Quote:
Originally Posted by g jones
Mayors are different. All the power is put in one person. He chooses whoever he likes. It is a model that many here are considering and I would say this, it encourages voters to think locally when voting.
Of course elect a bad one and it's the reverse. It also damages the ward based councillor whose say is next to nothing and results in a democratic deficit.
The current system means your councillor has more power to change things as part of a team. Under the Mayors system descent can result in the sack.
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All depends on what mayoral system one uses. You seem to be looking at a system in which the mayor is, well, dictator. This need not be the case. Our mayor is the chairman of the council. As such, he doesn't vote unless there is a tie vote. He can, and does participate in council discussion. Our ward-based councillors cannot be sacked. They represent a ward, and if they have a master, it is not the mayor, it is their constituents. I realise that our city councillors have political beliefs. They, no doubt, vote on issues according to their affiliation. Our Mayor, Mark Gerretsen, is the son of John Gerretsen, who represents Kingston and the Islands in the Ontario legislature for the Liberal Party. So, he is possibly Liberal.
The councillor in my ward is Jim Neill. Jim is a member of the New Democratic Party (Labour). He has run for office under that banner. However, there is no official, regimented party affilliation. Jim works for the residents of Williamsville, not for the NDP.