2010 grade: C+
2009 grade: C-
2008 grade: D
2007 grade: C+
North Dartmouth would be well-represented by one of those Highfield Park community activists the King’s College journalism class wrote about in a recent issue of The Coast. Or by a blue-collar working stiff with a mortgage on an Albro Lake Road bungalow and a bar tab at My Son’s Place. Or a Burnside wage slave forever stuck in a two-bedroom apartment in Wallace Heights. But no—North Dartmouth is represented by Jim Smith, the mumbling, aw-shucks Jim Smith, a nice enough guy, but pretty much of an empty suit, not terribly representative of North Dartmouth.
Smith is long on empathy, short on coherency, but he isn’t as bad as he appears. He went to bat for his constituents and pushed for council’s acceptance of the Bridge Terminal plan, even with its big cost overrun. And he makes repeated demands for more public input across the board with city projects. Well, it’s something.
How to improve: Just vote however Gloria McCluskey votes.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.
Useless in every way. Was the one responsible for pushing forward the endless cat bylaw debate that made us a laughingstock nationwide. Invisible except for election time. Needs to go.
Blame Jerry Pye, he got Smith elected the first time.
Then Smith went all Liberal, failed in the provincial election, and Pye now curses the day he set eyes on Jim the Jumper.
Poor judgement from both men.
Jim Smith is a glide and slide guy…He failed to show any community support for the Dartmouth North Community Centre and made point of not being at any of the meetings because he knew HRM was secretly stealing it back from the community. When confronted about his chronic absence at community meetings at a community meeting….he shamefully tried to redeem himself but no one listened…..Jim Smith hangs with the elites of this community which is not the majority and why the community DOES need a community advocate to represent….