But the fundamental shift I'm seeing, and one I hope everyone in Hamilton will be happy to hear about, is that we're all working better together as a Council. The previous term of Council was defined by way too much spite, bitterness, and payback.
I remember watching, time and again, good motions being brought forward only for them to be struck down simply to "teach that rookie Councillor a lesson". I'll never forget overhearing one Councillor boast that they'd show "her that's not how we do things around here".
To be completely honest, a bit of that nonsense was going on at the beginning of this term, but it looks like everyone decided that it wasn't the way to go, and I'm very grateful for that. It's not worth it. We can get a lot more done if we work together to make Hamilton better.
I'm seeing and feeling mutual support, collaboration on shared goals and priorities, and just some good old fashioned camaraderie. We're getting to know one another better and the assumptions that may have informed our initial views are coming into better focus.
Don't get me wrong, there will continue to be disagreement. There are some on Council that I easily align with on most issues, and others not so much. And that's alright. We're each get a single vote - for both the residents of the ward we represent and Hamiltonians citywide.
That's where I continue to see a need for improvement. Too often, I hear exclamations that include phrases like "my ward" or "my residents". Each of us is lucky to represent Hamiltonians, but they don't belong to us. If anything, we belong to them. We need to think bigger.
This 6 month milestone also marks the date when most of our new staff are finishing their probationary periods, which for the Ward 2 Team has meant evaluating what has worked, what we need to improve on, and what the next 3 years will look like.
Since inauguration, we've received a ton of contact from Ward 2 residents through phone calls, letters, emails, and social media. It's resulted in us issuing more than 500 individual tickets to residents for persistent issues that require us to connect with City staff.
For those who may not be aware, before amalgamation, Ward 2 was represented by 2 Councillors who had at least 1 staff person each (1.5 toward the end as the Mayor recently told me), meaning that there were almost double the number of people supporting residents a generation ago.
At present, with 1 Councillor and 2 full time staff, we're keeping up but not getting ahead - we still need to get on with important project work, the dispersal of area rating funds, a new community grants program, and overcoming some systemic institutional issues.
But I'm confident that we'll get there. I'm planning to hire some additional part time staff and open up a community space in the very near future (fingers crossed). In the meantime, I'll keep being transparent and providing regular updates. Love you Hamilton!
@CameronKroetsch In otherwords, you had a lot of meetings but people are still living on the street wondering where their next meal will come. Great job.
@CameronKroetsch Can you explain what you consider being transparent because I’m not sure you get it