December 5, 2006
I Call Dibs on the Front Row
These seats are empty now, but they won't be after today, as Mayor Miller and the 44 other city councillors take office. We found out recently that councillors are seated randomly, which explains why during the last council term loyal lefty Adam Giambrone sat right next to dogged mayoral critic Denzil Minnan-Wong.
We're curious where Adam Vaughan will be sitting; we hope it's right next to tree advocate and Front Street Extension booster Joe Pantalone. We really want to see the sparks fly on that one.
Photo by Scott Chandler from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
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Hey - Hey! The chairs of the standing committees were just announced, with some surprises:
- Joe Mihevc - Community Development and Recreation
(That means he's not getting the TTC chairpersonship, and it will go to Giambrone.)
- Kyle Rae - Economic Development
(Not too surprising, but some thought it might go back to Ashton, as it was originally his creation.)
- Gloria Lindsay Luby - General Government
(That's a surprise, but it makes sense, as Miller always makes a point of including a token, non-threatening right-winger in his inner circle.)
- Howard Moscoe - Licensing and Standards
(Also means he won't be back at the TTC, as expected. This one was widely predicted.)
- Paula Fletcher - Parks and Environment
(This is a major shock. As much as I love Fletcher, I can't think of anyone who would have guessed this would go to anyone other than Perks.)
- Brian Ashton - Planning and Growth Management
(It makes sense that this went to a "suburban" councillor, but it seemed like too important a portfolio to hand to someone with such a mediocre profile.)
- Glenn De Baeremaeker - Public Works and Infrastructure
(Very, very bad for the City. Putting the MegaBins' biggest supporter and a passionate advocate of advertising, both in and of itself and as a means to fund public services, in charge of the committee that oversees such things is a massive "Fuck you!" by Mayor Miller to myself and my friends in the public space movement.
Presuming that this term's who-sits-where lottery has already taken place, the photo on the cover of the GTA section of today's Star indicates that Giambrone is again sitting next to Minnan-Wong. Fun.
Also, note that the Star's chart of the Executive Committee members lists Fletcher's ward as "Broadview-Greenwood" (the name was changed to "Toronto-Danforth" six and a half years ago).
Johnathan Goldsbie
remember Ashton had to be given a reward for taking a bullet on Expo.
It seems Moscoe is on track to be appointed to GTTA (he can't be a TTC commissioner *and* GTTA member) so he can irritate people from Hamilton to Oshawa.