Politics: Municipal Edition Part 2

Our role in Municipal Politics as active citizens who give a shit.

Now that we’ve got a basic idea of what our Municipal Government does and what the heck politics is (if you haven’t read it, I suggest you go back and read last week’s Politics: Municipal Edition Part 1) we are ready to move on to the question of how we, tiny little political tadpoles that we are, influence any of this.

Your next speed date partner is…

Before this moment, I never thought about my relationship with my city as actually requiring the normal things a relationship needs to function in a healthy way. Things like attention and communication. Committing vocally to what you want, out-loud? It’s like we need to actually pay attention and want to be in a healthy relationship with our city or something! Um, hello, why would I do that when it’s so much easier (and more fun) to passive-aggressively bitch about issues from my couch?

The serious conclusion I’ve reached is that, unfortunately, the City can’t read our minds (yet) on what we want.

As old-fashioned as it might seem, I fear the only solution is to physically have a conversation with the People in Charge of our City to let them know what we want and why. Which brings us to the two main questions of today’s post:

1. What do you want (municipally speaking)?

2. What humans influence, or are in charge of, Question #1?

1. What do you want (municipally speaking)?

The next annoying discovery I made, is that you gotta know what you want in this relationship. I think a lot of people (myself included) get stuck at this point for various reasons. Maybe some city issues hold as much interest for you as watching paint dry; maybe you’re scared of advocating for the wrong thing or taking a public misstep; perhaps you’re overwhelmed at the sheer quantity of city issues to choose from. Maybe you’re just feeling lazy AF and want someone else to decide what you’re having for dinner tonight. My gut instinct here is to apply the same principle you would use for choosing an extracurricular activity or your next BFF: choose the one you’re most passionate or excited about and focus on that. If you’re not excited to stay engaged and up-to-date on your Municipal topic of choice, then your likelihood of burnout (or ghosting) rises exponentially. I know, it’s tedious and so uncool to be sincere about something, particularly in public. Maybe it’s embarrassing for you to admit out-loud that “Sidewalks” might be the Municipal subject that really turns you on. But someone’s gotta deal with the sidewalks, and if you love them IT SHOULD BE YOU!

So: first step, choose your One True Municipal Love (or maybe it’s your One True Municipal Frenemy). And I’d say, don’t be afraid to date around. Maybe you even find that you’ve got enough vigor for TWO municipal loves, in which case – you do you! Love that journey for you.

If you’re feeling stuck on where to start, AUMA has a great list of potential Municipal areas for you to choose from. I suggest also maybe thinking about city things that drive you bananas. For example:

• Does the sudden ending of a sidewalk (or lack of sidewalks) baffle you?

• Are you outraged by Jaywalking fines or the fact that “A person shall not ride any animal on a sidewalk” (Bylaw 5590: 53 and 59)? I mean, someone should have had the decency to tell you that before you bought a miniature pony for your four-year-old!

• Do you wish there were more dog parks downtown, because they’re all 14/10 good bois who deserve it?

• Does the slowness and irregularity of public transit in Edmonton set you into a deep rage of burning frustration? (Instead of “Road Rage” I call this “Transit Rage” and I suffer from it every time I need to take public transit to get anywhere at a specific time).

• Are you like, maybe humans looking for shelter (homelessness and housing, city budget $11 million) should get more funding than the Police Seized Vehicle Storage Lot ($17.506 million)?

I’d wager that there’s at least one Municipal area that holds some real interest for you*. Get yourself a piece of paper, right that thing down, circle it, and move on to the next step which is asking…

2. What humans are in charge of, or directly influence, your Municipal area of interest?

For example, let’s say you choose to focus on taking some of that Edmonton Police Service (EPS) funding, and getting it moved over to social development issues like homelessness, mental health, and women’s shelters. So who are the specific people that have power over the EPS budget? Depending on the municipal area you’ve chosen, this step might take some digging. From my research, our EPS list might look something like this:

• Edmonton Police Commission: This independent civic board supposedly “oversees” the EPS, and definitely hires the Chief of Police (which seems to happen every few years). 9 citizens and 2 City Councillors serve on this board and you can find their names here.

• School Board Trustees: they get to decide on the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program, which takes up more than $1 million of EPS budget every year. We have 7 elected Catholic School District Trustees and 9 elected Public School District Trustees who vote on these decisions. You can find a list of the Public School wards and names here, and Catholic Board of Trustees here.

• “Community Standards and Neighbourhoods” division of Citizen Services: Edmonton Peace Officers (like Transit Peace Officers) are actually hired and under the City of Edmonton budget. According to this City Government PDF, the Deputy City Manager of Citizen Services is Rob Smyth, and the Director, Community Standards Peace Officers is John Simmons.

• Mayor and City Councillors: they get to vote and make decisions on the City Budget, which includes how much goes to EPS. You can find their wards and names here.

Okay, we’ve got our Municipal Love/Frenemy and a list of real human names. Now what?

You’d think that the most effective way to communicate with these people would be to vaguely complain about it on Facebook (at least based on popular choice). But – surprise! – chances are your Councilor/Board member is not sitting down on Friday nights with notepad in hand to contemplatively read through your Facebook rants.

Just like any other important relationship in your life, you’ve gotta actually talk to specific people in the form of a dialogue (i.e. you talk, they talk, you talk, and so forth). The good news is that, just like other relationships in your life, there are a multitude of ways to effectively communicate with the Municipal powers that be:

• In-person: ask your Councilor/Person in Charge out for coffee. Show up at a Council or Board Meeting (which are all publicly watchable on YouTube these days, FYI). There are few things more influential than a face-to-face conversation to show that you are serious about shit.

• Pen Pal: sending personalized emails is a great choice. Heck, go old-school and mail them physical letters! I’d say the key here is to make sure it’s a real, ongoing, back-and-forth conversation, like an actual Pen Pal. Note, this route might mean you’re dealing with a staff person (who handles the Manager or Councilor’s Inbox) rather than the person in charge. Writer beware!

• Become the person in charge, or help someone else get there! Frustrated with your current representatives not answering your neatly penned letters in a timely manner? Edmonton’s next General Election will be held on Monday, October 18, 2021. Which is great timing, since it gives you time to build a campaign, fundraise some money, and get a-door knockin’! Your options include either running for City Council (which consists of a Mayor and 12 elected City Councillors), or running as a School District Trustee (we have 7 elected Catholic School District Trustees and 9 elected Public School District Trustees). Once elected, you have a 4-year term to get in there and advocate for significant change!

• Volunteer to be on a Board: Apply to be a citizen on a key board affecting your issue of choice. Recruitment for new board members takes place every January!

• Start or join a group: This is a great option if you need an educated community to point you in the right direction. For example, Edmonton’s Black Lives Matter chapter has an active Instagram (@blm_yeg) where they post great resources and let you know how you can get involved and support. Other great groups to join/follow include Parity YEG, Paths for People, and Free Transit Edmonton. Many of these groups are on the constant lookout for volunteers, donors, committee members, and help with protests, blockades, boycotts, lobbying and advocacy.

• Once in awhile it’s also totally ok to just rant on Twitter. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Like any relationship, and this is the part I find tough, consistency is key. Write it on your calendar that every week you’re going to engage with this new “friend” or frenemy. Make a habit of raising your voice, even if it’s just a little mousy squeak. Because even a tiny squeaky wheel (if it squeaks persistently enough) gets the grease? I mean, I would assume? No tiny wheels were squeaked in the making of this blog post so I’m extrapolating here.

I’m still deciding what my actions of choice will be, and how often. This blog and research is definitely part of it. Would love to hear what your plans are.

*If there are, in fact, no municipal issues that you feel inclined to get involved in, then I’m assuming you also have no complaints AND that there is no room for improvement in your city, because it’s already perfect! Congratulations!