Recording 4

0:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I didn't know this at the time,

0:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but the best way,

0:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I mean, if you are running this election and you're not successful,

0:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

if you really want this job and you really feel driven by it,

0:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the best way to do is to commit yourself to the following four years to

0:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

really making an effort to get out there.

0:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Get out there with no other purpose other than just getting out there.

0:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Because that,

0:20

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

frankly, is why all of us are,

0:23

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

hopefully,

0:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

in this job in the end.

0:25

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But I think if you have the opportunity to do that,

0:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

going back in time,

0:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

that was by far the most valuable thing that happened in the first election,

0:33

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the second election,

0:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the third election,

0:35

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think I've done four now,

0:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

fourth election,

0:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and now this election.

0:39

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's just still the most important thing in the municipal politics.

0:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Council Member,

0:44

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

let's say a question.

0:45

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

What's changed?

0:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

What's changed?

0:47

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Sorry,

0:48

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

what's one lesson?

0:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Well, the first lesson that it turned into was I gave way to the auction.

0:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I was not expecting that because almost everybody

0:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

was like,

0:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

oh, I'm not sure.

0:59

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You know,

1:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I'm the one who gains stuff.

1:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You think you're walking it off because,

1:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you know, before you get into it.

1:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

How much,

1:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

if there are

1:25

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

people, it

1:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

just takes over your life.

1:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And that was something that I was not.

1:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

What's

1:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the difference that you find larger urban center

1:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and running in a smaller day?

1:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So St.

1:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

John's is a capital city and of course it's my biggest

1:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

by far.

1:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

That's

2:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the public.

2:04

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Exactly.

2:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So this

2:20

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

time last year,

2:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

what

2:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

school I went to,

2:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you know,

2:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

what campus.

5:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It can be a place where you can use to almost put out a quasi -press release by

5:05

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

putting out a statement.

5:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I'll tell you one quick

5:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

story.

5:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Show

5:25

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

a little bit of your personality.

5:26

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

My staff actually brought me into my office

5:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

as though I was about to,

5:33

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

like, intervention.

5:35

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

They sat me down and myself said,

5:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

like, Josh,

5:38

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

we need to talk with you.

5:39

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And they all sat down with me.

5:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I just thought,

5:41

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

like, what trouble they had?

5:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

They said that they'd

5:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

seen me on how to

5:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

do that, these sports samples.

6:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

They just thought this was just like a really bad look for me.

6:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You were never allowed to wear sandals.

6:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So

6:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

instead of just sort of back to

6:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the announcement scandal,

6:20

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

this sandal gate on Twitter.

6:23

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Whereas the breakfast television caught on the

6:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

next morning about whether or not I should protect

6:41

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

yourself.

6:42

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

So,

7:32

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

you

7:40

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

know, started out in this is the villain binary.

7:48

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

That is the problem,

7:51

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

by the way, I flip her X or whatever

7:55

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

it's called now, is that it's really hard to condense a complicated change

7:59

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

in that few characters.

8:04

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

What's really important with new candidates is don't

8:08

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

promise things you can't deliver and don't diminish the complexities

8:12

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

of issues that you are having to deal with.

8:15

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

The person that comes in and says,

8:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

well, I want to lower your taxes.

8:18

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

Well, you're not.

8:19

S… Speaker 5 (Recording 4)

I mean,

8:20

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

it's not going to happen.

8:21

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And stop saying that to people because it's not true.

8:24

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

I mean, I'm trying to resist the urge of going on some of my own rants,

8:28

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

you know,

8:29

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

municipal finance,

8:31

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

but the reality of this day is things are going up in price.

8:35

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

Things that have been downloaded from the province are significantly costing us

8:40

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

municipalities a lot of money.

8:42

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And,

8:42

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

you know, taxes can be managed and tax rates can be managed,

8:46

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

but the taxes are not going to go down.

8:48

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

unless you're willing to cut services.

8:51

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

So do your homework.

8:53

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

Make sure that you really do the best that you can to research the issues

8:57

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

that you're talking about before you say something that really is not realistically

9:01

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

you're able to deliver because that's

9:05

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

the kind of thing that ends up giving the entire profession of politics

9:09

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

a bad name and it really turns voters off and that's one of the reasons I

9:14

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

think that we see

9:15

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

The municipal level of politics,

9:17

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

which should be 100 % voter turnout,

9:19

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

and it's not helpful,

9:23

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

and if we're in this to try to make our communities better,

9:25

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

we need to have honest conversations with our residents and

9:30

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

how we're going to be able to figure it out.

9:32

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

On that note,

9:33

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

have you ever had to take a politically risky decision that you

9:37

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

knew was going to cost you,

9:39

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

but you believed was right?

9:40

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

We do that every day.

9:44

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

There are difficult decisions that have to be made by politicians.

9:48

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

Again,

9:49

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

I'm doing my best not to go on my rant.

9:51

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

But the number of financial challenges that cities are facing

9:55

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

right now make it even more difficult.

10:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

We are trying to do more with less,

10:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and I'm on an increasingly aggressive task base.

10:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And so,

10:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

as politicians,

10:09

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you know,

10:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we're trying to make the very best decisions to make our community stronger,

10:13

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but we just don't have all of the resources at our disposal to do

10:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it. And in fairness,

10:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we never did,

10:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but now we have even less because the finances that we are

10:23

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

operating with in larger cities are more strained

10:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

than we've ever done.

10:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Counselor,

10:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

same question.

10:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Do you find the difference between campaigning and between governing?

10:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Yes,

10:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and I think there's a famous line between every campaign and government

10:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

role.

10:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So I think campaigns are all about dreams and selling

10:45

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

a dream, which is the reality of what politicians do.

10:47

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And governing is about the distance between what

10:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you can do and what you promise,

10:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

right?

10:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and how we negotiate that.

10:56

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And you realize very quickly that you're governing,

10:59

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

is it's always,

11:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you know,

11:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

government is,

11:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

if I had to say what government is in one line,

11:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it's about making difficult choices.

11:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

There's always trade -offs.

11:09

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You know, when somebody says,

11:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we're making this service free,

11:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it means someone is paying for it elsewhere.

11:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

We just don't talk about it.

11:20

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And one of the things that my pen,

11:23

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

is, as politicians,

11:25

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we do these surveys where we'll say,

11:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

do you want this?

11:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Do you want that?

11:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But we never put a price.

11:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So if I was to say,

11:33

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

do you want enhanced mail clearing?

11:35

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Almost everybody in this room will say yes.

11:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But if I was to say,

11:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

do you want enhanced mail clearing?

11:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But your property taxes will go up $150 a year.

11:44

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Maybe some of you will say yes,

11:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but some of you may not.

11:47

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I think it's dishonest when we campaign to

11:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

just ask these people.

11:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

for a bunch of time.

11:55

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You know, the city will go survey and they'll say,

11:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

oh, and our residents want this and this and this,

12:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but did you tell them how much their taxes would go up?

12:04

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Because that's when we really get upon some people.

12:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So it's that transparency that's missing and that's different.

12:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Governing.

12:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The

12:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

governing version of the campaign,

12:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

what's the difference?

12:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Yeah,

12:24

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

it's been interesting these past eight months.

12:26

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

I've learned a lot about governing,

12:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

obviously,

12:28

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

in which I got very comfortable.

12:32

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

For me, it's kind of like looking at a menu versus looking at a recipe.

12:36

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

Like, oh, I want this on the menu,

12:38

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

but I have no clue how to make it.

12:40

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And then once you actually get the recipe,

12:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it's like, oh, actually,

12:43

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

I don't have those ingredients.

12:44

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

I can't afford those ingredients.

12:46

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

Or the oven's broken.

12:47

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

Or there's so many different variables I can go wrong.

12:50

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And I think for me,

12:51

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

that's been the biggest difference between candy and governing is that you get a better understanding

12:55

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

of how decisions are made,

12:57

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

how complex they can be.

13:00

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

and working within our resources.

13:02

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And I echo Mayor West's comments about what we've

13:06

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

got,

13:08

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

but it's still never going to be enough,

13:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

right?

13:10

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And being able to give that to the public when there's,

13:14

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

you know, expectations are increasing.

13:17

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And we had the most snow ever

13:21

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

this year in St.

13:22

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

John's Newfoundland at almost 400 centimeters.

13:24

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

And we have a great snow program.

13:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

What I tend to find covering provincial

13:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

politics versus municipal politics is that once you win,

13:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

provincial politics

13:59

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

There is always a consensus amongst the parties.

14:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's always the big news story when someone breaks rank with the Premier,

14:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you know.

14:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Member of caucus quits because they have to do some disagreement with Premier Ford

14:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

over whatever.

14:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Or someone walks across the floor.

14:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But in municipal politics,

14:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it's always interesting that covering municipal politics,

14:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

there's always division.

14:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

There's never clear consensus.

14:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I covered the mayoral race in Mississauga,

14:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and I will say that because the most brutal campaign I have ever covered in my life.

14:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It was...

14:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And so I will ask why

14:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you are elected to manage to find consensus when

14:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

your council is so divided.

14:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I'm going to start with Mississauga Voice here because we have a very divided

14:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

council in this city right now.

14:48

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's the let's be put

14:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

because division isn't automatically because you

14:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

want diverse dependence.

14:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So it's a matter of...

15:00

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

Are you positioning it as division or are you

15:04

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

positioning it as a different viewpoint?

15:06

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

And that's really important because I think the resonance will end when

15:10

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

you don't have room thick.

15:12

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

So I think we have to be careful how we position it.

15:16

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

I'm not certain that the societal council is always divided,

15:21

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

but what I will say is that I think the societal council has voices

15:25

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

with very different views.

15:27

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

And I think that distinction is important.

15:29

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

I think the second part is,

15:30

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

how do you then compromise and come to a resolution

15:35

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

that is in the best interest?

15:37

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

And I think the follow -up always

15:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

as well.

15:42

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

If you have divided voices,

15:43

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

then how do you come to a resolution?

15:46

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

Or how do you bring allies to your side?

15:49

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

And I think the left at all this point is not about

15:54

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

the fact that the

16:00

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

best way to have the most honest conversation at City Hall is to

16:04

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

fill City Hall.

16:05

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

Because the tenor of the conversation is very different if

16:09

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

City Hall has 200 people,

16:11

S… Speaker 4 (Recording 4)

200 voters watching what you're saying versus the tenor

16:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

of anything.

16:30

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

is a part of democracy.

16:31

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

Perspectives is a very valuable thing and there's

16:36

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

always something to be learned from that.

16:37

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

From the little division that we have had,

16:40

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

I think that having all the facts and having all the same information

16:44

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

and making sure we're kind of starting from the same point is really really important and

16:49

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

using the tools we have to get there.

16:51

S… Speaker 5 (Recording 4)

So, you know,

16:52

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

we have staff,

16:53

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

we're exceptional on the jobs,

16:55

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

we're able to help us understand these more techniques.

16:57

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

And starting from that point and going from there.

17:03

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

But again, I agree with you.

17:04

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

It is part of democracy,

17:06

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

and I think that,

17:08

S… Speaker 5 (Recording 4)

again,

17:09

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

there's a difference between division and a different respectful

17:15

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

order debate and understand each other.

17:18

S… Speaker 3 (Recording 4)

That's

17:22

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

part of the game,

17:23

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think.

17:24

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

Toronto's different in that there's more clear

17:28

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

ideological divide.

17:29

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

You sometimes have councillors who are actively camping

17:33

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

as they are city councillors.

17:36

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

So I'm curious,

17:39

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

how do you navigate that?

17:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I mentioned earlier how...

17:45

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Having a daughter changed my perspective on many things.

17:48

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think it helped me mature as a person and as a politician.

17:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I will hear Molly come home from school.

17:56

S… Speaker 2 (Recording 4)

She's in seventh grade.

17:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And she'll talk about all this drama going on.

18:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

This gossip and people hurting each other and upsetting each other.

18:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The bullying and the things.

18:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The competition about various things.

18:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Whether it be boys or whatever.

18:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And this is not disorder to what I think

18:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you can pronounce.

18:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You

18:26

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

know, upsetting each other.

18:29

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

hold grudges for years.

18:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I think it's really important to kind of,

18:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

if you're self -reflective,

18:35

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

to kind of step back for a moment.

18:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Trying to figure

18:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

out our own lives and our community's lives and find out the best way

18:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

to do things.

18:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And we're going to have disagreements.

18:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Disagreement is,

18:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

if we don't have disagreement,

18:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we don't know how we should embrace things.

18:56

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I realize you

19:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

don't

19:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

have to be enemies or opponents.

19:08

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So what I've

19:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

learned to do over the years,

19:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and I wasn't as good as I am today,

19:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I believe.

19:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I find that...

20:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I've taken that approach.

20:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I can work with Olivia Chow one day,

20:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I can work with Brad Ratt for the next.

20:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I can work with different counselors from different ideologies

20:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

or partisanship.

20:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And frankly,

20:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

if we agree on something,

20:13

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

just put the personal stuff aside and get that done.

20:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I'll add one more thing.

20:18

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I've even found with people that,

20:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

like, some of you may know that John Torrey and I once in a while have disagreed.

20:25

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Really?

20:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Once in a while.

20:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But we've also found...

20:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Beyond that,

20:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

where we'll talk about

20:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it afterwards.

20:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

That

21:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

is really important.

21:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

After

22:04

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the last term,

22:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

how embarrassing.

22:09

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The very first thing I did after that,

22:13

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and a lot of the,

22:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we had a significant change.

22:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Every single member of council before

22:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the inaugural,

22:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we were all

22:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

working for this.

22:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The very first thing we did was sign together,

22:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

not taking things.

22:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And in this term of council,

22:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we have had tons of very lively debates,

22:56

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but never have we tried.

22:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And it's been the majority of

23:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

decisions.

23:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The decisions that we made are unanimous,

23:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but sometimes it was only

23:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

before council meetings,

23:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

after council meetings,

23:13

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

during council meetings,

23:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

that brings us to that consensus.

23:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The strong manner comment I made earlier,

23:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

there's never,

23:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I don't believe that any of my council members feel that if they disagree with me,

23:25

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I'm going to somehow bring down the mood.

23:26

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

because that's just not the way we promised to operate and that's not the way we've been operating.

23:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And I'm really proud of that.

23:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I'm very proud of the council that we have right now.

23:34

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I'm proud of each individual member of council and the work that they've done.

23:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And it's all been different.

23:39

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

They all think differently.

23:40

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And as I said earlier,

23:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

that's really great when we should not have...

23:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the bigger issues that we deal with sale through the council without any

23:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

sort of diverse opinion on it because you know there have

23:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

been a few times this year where I was quite sure going to the council meeting I was right.

23:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Some things were said,

24:00

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I changed my viewpoint and made,

24:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

you know, do you foresee a situation where you're going to use your storm here?

24:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

In this term of council,

24:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think it's not necessary.

24:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And by the way,

24:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

there's a very specific

24:14

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

way you're supposed to use a strong air powers.

24:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I mean, I've actually seen the strong air powers use them at least twice to get

24:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

mess hazard,

24:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

which is exactly the opposite of what it was supposed to be.

24:25

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But the strong air powers is not this universal

24:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

tool that you use to override your hands,

24:33

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but that's not the way it works.

24:39

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Again, I really think that it's sitting down with members of council.

24:43

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

You know, later in the day,

24:44

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Mary Ann B.

24:45

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Ward, the mayor of Burlington,

24:47

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

who had a great deal of admiration.

24:48

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think she's here right now,

24:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

so I can say that.

24:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But she's going to talk about the electrospection.

24:55

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

we've been dealing with in the Ontario big city leaders.

24:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It is an important thing for new candidates

25:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

or candidates who have been around for a long time to understand that it is

25:05

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

all about respect.

25:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's respecting the constituents,

25:07

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

it's respecting the colleagues,

25:08

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and it's respecting the staff.

25:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And that's really,

25:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

really important,

25:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think, in getting the consensus that the question is all about.

25:15

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

All right.

25:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

We have five minutes,

25:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

so I wanted to do a quick rapid -fire round.

25:19

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So this is one -word answers,

25:20

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

not one at the back.

25:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Okay, so let's learn how fill -in -the -blank municipal politics is.

25:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think it's underappreciated.

25:30

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Meaningful.

25:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Yeah,

25:37

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

on the ground.

25:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

What is your illiterate?

25:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Happy

25:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

drinks, inviting friends and family,

25:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and supporters, and waiting for them.

25:55

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I went on a hike on the East Coast Trail in the morning to kind of...

25:59

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's the one question I'll allow.

26:01

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

For me,

26:04

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I don't know what that actually means.

26:08

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

They always say,

26:08

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

go get your hair down.

26:09

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I'm like, I can't.

26:10

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I'm too stressed.

26:11

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

So I'm just tired of being guilty.

26:16

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

We end up celebrating with our supporters

26:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and community and go and recognize and acknowledge everyone who did all the work.

26:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

But before we arrive at where that location is,

26:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

my family and I just nervously like sit on the sofa with our hands and watch the results.

26:32

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's thinking about accelerating

26:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the team that got me there.

26:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Because really at the end of the day,

26:39

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

that's what it's all about on that particular moment.

26:43

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

And then as soon as that party is over,

26:45

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

then I start stressing about how we're going to get all these stupid signs down.

26:49

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Speaking of signs,

26:52

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

that's the next question,

26:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and we'll go this way.

26:54

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Campaign signs,

26:55

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

overrated or underrated?

26:57

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

They're important,

26:58

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

but we actually passed a by -law recently in which we know

27:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

to make, to allow less spaces for

27:06

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

them to meet.

27:08

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

and my rationale for doing that was it actually makes it easier for first time

27:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

because signs are so expensive and it reduces the amount

27:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

that we all have to pay for signs and so

27:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

i think they're useful but they're not as useful as they've been in the past it depends

27:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

where in the city i'd say um overrated downtown but they

27:31

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

are definitely the sign wars and scarborough fields

27:35

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

That's my position.

27:36

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

That's nice.

27:38

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think they take up too much energy and oxygen.

27:41

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

Obviously,

27:42

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the candidates spend half the time debating issues and

27:46

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

putting out a platform that's made on the sand

27:50

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

wars.

27:51

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's a distraction.

27:53

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

The wind and rain.

27:55

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

All

28:02

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

right, in 30 seconds,

28:03

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I want folks

28:12

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

here to run.

28:13

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

It's all

28:17

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

the love and feel that you,

28:21

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

in your heart,

28:22

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

make the difference that you want to make in your community.

28:24

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

If there's any other reason for running,

28:27

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

don't.

28:28

S… Speaker 1 (Recording 4)

I think that's really important.

_Zvinyorwa

Ask AI About This Transcript