Raise the Hammer

@slodrive - what, exactly, do you think Mayor Fred did wrong with the stadium debate? He insists that Bob Young's complaints about the west harbour were near-silent until the last second (Young insists that he and the Cats were constantly articulating their objections). It's quickly becoming apparent that all of the sites have massive drawbacks associated with them, and so he picked the one that was the best for city-building, which, as you said, is his priority.

For most voters who are angry about the stadium, I would say that despite his apparent flip-flopping, Bratina has come out of the situation looking the best. Bratina tried to get as many alternatives examined as possible and objected to things being taken off the table... perhaps if he'd gotten his way, we'd have a more coherent and better-equipped argument rather than this mad scramble for information. The only time he really put his foot down in the whole situation was that the East Mountain was not an option - he supports urban development, same as Fred.

That said, Bratina's kind of a mess on other issues - he supports deamalgamation, which seems kind of crazy at this late date. I've heard scuttlebutt that he doesn't take Hamilton's artists seriously... there's a famous e-mail argument with Matt Jelly on that subject. This is important, since Hamilton's growing art community seems to be the main driver of the resurrection of James street. He's a good guy and I'm glad we have him on council, but I think he has trouble reaching across the generation gap, and as contradictory as it sounds, he simultaneously seems indecisive and tactless.

Di Ianni basically stands for the suburbanization of Hamilton. He has ties to the home builders, and so his return will mean a further southward push of housing sprawl, more box-malls, and likely a suburban stadium.

Personally, I support mayor Fred, but if reputable polls come out showing Bratina with a substantial lead, I'm willing to vote strategically to keep Di Ianni out of office.

Really, though, Slodrive - you should be digging into your Ward councillors. Despite the way people talk about it, the council is far more powerful than the Mayor. The Mayor's power comes from his apparent political mandate, not from his actual legal abilities which are pretty meagre. So find out about your ward - your vote is far more powerful there.

Comment edited by Pxtl on 2010-10-15 16:01:50