with how non-partisan it becomes. The fact that Councillor Adam Vaughan, a frequent Miller backer, seconded one motion by Case Ootes should worry the Millerites. Council must consent to any change in the mayor's status, the motion says. The current structure "prevents an autocracy."
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