John Sewell: On mastering the megacity

I had a stake in this mayoral election. Rob Ford won instead, but I’d be willing to accept the same offer under him

Much to my surprise I have had a lot riding on Toronto’s election for mayor. I thought I would simply be playing an observer’s role, but a stray remark during a workout at my gym turned things around.

At the end of a fitness class in mid September I was telling a friend that I thought Rob Ford had captured a lot of interest by accurately describing big problems at city hall, spending money unwisely and without adequate controls, a bureaucracy not as responsive as it should be, a council which too often didn’t listen to what people were telling it. I said I thought a many of these problems resulted from the structure of the megacity, and that it was time to rethink how the city was governed. Ford had defined the problems but he didn’t seem to have solutions. Cutting the number of councillors by half did nothing to make city hall run better.

Could we find a structure which helped ensure that local issues were decided locally? One that was more transparent? One that gave us good and effective land-use planning? One that helped Toronto also address its regional challenges and responsibilities? I said George Smitherman would be wise to say he agreed with Ford’s description of the problem, but that he didn’t have the solution.

I knew the woman I was chatting with was working for George Smitherman. She said she thought my free advice—my rant— made some sense, and she would tell George what I had said.

Late in September George asked me to meet with him and his campaign manager to talk directly. We met. He asked me what I would do. I said I’d appoint a panel of citizens to hold consultations throughout the city, then make recommendations for change within four or five months. He thought the idea had promise, and he asked me to make a proposal in writing.

I created a few pages of words for him. He then put together a group of people to serve on the panel, and asked me to attend a press event where he announced the initiative and panel of seven, with me as chair. I had agreed that this would not be a position that attracted salary or fee—it is public service on my part and on the part of the other panel members.

To me, this was the first real opportunity to rethink the megacity since it was foisted on Toronto in 1997. The city is now too big to function well. The agenda for a council meeting is thousands of pages long, way more than councillors can digest. The bureaucracy is far too big and bloated, and even the most dedicated city staff find it hard to make things work. Local issues are lost in the Great Grey Clam.

David Miller showed no interest in addressing these problems which has alienated city hall from city residents. If George Smitherman was willing to allow someone like me to work with a panel to address these issues, it seemed to me a major step forward.

Sure, the megacity can never be reversed, but it can be reshaped. Governments are always in the process of being changed and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t look for ways in which they can be made more effective. It’s needed in Toronto, and that’s something that I could dig my teeth into. The possibility of being involved in this meant that I was willing to endorse George Smitherman in the hope he would be elected and I could undertake this work.

I write this before the vote has been counted, so I don’t know whether the panel will be appointed, and whether we’ll be able to address these important questions. I hope to have the chance. A large public discussion about how city government can be reshaped to better serve us will help us all.

And if the winner is Rob Ford, would I be willing to undertake this mandate under his leadership if he decided to ask me? You bet.