People speak out on wards
City CAO assures there won’t be any gerrymandering if the ward boundaries are redrawn for the next municipal election
A town hall meeting for Otonabee Ward residents, hosted by Coun. Lesley Parnell and Coun. Dan McWilliams, drew 12 people to the Canadian Canoe Museum on Tuesday night.
Two citizens were there to air concerns about the appearance of gerrymandering, when it comes to a plan to adjust the ward boundaries, and one other citizen said he’s unhappy with the city’s branding exercise.
Other topics were discussed, in the two-hour meeting – sidewalk repairs, illegal business signs and stormwater pond management, for instance.
But the hot-button issues were the ward boundary readjustment and the new city tagline.
About the ward boundaries: The city is looking for opinions this summer about the possibility of adjusting Peterborough’s electoral ward boundaries, prior to the next municipal election in October 2018.
The idea is that Town Ward – the smallest ward – is expected to be 25 per cent less populous than highgrowth Monaghan ward within a decade.
“We really are just trying to balance out the numbers,” said Parnell.
But Parnell also said she thinks the “original south end” – the area south of Lansdowne St. and west of Monaghan Rd., with the river to the east – should remain in Otonabee Ward.
One of the maps city staff has created as proposals for re-drawing the wards shears off the old south end from Otonabee Ward and adds it to Town Ward.
But Parnell didn’t like that idea; she said the old south-end doesn’t belong with the downtown, socially or logically.
McWilliams also said he didn’t care for the idea, either. That opinion concerned citizens Janice Adams and Julie Morris.
Both spoke up and said councillors ought to avoid stating their preferences – otherwise, it smacks of gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating electoral boundaries so you gain advantage.
Parnell said no such thing was happening: the city is simply seeking public input and she’s stating how she feels.
“That is what we’re doing – this is an open and public discussion,” she said.
Allan Seabrooke, the CAO for the city, vigorously defended the councillors.
He said staff will review everything residents have to say, and make recommendations to council. Then all 11 councillors will vote.
“There will be no gerrymandering,” he said.
Morris persisted, though, saying that she thinks residents should determine the ward boundaries – by referendum, if necessary – with no say from councillors.
“Politicians should not be voting on this,” she said.
Another resident, Rick Page, said he thinks the city is overspending on a municipal branding exercise.
The city has paid BrandHealth, a local ad agency, $77,000 to come up with a new brand for Peterborough – including a new tagline, logo and colours.
But the public was unhappy with their proposed tagline – Peterborough: Where Roads and Rivers Meet – so the agency is expected to offer a new option.
BrandHealth was paid $77,000 for their services.
“This branding business you want to spend an awful lot of money on – I think it’s ridiculous,” he said. “Where did this idea come from?”
McWilliams said the city is a multi-million-dollar corporation that is competing with all other cities out there for investment – and it has to promote itself alongside the best of them.
But Page said he wasn’t happy that BrandHealth will be offering a new city slogan when citizens have been giving the city myriad suggestions.
Parnell said that if a citizen’s concept were to ultimately be chosen for the city’s tagline or logo, “we would make darn sure they’re properly recognized – it’s only fair.”
She also said she’s been “inspired” by the number of people who’ ve given suggestions about a new tagline.
“We (councillors) haven’t been taken to task,” she said. “It hasn’t been a negative process… You care how we’re represented. I take that as a positive.”