Sue Uteck

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.”

Uteck dissed the cutting edge of communicative technology in an ADD world because “tax reform” was her issue---more than anyone, Uteck championed the cause, rallied the troops and conflated the immediate financial interests of south end residents with the good of humanity generally. She was, and remains, utterly wrong on this score.

But, with the possible exception of Gloria McCluskey (with whom Uteck regularly argues), Uteck is the leading council critic of what she sees as a bloated city bureaucracy. More, Uteck does the tedious work of examining tendering and bidding processes, and budget details. She also questioned the carte blanche handed to the police department at budget time. “Not to attack the holy grails of police and fire,” she said, “but they’re very intimidating. They come with guns, and you say yes.” Uteck has one huge negative, but her many positives alleviate that to a significant degree.