Miller's Opposition:

A small but diligent core of councillors who are essential to city sanity

By:John Downing

At least Opposition MPs and MPPs are easy to follow in their debates.

Not so with Toronto councillors, where tracking votes is as easy as herding cats.They don't leave a trail.

In the upper levels of government, almost all votes divide along party lines.

At City Hall this past term, the councillors opposed to the NDP majority doing whatever it pleased were scattered through the council.

And usually their votes were that way, often around 15 but bouncing to 21 when the issue was a controversy like a 8.9% salary increase and they knew the public was watching (for a change).

Except there were 44 councillors, meaning Mayor David Miller could reign unimpeded because socialist sycophants and a few strays always outnumbered the opposition.

Then there are those cynical ghosts who duck votes, gambling the media watchdogs won't notice.

As the Sun's Sue-Ann Levy wrote, Raymond Cho vanished before the pay-hike vote, meaning it passed and he could collect but he wouldn't be listed as voting for the money-grab.

It's an old trick, estimating the vote, then checking with the bosses if you really have to stay.

There are excuses, such as illness, family and ward problems, to cause councillors to miss a vote, but it's shocking how often it happens.

Doug Holyday, one of council's best and most faithful members, keeps track of the empty chairs.

He says that on most votes, one-quarter of the council isn't there.

(Council voted against officials compiling records on this because, I suspect, the majority felt guilty.)

Excuse me if I'm not preoccupied with the mayor's race when there are 44 other votes on every issue.

Yet it is intriguing to watch Miller's attempts to prove he really is a moderate interested in saving the city and not just the unions.

Whiff of tragedy

So far there's a whiff of Shakespearean tragedy about Jane Pitfield's campaign, since it seems her organization isn't as good as she is.

Then there's the bombastic tapdancing by Stephen LeDrew, the guy who came late to the party and is only prospering and not flopping because of his intellect and chutzpah which were honed in much different politics.

It's quite a jump from foreign policy to potholes.

But back to those 44 votes and the need for the opposition -- just to keep the socialists relatively honest.

Because of retirement and elevation, there are at least six wards beside Pitfield's where there will be new councillors.

Unfortunately, two were held by able members of the opposition -- David Soknacki (Ward 43) and Sylvia Watson (Ward 14).

That leaves a small but diligent core of opposition -- although the group varies somewhat, there are certain members who clearly deserve re-election, in my view.

They are: Rob Ford (Ward 2); Holyday (Ward 3); Mike Feldman (Ward 10); Frances Nunziata (Ward 11); Karen Stintz (Ward 16); Michael Walker (Ward 22); David Shiner (Ward 24); Cliff Jenkins (Ward 25); Case Ootes (Ward 29); Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34); Michael Thompson (Ward 37) Mike Del Grande (Ward 39) and Norm Kelly (Ward 40).

Quite a mixed bag.

I've never met some of them. I've served with others on boards.

Some have bugged me with their nitpicking (Walker) or performing-bear act (Ford), but what we need is to double the number of councillors who vote their way.