2010 grade: D 2009 grade: D Speaking of speaking style, now we come to Reg Rankin, a fan of dropping Latin phrases and wild hand gestures. I worry that Rankin will one day give a passionate speech about clause 12.2 in Part Three of bylaw N-300, and an emphatic “ipso facto” will knock neighbouring councillor […]
Tim Bousquet
Posted inNews + Opinion
Barry Dalrymple
2010 grade: D- 2009 grade: D Dalrymple is angry: just ask him. By his way of thinking, everything HRM does is purposely designed to screw over the people of Fall River—every recreation plan, every extension of a water line, every road paving contract is, in Dalrymple’s mind, unjustly penalizing the residents of his district, and […]
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Mary Wile
2010 grade: F 2009 grade: D 2008 grade: D 2007 grade: C+ “Most of most of the time Wile is simply in over her head,” I wrote in last year’s report card. “She’s confused, she loses the conversation, she doesn’t understand what’s going on.” Since then, Wile’s shortcomings have slid from “most of the time” […]
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Peter Lund
2010 grade: D 2009 grade: C Number One: Peter Lund is a nice guy. Number Two: I’m still waiting for him to make a significant contribution to council. He only gets graded for one of those things. I find Lund interesting, in that his professional background as an environmental engineer tells him he should be […]
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David Hendsbee
2010 grade: D 2009 grade: C 2008 grade: D 2007 grade: D+ There’s no question that David Hendsbee is the most unpredictable of the councillors, but whether that’s because he’s a free thinker with a broad streak of independence or because he simply can’t make up his mind is open for debate. I’ll give him […]
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Jerry Blumenthal
2010 grade: C- 2009 grade: C I’d love to play poker with Jerry Blumenthal, because he’s got a completely predictable tell: his tie. When he wears a loud tie, he’s strident and combative; subdued or no tie, and he’s reserved and agreeable. When council discusses buses, Blumenthal wears a loud tie, and thrashes through the […]
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Peter Kelly
2010 grade: C 2009 grade: C- 2008 grade: D 2007 grade: D You know what would be super cool? If we had a mayor who was busted for trying to smuggle a gun onto an airplane. Alas, we’ve only got a mayor who distractedly brings a forgotten bullet through security. But that’s Peter Kelly for […]
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Sue Uteck
2010 grade: C 2009 grade: C+ 2008 grade: B- 2007 grade: B Last December, Sue Uteck appeared on CBC’s Information Morning the day after I did to call me out on my months-long investigation into the “tax reform” proposal. “What does he know?” asked Uteck rhetorically. “He just sits there and Twitters through council meetings.” […]
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Parking ticket revenue way up
HRM parking ticket revenue has increased 45% in three years, a direct result of the city taking the parking enforcement revenue away from the Corps of Commissionaires and awarding it to Securitas. That switch was made on September 1, 2008, soon into the 2008/09 fiscal year (which runs from April 1-March 31). Here are the […]
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Police budget was passed in secret meeting
The Halifax Police Department budget was adopted in a secret meeting, in apparent violation of the Nova Scotia Police Act. In Nova Scotia, elected governments approve overall police department budgets, but the budget details are entirely under the control of the boards of police commissioners. Budget documents presented to Halifax council Tuesday state plainly that […]
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Political Arena
HRM continues to refuse to tell us how many millions of taxpayer dollars it is paying a private firm to operate the new four-pad arena in Hammonds Plains. Readers will recall that the city contracted with Nustadia, Inc.—a subdivision of the Ohio-based Cochran Group—to operate the arena, but did not make that contract, or its […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
City stretched
It’s easy to cry foul when city bureaucrats call for a tax increase, but I’m going to give lukewarm support for staff’s proposed 2010-11 city budget. First, the details. Staff is proposing an operating budget of $731.4 million. That reflects $16 million in new taxes ($56 for the average house in HRM), but also $19.5 […]
