G
ganjavih
Guest
Miller faces `monsters' to be slain
Team to advise mayor-elect on resolving `terrible legacy'
Group formed to give him guidance, reach out to citizens
BRUCE DEMARA AND KERRY GILLESPIE
CITY HALL BUREAU
Mayor-elect David Miller held the first meeting with his transition advisory group of eminent Torontonians, with urban guru Jane Jacobs warning of "monsters" which must be slain by the new mayor and council.
"Our wonderful new mayor has a terrible legacy left to him of monsters, all kinds of monsters, and it's going to be quite a job to slay them," said Jacobs, a renowned international expert on cities.
The panel, comprising 21 citizens representing community, business and social organizations, will meet at least until the middle of January. It will give Miller advice on realizing his vision for Toronto, guidance on emerging issues and assistance in reaching out to citizens.
Miller officially becomes mayor next week.
Yesterday's meeting was a casual affair with an hour and a half of brainstorming on some of Miller's priorities, including ensuring better public transit, getting a new funding deal from senior governments, opening the doors of city hall to the public, creating healthy neighbourhoods and keeping the mayor accountable through an annual report.
The meeting was to have been closed, but Miller declared it open after the media pointed out he campaigned on open government. Miller's win on Nov. 10, Jacobs said, restored hope and was a "boost in morale" to residents beleaguered by scandal and lack of city access since amalgamation.
"I particularly like what (Miller) said about making the front doors of city hall open to the people of the city ... and padlocking the back doors. You can't go wrong with those two ideas," Jacobs said.
"We're very lucky and he's very lucky ... in the kind of city that we are; basically with everything that's gone wrong, we've got a wonderful foundation," she added.
Miller said he's particularly interested in making city hall more accessible to residents, something they feel they've lost in recent years.
"City hall over the past few years, if you go out and speak to people in Toronto, what people say across the whole city is that it's not there for us any more," Miller said.
"The reason why I pulled a broadly based group like that is to get their advice on how we make city hall there for people all across Toronto, from all different backgrounds, neighbourhoods and communities," he said.
Former Toronto mayor David Crombie, co-chair of the panel, said it will provide advice on issues critical to the city's future.
"We've got excellent people here. A lot of these people have terrific experience. To reach out at this early stage is a really good idea," Crombie said.
United Way president Frances Lankin said economic disparities across the city are troubling.
"We've seen a lot of U.S. cities really engage in neighbourhood revitalization. We need that in Toronto. So I'm hoping we can provide him with some good intelligence right from the front lines of communities."
The United Way recently produced a report called a Decade of Decline and plans to do additional research to point out particularly disadvantaged parts of the city, she said.
"More than any other city in Canada, we're seeing urbanized poverty concentrated in neighbourhoods. If you go to places in Scarborough or places in Etobicoke, you'll find highly dense communities living in deep poverty and no social service infrastructure, no gyms, no community centres, no language training. We need to match those programs to where the need is in the community," Lankin said.
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
Urban guru Jane Jacobs and former mayor David Crombie are among those who met with mayor-elect David Miller yesterday as part of the group he formed to advise him as he assumes power at city hall.
Team to advise mayor-elect on resolving `terrible legacy'
Group formed to give him guidance, reach out to citizens
BRUCE DEMARA AND KERRY GILLESPIE
CITY HALL BUREAU
Mayor-elect David Miller held the first meeting with his transition advisory group of eminent Torontonians, with urban guru Jane Jacobs warning of "monsters" which must be slain by the new mayor and council.
"Our wonderful new mayor has a terrible legacy left to him of monsters, all kinds of monsters, and it's going to be quite a job to slay them," said Jacobs, a renowned international expert on cities.
The panel, comprising 21 citizens representing community, business and social organizations, will meet at least until the middle of January. It will give Miller advice on realizing his vision for Toronto, guidance on emerging issues and assistance in reaching out to citizens.
Miller officially becomes mayor next week.
Yesterday's meeting was a casual affair with an hour and a half of brainstorming on some of Miller's priorities, including ensuring better public transit, getting a new funding deal from senior governments, opening the doors of city hall to the public, creating healthy neighbourhoods and keeping the mayor accountable through an annual report.
The meeting was to have been closed, but Miller declared it open after the media pointed out he campaigned on open government. Miller's win on Nov. 10, Jacobs said, restored hope and was a "boost in morale" to residents beleaguered by scandal and lack of city access since amalgamation.
"I particularly like what (Miller) said about making the front doors of city hall open to the people of the city ... and padlocking the back doors. You can't go wrong with those two ideas," Jacobs said.
"We're very lucky and he's very lucky ... in the kind of city that we are; basically with everything that's gone wrong, we've got a wonderful foundation," she added.
Miller said he's particularly interested in making city hall more accessible to residents, something they feel they've lost in recent years.
"City hall over the past few years, if you go out and speak to people in Toronto, what people say across the whole city is that it's not there for us any more," Miller said.
"The reason why I pulled a broadly based group like that is to get their advice on how we make city hall there for people all across Toronto, from all different backgrounds, neighbourhoods and communities," he said.
Former Toronto mayor David Crombie, co-chair of the panel, said it will provide advice on issues critical to the city's future.
"We've got excellent people here. A lot of these people have terrific experience. To reach out at this early stage is a really good idea," Crombie said.
United Way president Frances Lankin said economic disparities across the city are troubling.
"We've seen a lot of U.S. cities really engage in neighbourhood revitalization. We need that in Toronto. So I'm hoping we can provide him with some good intelligence right from the front lines of communities."
The United Way recently produced a report called a Decade of Decline and plans to do additional research to point out particularly disadvantaged parts of the city, she said.
"More than any other city in Canada, we're seeing urbanized poverty concentrated in neighbourhoods. If you go to places in Scarborough or places in Etobicoke, you'll find highly dense communities living in deep poverty and no social service infrastructure, no gyms, no community centres, no language training. We need to match those programs to where the need is in the community," Lankin said.
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
Urban guru Jane Jacobs and former mayor David Crombie are among those who met with mayor-elect David Miller yesterday as part of the group he formed to advise him as he assumes power at city hall.