2013 grade: B- 2012 grade: F 2011 grade: C- 2010 grade: C+ 2009 grade: N/A Cell: 497-7166 Darren Fisher had by far the most embarrassing council moment this year. The business he started, Nic Nax convenience stores, ended up on the city’s uncollectable debt list, owing $82,000 for bus passes sold, but not paid back […]
Tim Bousquet
Stephen Adams
2013 grade: B- 2012 grade: D 2011 grade: D 2010 grade: D 2009 grade: B- 2008 grade: C- 2007 grade: B- Cell: 497-8818 Stephen Adams has been uncharacteristically quiet these past six months. Maybe he’s worried about something, or just reflective or overwhelmed at his “day job” as a Big Pharma rep. Yep, Adams is […]
Waye Mason
Grade this year: B+ Grade last year: N/A Cell: 483-7283 Rookie councillor Waye Mason came out of the gates swiftly, offering up first a council order breaking city staff’s habit of dropping material on council at the last moment, then getting council on board with a stronger commitment to spend $50 million on downtown improvements. […]
Reg Rankin
2013 grade: B+ 2012 grade: C- 2011 grade: C- 2010 grade: D 2009 grade: D Cell: 499-3744 The UARB created a new electoral district by taking the population-heavy West Clayton Park and tacking on Reg Rankin’s old district of Timberlea. Rankin won the new district, in part due to his politicking skills, in part because […]
Jennifer Watts
2013 grade: A- 2012 grade: C+ 2011 grade: B+ 2010 grade: A- 2009 grade: B Cell: 497-4748 With Waye Mason, Jennifer Watts cast a symbolic vote against expanding the Bayers Lake business park. She also made a poignant comment on the disposition of the former Northcliffe Rec Centre in Clayton Park: The city will lose […]
Matt Whitman
2013 grade: C- 2012 grade: N/A Cell: 240-3330 Before he was elected, all we knew about Matt Whitman was he laid claim to inventing something he calls “reverse networking,” which as far as we can determine means saying nice things about people. Not exactly our cup of tea, but neither does it strike us as […]
Linda Mosher
2013 grade: B- 2012 grade: C 2011 grade: B- 2010 grade: B- 2009 grade: C- 2008 grade: C- 2007 grade: D Cell: 476-4117 The longer Linda Mosher is on council, the more enigmatic she becomes. We can’t ascribe any coherent political ideology to her, nor can we say what else might motivate her. That’s not […]
Brad Johns
2013 grade: B+ 2012 grade: C 2011 grade: B- 2010 grade: D 2009 grade: C 2008 grade: D 2007 grade: D Cell: 476-1234 Brad Johns is probably the most underrated councillor. He consistently offers worthy insight, which goes unvalued by his colleagues. He does good constituency work, and everyone in the district knows where to […]
Welcome to the 2013 City Council Report Card
Last year was a low point for Halifax city politics. “Council dealt with many highly contentious issues—and screwed up each and every one of them,” we wrote in our annual report card. We went on to award a record number of F grades—five—and for the first time, flat-out expelled one politician, then-mayor Peter Kelly. Our […]
Steve Craig
2013 grade: A- 2012 grade: N/A Cell: 240-0441 We have never seen a non-politician enter the council realm as successfully as has Steve Craig. He has hit the ground running, and is well representing his constituents. Craig’s first act was to bring forward problems with stormwater systems in his beleaguered Sackville. It’s a problem faced […]
Tim Outhit
2013 grade: B- 2012 grade: C+ 2011 grade: C+ 2010 grade: C- 2009 grade: C Phone: 490-5679 Since getting re-elected, Tim Outhit hasn’t been particularly outspoken about any issue. But there’s been a general gestalt about him, a noticeable shift into the ornery. It’s like watching a volcano. He just sits there, maybe shifts around […]
The usual suspects
At a secret portion of their meeting last week, Halifax councillors appointed Fred Honsberger to the Board of Police Commissioners. There was nothing unusual about the secrecy: All appointments to boards and commissions are made in secret, over the repeated objections of both The Coast and councillor Gloria McCluskey. Neither is the appointment of Honsberger […]

