Party in the fringe

 Can a Toronto-based group gain traction in a competitve city that discourages political parties?

BY: Kristofer Baker
The City of Toronto has been going down the wrong path for over eight years and needs substantial help before it’s too late.

 That’s the main message of the Toronto Party, a fringe group bent on fixing the city and getting their voice out to residents.

Glen Middleton was a candidate for Ward 30 in Toronto’s recent election. He joined the Toronto Party when he saw the “irresponsible” way City Hall was conducted.

 “I made an effort to go out and pay them a visit because I was interested in the ideas and I was also equally disgruntled with the way the city functions,” Middleton said. “In fact, it’s extraordinarily dysfunctional and it didn’t take me long to figure out how very severe Toronto’s finances were.”

 The Toronto Party was founded in 2006 after the re-election of David Miller. They have attempted to establish its presence by getting regular people more involved.

 “They’re not engaged in politics period because first off, they don’t trust the politicians and I don’t blame them because I’ve seen enough to know why,” Middleton said.

Aside from fighting apathy, opposing Transit City and “fixing” the budget are key issues shared by members of the party.

 Many of the group’s candidates have involved themselves in the ongoing issues of their wards.  Middleton said this “follow up” system has allowed them to show residents they are involved, while exposing the shortcomings of their political opponents.

 “Social groups contacted me with a very long list of complaints from their buildings that are run or managed in some way by the city,” Middleton said. “The city was not responsive and the incumbent for my ward never paid them a visit. I did with in 48 hours and I wasn’t even paid for it.”

 The Toronto Party has many challenges preventing them from gaining a foothold on the political stage. Of the 12 candidates that ran for council in the last election, none were elected.

  Nelson Wiseman is a political analyst and an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. Despite his knowledge, Wiseman said he had never heard of the Toronto Party.

 “I followed the election closely and I didn’t hear any reference to them whatsoever.” Wiseman said.

Wiseman said the party has not done enough to advertise themselves effectively. He said there is enough technology and free media out there to get anyone’s names into the minds of
constituents

  “They’re not very sophisticated,” Wiseman said.

 Patrice Dutil is a professor of Political Science and Public Administration for Ryerson University. He explains how provincial laws make starting a municipal level party a tough venture.

 The Municipal Act and the Elections act in the Government of Ontario discourages the funding of political parties,” Dutil said. “You can still have people talking to each other and agree with each other but they’re not organized as a political party.”

 Dutil said Ontarians carry an old standing “Anglo-North American” attitude that puts an individual’s neighbourhood before a collective cause.

 “The person we put into council is there to defend the interests of our neighbourhood,” Dutil said. “They are not there to defend the interests of a party or to put the interests of the neighbourhood below any other.”

 Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay is the leader of the popular Union Montreal party.

 Middleton agrees party politics can be challenging in Toronto but believes a clear message is needed to win the hearts of residents.

 He explained how the party conducts itself in a responsible and democratic way has attracted interest from residents.

 “We have open debates and open votes,” Middleton said, “When people see this and realize what the party is about, they agree with our policies.”

 The professional accountant believes the Toronto Party can still gain a presence on the political stage if they regroup.

22 of 37 seats in Quebec City Council belong to members of political parties.

 According to Middleton, the party needs to rebrand itself and look for ways to communicate to a larger audience.

 “In my ward, there is 30 some-odd thousand voters, of which only a fraction will vote, 60 thousand residents in 20 thousand homes. That’s a lot of territory to cover,” Middleton said.

 Wiseman doesn’t see the party ever becoming a major factor in Toronto politics.

 “I don’t think they’ll ever have any real effect,” Wiseman said. “I wouldn’t say it’s making a mountain out of a molehill, it’s a molehill on a molehill.”
 Dutil believes Toronto’s changing attitudes could play into the Toronto party’s favour.

 “A lot of people argue that the time for the neighbourhood first policy is way overdone,” Dutil said. “Transit, economic development, the environment go far beyond the boundaries of a small area.”

 Every councillor in Vancouver is currently a member of a municipal party.

 The Ryerson professor said now could be the time for a municipal level party to gain some traction in Toronto.

 Middleton said he will run for Scarborough Centre again in 2014. He said the Toronto Party will continue to monitor the actions of City Council and expose those who they believe are wasting taxpayer’s dollars.

 “With our system of response and community engagement, we can be a nuisance to a lot of people,” Middleton said.

City Hall fails to Embrace Party Politics

Why hasn't Traditional Party Affiliations been embraced by City Hall?

 BY: Sean Sillers

     Even a casual observer of Toronto politics likely knows where most councillors lie on the political spectrum. Forming cohesive alliances with like-minded peers is a time-honoured tradition in politics. How does the lack of official political parties affect the people’s interest at city hall?

      One thing many supporters of party politics in Toronto cite is accountability. Toronto Ward 36 councillor Brian Ashton, for instance, who at 58 is retiring from the more progressive wing at city hall, sees party affiliation as a means to hold individual councillors to their party’s platform.

      “There would be a measure of accountability as council members would be subject to party discipline,” he said.

      Ashton noted, however, the possible consequences.

      “We’ve moved away from a consensus based process and structure to something else more adversarial,” he said. “We now seem to have a quasi government versus a quasi opposition which is a less creative environment where independence is thwarted.”

      Unlike at the provincial and federal levels, most municipalities in Canada have not adopted party politics. In Toronto, council consists of 44 seats plus the mayor’s office, which chooses committee members and sets the agenda for meetings. While many individual coucillors, especially on the political fringes, are not shy about their political leanings, official parties do not exist at city hall.

      Currently, council meetings at city hall are subject to a mayoral agenda. Toronto Ward 16 councillor Karen Stintz believes a party system addresses a broader field of issues.

      “Council only debates what’s on the agenda, which is set by the mayor. With parties, issues not on the agenda could be addressed,” she said.

      Stintz, a long time member of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party and the federal Conservative party, likens this to private members’ bills, where individual representatives introduce legislation, such as at the provincial and federal levels. Given these bills rarely reach the chamber floor, one wonders just how many individual members’ issues would make it on to the agenda from a member of a minority party at city hall.

       Party affiliation could cost councillors a significant measure of independence when voting on legislation. However, does this also lessen the backroom deals that oil the political machine? Individual councillors often agree to support each other on pet projects in their ward in exchange for the promise their support will be reciprocated. The elimination of such agreements might bring more transparency to the process.

       Yet, University of Toronto economist Ian Parker believes this is a necessary trade off as “backroom deals between councillors get things done.”

       Introducing party politics could serve to increase the power of the mayor’s office if its party held a majority of votes on council. Such ‘majority’ status could provide the mayor with carte blanche over council, all but drowning out dissent. 

      Alternately, a minority situation, where the mayor’s party did not have the benefit of a majority of votes on council, would “provide a built-in checks and balances” mechanism, according to Stintz. Nevertheless, such a minority construct could paralyze city governance along partisan lines.

      Party politics also carries with it the element of patronage. When fully established, a party system at the city level may have its own backroom dealings.  Yet instead of making deals to get things done, these deals would involve the dissemination of power and influence along party lines.

      As Parker explains, “parties would have agendas rather than issues.” Councillors could become beholden to their party’s programme, rather than their constituents interests.

      The effect of a party system could fundamentally change how the city interacts with the people. While a party system holds individual councillors more accountable at election time, it might also diminish the public’s access to city hall.

      “Access would become much more limited for special interest groups, neighbourhoods and individuals,” Ashton said. Ironically, “if an individual wanted to have an impact, he’d probably have to join a party."