winnifredxoxo - Foter - CC BY
Balance scale
During the last four years our town council had a great opportunity to improve democracy in Oakville.
In his 2010 inaugural speech, the mayor noted the longstanding and gross imbalance in representation on our local council. Some wards have far more voters and total population than do other wards. The discrepancies look most stark with Ward 4 (Glen Abbey, West Oak Trails) having about 30% of the population (2011 census) and more voters than has Wards 1 and 2 combined.
“We will address this,” said the mayor. So council embarked on an extensive review of the ward boundaries with the guidance of a very well qualified consultant. A year and a half later the incumbent members of council voted unanimously to keep the existing ward boundaries and perpetuate the inequities. The fact that they decided to do nothing speaks of something deeply troubling to me. Did they think that the voters of Ward 4 count less than do voters in other parts of town?
It was a sad day for local democracy. Election time is a good time to review whether your councillors are representing your best interests and acting in the interest of a healthy democracy.
Brian Hopkins
The following links are from the Oakville Beaver which are the source for the letter.
May 2012
April 2012
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2899584-oakville-ward-boundary-meeting-may-7/
Feb. 2012
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2897125-ward-boundaries-back-to-the-drawing-board/
Feb. 2012
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2897030-town-eyes-ward-boundaries/
Dec. 2011
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2894807-date-set-for-council-debate-of-ward-boundaries/
