Free Press interactive


Free Press staff 2005-06-13 02:04:02




London city council should scrap its board of control and change the structure of wards, say most readers responding to a Free Press interactive question.

A large majority of respondents said they didn't like the current system that includes a mayor and four controllers elected city-wide and seven wards each with two councillors.

Many said the structure was unwieldy and led to poor decisions.

Here's a sampling:

"A smaller council, 14 wards each with one councillor, and no board of control, would be more efficient. The present system appears to be consistently in crisis, lacks leadership, and takes forever to make quite often poor decisions."

Bill Osmond, London

"London city council needs to be overwhelmingly downsized. The board of control is a dinosaur and is extinct and should be buried once and for all . . . One councillor per smaller ward will open up the democratic process to persons who are willing to work hard to get to the doors and campaign as opposed to people that basically buy their way in through campaign donations from special interests."

Stephen Orser, London

"Please add my name to the list of residents in London who support (the) recommendation for the new 14-ward electoral system and the abolishment of the board of control . . . I can only hope that this time city council will take the wishes of the residents in account and act on this initiative."

Judith Congdon, London

"I support the one councillor for each of 14 wards. London has too many paid positions at the top. When a city manager was hired, the board of control should have been done away with."

Graham Forster, London

"I think change is needed. . . . Maybe some of the development in the city would have been better planned if we had had a different type of municipal structure."

Stan Korchuk, London

"My husband and I both support having . . . fewer council members and scrapping board of control. If business ran themselves the way the city does, there would not be one that did not go bankrupt. You just can't have that many staff to do that little work."

Fay Graham, London

"The taxpayers of this city are more concerned about competence than size. It's time council just get back to work."

Rob Allen, London

"The status quo has to end, especially board of control . . . Of course, (controllers will) fight it because they're going to lose their jobs but that's too bad. The other idea about changing wards to 14 to better address variation in each ward is perfect, too."

Scott Williamson, London





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