Ideological Gridlock

In one profound hour he went from delivering the news to making it. Peter Mansbridge brought his message of civic engagement to London last week, sponsored by the City of London and its effort to launch ReThink London. The message to key participants was clear. To citizens: by refusing to engage, you won’t get the community you want. And to the politicians: if you refuse to listen to Londoners, you won’t really get the city you want either.This last point deserves some special consideration. It has been repeated in various venues for months that our community has fallen into a troubling state of dysfunction, with some seasoned veterans saying they have never seen it quite this bad. They have a point, perhaps best exemplified in the disappointment citizens experienced who historically engaged with Council and city staff on issues ranging from community access, to Reservoir Hill, to fluoride in the water, but who now feel years of hard work ebbing away. The exercises were discouraging enough that a number have said they won’t dialogue with our political representatives again.This is a serious setback just at the time that the City is investing in a broad engagement effort that will ask citizens what kind of community they desire. The question is repeatedly raised: why engage if it doesn’t do any good? It’s a valid query.The issue really isn’t about the technicalities of collaboration with local citizens concerning where they live – City staff do that very well. Rather, it’s the overall sense that something seems out-of-place. A chasm appears to be widening just at the time we’re all supposed to be pulling together. And it finds much of its focus on the workings of the present Council, where a certain rigidity in its decisions appears to fall along ideological lines. One can mostly predict going in just how the members will vote, and activated citizens are feeling ignored for all of their efforts.Attaining 0% is not a vision, but rather a practical political stand taken by the mayor and some members of Council. We must think bigger, and so must Council. Yet it almost seems as though an ideological gridlock has now seized city hall. The rigid voting patterns of Council meetings appear more characteristic of Parliament than a community fully capable of solving its own problems through dialogue and compromise.Mayor Fontana is an able man – something demonstrated repeatedly during his term a federal minister of labour and housing. Nevertheless, as long as his key allies on Council come from one portion of the political spectrum, he will be confined, perhaps even labeled, by their lack of respectfulness, of decorum, and flexibility. If he wishes ReThink London to be truly successful, he must begin the process of reaching out to the socially and environmentally progressive minded on Council and within the community, for they will be actively involved in the engagement exercises. As mayor, he will require all of his skill to be inclusive and remain above the fray if he hopes for the engagement exercise to be effective.Opportunities like ReThink London only come along sparingly and must be used well. Our city’s voting numbers are low and citizens likely ambivalent. Unless that changes, our city will never be able to redesign itself for tomorrow’s challenges. Despite the temptation, politicians must remain outside of the process, allowing citizens to forge a consensus. Once accomplished, our political representatives must listen up and take what citizens are saying seriously and implementing the needed reforms to make the shared vision a reality. It’s hard to imagine how that can be done effectively if the politics of ideology and lack of flexibility retain their pattern at City Hall.How will later generations view the entire ReThink London experience? That will depend on two things: will citizens show up and be creative, and will the elected representatives put aside personal agendas and follow the direction of their citizens? Democracy was meant for this kind of exercise and London is desperately in need of it. We just require a Council and a citizenry that are more expansive than their present condition.This is my article from the London Free Press - May 12, 2012. I include it here because for the first time my wife Jane has submitted the drawing shown above that appeared as a complement to the story. Took her only 15 minutes to draw on the iPad. So proud of her abilities.