2010 grade: B+
2009 grade: B-
2008 grade: B
2007 grade: C
Gloria McCluskey is irreplaceable. With her long stints as mayor of the former city of Dartmouth and as an assessor, McCluskey brings history, perspective and knowledge to council discussions that literally no one else has. She was an invaluable resource, for example, in last year’s “tax reform” debate, and had a deep philosophical understanding of the issue that eluded other councillors completely. She repeated that performance this year in the council size debate.
But being irreplaceable is different from being a great councillor. She ably represents her district (I live in it), but McCluskey is increasingly putting comparatively petty district concerns above the collective good of the city. She spoke against the new library, apparently because it’s not in Dartmouth. Ditto for the skating oval. She insisted that the multi-million dollar cost overrun for the Bridge Terminal was regrettable but no reason to kill the project, while she condemned a $650,000 park-and-ride project in Timberlea as too expensive. Her objections often have more than a little truth to them, as when she faulted the cockamamie financing scheme for the Washmill underpass (it stretched the business park fund in novel ways), but then she pegs them as an affront to Dartmouth (the scheme took money from Burnside, she said). The excessive parochialism is becoming tiresome.
How to improve: Accept that Dartmouth is part of HRM, and we’re all in this together.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.
She reflects the views of many citizens who will never accept HRM, and instead want an accountable, local, council and representatives.
I disagree.
HRM be damned.
Keep fighting the good fight Gloria.
She spoke against the cost of library, which will include a full service cafe in the middle of the densest food services area in HRM, and doesn’t include the value of the land.
She spoke against the oh so precious oval because the ice machines were already promised to other NON-DARTMOUTH areas of the city.
She supported the bus terminal in Dartmouth, when Saint Jennifer didn’t, because it is the busiest one in the city. The rest of council, and Tim I guess, didn’t think that a change was needed.
She was the only councilor to see thru staff’s attempt to divert money to Washmill disaster, and brought clarity to the process.
Oh, but Tim finds that “tiresome”.
Lift your head from your incessant twitting and pay attention.
Too bad she retires in October 2012. We need another hell-raiser to replace her.
Any bets the little Liberal Gin Yee will jump from school board to council ?
Who will the NDP run ?
Thank god for Gloria. Often the only voice of reason at the dysfunctional HRM council.
Yeah, thanks for opposing the Molson-Coors proposal for the oval. God knows I was going to get loaded everytime I heard the name. You certainly don’t want to name something after the beer companies. Our local hockey team and national hockey broadcast have nearly destroyed our fair land. I believe when Montreal switched it to the Bell Centre the whole city sobered up.