CHARLOTTETOWN - If political participation in Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, is any indicator of the malaise of the general population, then we are in significant trouble indeed. Charlottetown's 32,000 citizens are represented by ten councilors elected in a ward system and, while candidate nominations closed Oct 8th at 4PM, only 7 of the 10 wards have challengers to the incumbent. The tragedy is not only that the electoral process is being circumvented, or that without multiple candidates voter turnout for the electoral reform plebescite will be crippled, but that we are willingly surrendering our hard-earned right to participate in an election for our civic representatives. Some might suggest that politics is a thankless job, where the only feedback from the electorate is negative. Others decry the demands on both family and work as civil service often forces concessions on both fronts. Both arguements are likely right. Politics is a thankless job, one that few are willing to take on in an era that is still reeling from the hyperconsumption, hyperselfishness of the 80s and 90s. Aside from a few exceptions, most of the current councilors fit neatly into the 40+ demographic, have the backing of either influential family members, influential political party members, or both. It is those luxuries that soften the blow of family and work interruptions, while only the thick skin of experience or disconnection can mitigate the thanklessness. Though not all of the announced council candidates are commonly known, it is hard to believe that we have fostered an environment where we can expect anything other than more of the same for this year's choices.

HALIFAX - Alas, summer is coming to an end.  Perhaps a little Earl-y, but those hot hot Haligonian hay days are now making way for crisp evenings and crisply dressed students.  BUT, before we retreat to the cozyness of our respective abodes, Jamie Mary Burnet and Su Donovaro are inviting us this friday to have one final hurrah in the Commons. This summer the Commons has born witness to both the triumphs and the tragedies of the common people.  It has also been given a ...

Photo by John McCarthy, member of the Spacing Atlantic flickr pool. HALIFAX - Voter apathy and low turnout are not uniquely Haligonian challenges. We are mired in a democracy-crippling race to the bottom, with the federal election in 2008 reaching record-low turnout at 59.1%. In the province’s summer-2009 election, so eagerly anticipated and vigorously discussed, voter turnout was another record low for the province: 57.95%. Turnout of two in three people, however, would be a victory for HRM’s municipal elections. During the 2008 election, the result of which shaped HRM's current council, only one in three of us rocked the vote, and the sitting council was elected by a measly turnout of 36.3%. In the past month, the results of two surveys on council size and performance have been released. The first finds a fairly even split between those who are satisfied and dissatisfied with council (if 1 to 5 is dissatisfied, and 6 to 10 satisfied), with a majority indicating dissatisfaction with the Mayor, and 56% preferring a reduction in council size. The second finds that 83% of Haligonians prefer a smaller council, and of those, 62% prefer a council of 15 or fewer councillors. The results of the first survey are misleading. The same questionnaire found that 81% of respondents voted in the last election; compare that number with the 36.3% of registered voters who actually voted. These results suggest one of two cases: either respondents claimed they voted when they didn’t or they don’t comprise a random sample of Haligonians.

HALIFAX - "How will my central library transform our lives, our city?", this is the question that Haligonians are being encouraged to ask themselves and eachother in preparation for the five stage public consultation process that will shape the Halifax Central Library. The site has been picked, the funding strategy is approved and the architects are ready to go.  And go they will.  The first place their going to is the public...five times.  The first time will be this Thursday at the Dalhousie Student Union ...

What information would you need to solve the problems and nuisances of city life? Because if you live in San Francisco, you can probably find it. As reported by Fast Company, with the mid-2009 launch of DataSF.org, Bay-area Californians can now pour over information on everything from parking spaces to local fires, from water quality at beaches to the demographics of city employees. Not only is the information freely available, it is also posted in formats that can be read by computers. And if computers can manipulate the data, it can be handily whittled into city-enhancing iPhone apps. The trend toward urban open-data initiatives is flourishing. Examples abound suggesting that by providing constituents with the raw material to address concerns and irritations of city living, they will find ways of shaping it into tools that can alleviate the cost needed to resolve them internally. San Francisco's initiative, for example, has resulted in at least 30 apps on everything from crime rates to recycling facilities.

HALIFAX- It's that time again... time for Halifax Chebucto's shareholders (us!) to weigh in on how Howard Epstein and his NDP have been representing our riding. Featured speakers for the evening include the Ecology Action Centre's Jen Powley and Mark Lasanowski (also a Spacing Atlantic contributor). As the Sustainable Transportation Coordinator and the Transportation Issues Committee Chair for the centre, respectively, they will be addressing issues regarding transportation and the environment, as they pertain to Halifax, and discussing possible solutions. Megan Leslie, Halifax's Member of Parliament, will ...

HALIFAX - On Thursday, March 25, the Chronicle Herald and the Greater Halifax Partnership presented a sold-out luncheon talk by Carol Coletta, CEO of CEOs for Cities, on the topic of cities as engines of economic prosperity. CEOs for Cities describes itself as “a national cross-sector network of urban leaders from the civic, business, academic and philanthropic sectors dedicated to building and sustaining the next generation of great American cities”, and Ms. Coletta undoubtedly demonstrates a forward-thinking and conscientious approach to urban issues. She compellingly challenged Richard Florida’s assertions on the economic value of art in cities and rhymed off statistics with the familiarity of someone who obviously crunched the numbers herself. Greatly to her credit, Ms. Coletta had clearly done her homework on Halifax; she was well aware of the region’s post-secondary institutions and it was news to me that Halifax represents 46% of Nova Scotia’s GDP.

HALIFAX - Life in a post-amalgamation world. This seemingly perpetual challenge lingered in the realm of subtext during Wednesday night's public meeting on Halifax Regional Municipality's Governance and District Boundary Review. Poised for completion by Dec 2010, the Review aims to assess and improve our municipal governance structure, looking primarily at the number of electoral districts; their size and boundaries; and the size, number, and scope of power of Community Councils. What this really means: how many councillors should make up Regional Council, what population of HRMers each councillor should represent, and how the geographic structure of their governing authority might shift. Chaired by Mayor Peter Kelly, Wednesday's meeting— the fifth of seven meetings taking place across Community Councils through mid-March — gave HRM residents and representatives of the business community the opportunity to voice their opinions, musings, and concerns about the current governance structure and make a case for change.