I remain firm in my conviction that in bigger cities like Toronto, cities with a highly diverse population, with a diversity of needs, a diversity of competing interests, diversity of perspectives, elected local representatives are the hardest working, most put upon of all our politicians. (With exceptions, of course. Stephen Holyday could not secure a position in the public or private sector that would pay him to be as terrible at his job as he is as city councillor.) In Toronto specifically, the pressure’s even more intense, I’d argue, in the face of an openly hostile provincial government at Queen’s Park since 2018 that has cut the number of city council in half, doubling the workload and number of residents to serve, undermining local-decision making with ill-thought housing plans and transit and other major infrastructure initiatives with very little collaboration and a whole lot of because it can. Combined with the fallout from a global pandemic, the additional burdens of governance ultimately pushed well-intentioned and dedicated councillors out from public service long before their prime. Continue reading →