'There is a pressing need for change'

Thu, November 24, 2005

By JONATHAN SHER AND JOE BELANGER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTERS



In a decision that would shake London's political landscape, the Ontario Municipal Board has ordered the city to scrap its seven-ward system, replacing it with 14 smaller wards sought by a citizens' group.

Advocates of change were stunned and overjoyed by the ruling, saying it will reunite neighbourhoods split by existing wards, produce councillors better connected to their communities and breathe life into grassroots politics.

"It's a good day for democracy in London," said Coun. Joni Baechler, one of two councillors who testified at an October board hearing for the citizens' group pushing change, Imagine London.

Out is a ward system that stood mostly unchanged for decades, one that has seven pie-shaped wards represented by two councillors each.

It would be replaced by smaller, single-councillor wards that would keep intact neighbourhoods such as the Old East Village and Old South.

"There is a pressing need for change . . . The existing ward structure has undermined city council's ability to connect with citizens," board member Douglas Gates wrote.

City council has scheduled an emergency session Monday to consider whether to accept the ruling or appeal.

Gates found Londoners were ill-served by the status quo.

"It appears . . . council is not well connected to its constituents at the neighbourhood level," wrote Gates, who heard four days of testimony and public input.

The disconnect was apparent in neighbourhoods split apart by the existing wards such as downtown and the Old East Village, he wrote.

While city officials argued they had invested millions downtown, Gates concluded so much was spent because the core had been long neglected. He found evidence even in the words of a city witness.

Before he worked for the city, planner John Fleming wrote in 1996 that two decades of decline downtown were linked to a "current ward structure (that) gives no strong voice to central London."

Gates criticized the city's response to its citizenry, which in 2003 voted to abolish board of control and reduce the size of council.

The city rejected the ballot initiatives because less than half of eligible Londoners had voted -- a threshold Gates criticized because it was highly unlikely to be reached.

"The city knew it was most unlikely that 50 per cent of eligible voters would vote," Gates wrote.

The city waited a year after the 2003 municipal election to consider changes and then didn't consult the public beforehand nor allow for much public participation, Gates found.

"The process would have been far more inclusive had the public been more involved from the outset."

The decision stunned those pushing for change, including leaders who had privately hoped the municipal board would ask the city to take a second look at the issue.

"This is amazing. Absolutely amazing. I never thought this would happen," said Sean Hurley, an activist in the Old East Village who joined forces with Imagine London leader Sam Trosow.

"You're kidding. Wow. That's something. I'll have to see that in writing," said Urban League chairperson George Sinclair.

The reaction at city hall was as split as a vote taken in June, when 10 of 18 voted to preserve the status quo.

"It will flatten the corridors of power," said Coun. Fred Tranquilli, who had pushed for change, "More people will have more meaningful access to serve the community. And it will give more people an opportunity to get elected because it will cost less to run an election."

In smaller wards, candidates will have a spending cap about half of the $31,665 they could spend in 2003. That will lessen the advantage of candidates backed by deep-pocket developers, Trosow said.

"They'll be a more even playing field," he said.

But Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell predicted the changes would produce dire results, one in which special interests would "Balkanize" council.

"I worry it will be very confrontational and create a lot of division," he said.

The ruling stunned one political scientist.

"I find this shocking that one person can change the entire representation (system) in the city . . . one guy,'' said University of Western Ontario professor Bob Young.

The city must move quickly, Gates ruled, so changes can be made before year's end, a requirement for it to be in effect for the 2006 civic election.

Gates ordered the city to create boundary lines in collaboration with Imagine London, using 14-ward maps created by each side, before a mid-December hearing whose date will be set shortly.

That shouldn't be a problem so long as council accepts the decision, both sides said.

The decision upset Gerry Macartney, general manager of London Chamber of Commerce.

"I don't think the 14-ward map adequately reflects what Londoners were looking for. To increase the number of wards from seven to 10 would have been just fine. Fourteen wards is too many," he said.

The chairperson of the London Downtown Business Association also had reservations.

"I would have much preferred to have seen it left the way it was," said Bob Usher, who has helped city politicians campaign for 23 years.