TheStar.com - A setback for local democracy

To wide acclaim from = municipal=20 politicians, Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday announced that after the = next=20 election in November, city and town councillors and school trustees will = stay in=20 office for four years instead of the current three.

Coming as it does without other reforms, such as a limit on how = many=20 terms a councillor can serve, the premier's announcement fails to = advance the=20 cause of local democracy. In fact, it sets it back.

It aggravates an already horrible reality.=20

Now, it is nearly impossible to defeat an incumbent city = councillor. They=20 can promote themselves, funded by tax dollars. They are quoted in the = media.=20 They have access to policy and policy makers. They have a huge advantage = over=20 anyone who might want to challenge them. And when the new measures are = in place,=20 the task of unseating a councillor will be even more difficult.

That explains why the rural politicians in the Association of=20 Municipalities of Ontario were congratulating themselves so openly = yesterday.=20 They have managed to ensure their "career" can go on unimpeded for = generations.

"It's terrible. It's wrong," Councillor Michael Walker told the = Star's=20 Vanessa Lu. The good thing about municipal government is that "you = have to=20 be looking over your shoulders all the time. Local government is about = being=20 local and accountable. You want to go out and seek the mandate."

How refreshing. How lonely a view.=20

Ajax Mayor Steve Parrish wisely agrees.=20

When David Crombie was mayor of Toronto, council terms were = limited to=20 two years. Then, it went to three years because councillors said they = needed=20 more time to do strategic planning and consider city business.=20

Still, it wasn't enough. Mayor David Miller said yesterday that = the final=20 year of the three-year term is spent campaigning; so four years are = needed.

"Well, then you could have five- and six-year terms and you can = get more=20 done. It's a self-serving argument," said Walker, adding that a longer = term=20 benefits incumbents by making it harder for others to break into city = hall.

City councillors know this, instinctively and experientially. = That's why=20 the majority love this move.

The announcement comes as the City of Toronto is about to hold = public=20 hearings on its own plan to "reform" how it conducts business at city = hall.=20 Toronto can embark on the "reforms" because of new powers resident in = the new=20 City of Toronto Act that should become law before the summer.

The hearings will not engender huge turnouts, for several = reasons. One,=20 it's Inside Baseball, an internal discussion that =97 while it has = impact on=20 citizens' lives =97 is not framed as such and is not recognized as such.

In general, newcomers are not engaged in what happens at city = hall, even=20 though this is where most of the decisions affecting their lives are = made. The=20 power structure is a mystifying wall, and there are few access points. = Instead=20 of punching a few more holes through the walls, council, and now the = province,=20 wants to make it even more impenetrable.

There is a good reason why the public is so disengaged from what = happens=20 at city hall. The efforts made to connect and reach out are too = traditional and=20 ineffective. Reforms are framed from the point of view of the status = quo. The=20 people studying potential changes are part of the elite and, as such, = are most=20 attuned to the elite.=20

And the city councillors in charge of voting on potential changes = have a=20 built-in bias against implementing change that might affect their tenure = at city=20 hall.

Worse, the so-called independent agents chosen to study the = actual way we=20 practice democracy are in cahoots with the councillors.

How else do you explain the report from a city council advisory = panel=20 that also recommended councillors stay in office an extra year but was = virtually=20 silent on ways to get the public engaged in the way their city is run.

One way to get new faces at city hall =97 more faces, different = faces, and=20 faces that reflect our diverse city =97 is to limit the number of years = a=20 councillor can serve.=20

This would ensure steady turnover and an introduction of new = voices.=20 Three terms of four years each gives a candidate 12 years to pursue his = or her=20 dream of public service.

Term limits would imbue councillors with a sense of urgency long = before=20 they become moribund, a condition clearly present in more than a few = veterans at=20 city hall.=20

Even those who earn their pay are often stale and uninspiring. = Giving=20 them an extra year is not the way to reinvigorate council.

One of the challenges of democratic representation is attracting = good=20 people and different people. The longer our elected officials are = allowed, by=20 law, to stay in office before they face re-election, the more difficult = it is to=20 attract newcomers.

Public office is a noble calling. It should be open to as many = people as=20 possible, as often as possible. The premier's announcement pushes us in = the=20 wrong direction.

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