The Old Pol Comes Out In Jeff Leiper

“As a city councillor, I hear concerns about the lack of snow removal, overflowing garbage bins in city parks. Services are getting worse, not better.”

Jeff Leiper, possible mayoral candidate

Services. Leiper is absolutely right. The city should provide good services.

But where was this concern about services during his 12 years as councillor?

What Leiper is doing here is the oldest political trick in municipal politics.

People, for the most part, don’t care that much about politics in general and municipal politics in particular. They don’t care about storm-water sewage tunnels or landfills or zoning (until is affects their home). But they do care about roads, having reliable electricity, good sidewalks, clean water, snow removal, having their garbage picked up and, yes, overflowing refuse bins in parks.

So at election time, politicians become appalled at the low quality of their constituents’ services. Do they care much while they are between elections? Not really. You can’t cut a ribbon on plowing a street (but you can name the snowplow). You can’t cut a ribbon on fixing a pothole. So there is political capital in services at election times. Less so in-between.

Yes, politicians want to give you the best services possible at election time. Then after the election? Poof. Lansdowne 2.0.

Interestingly, missing from Leiper’s list of services needing fixing is roads and their potholes. With autos being the best way to get around town given our broken transit system, potholes are very big and very important.

Also this Leiper quote is interesting.

“I’m worried that the transit in place is not the reliable, convenient, affordable transit that this city needs.”

That’s new? The train hasn’t worked properly since 2019. Hasn’t Leiper been on council all that time? Where was his outrage about that or is it just a given it doesn’t work without massive continuing maintenance to patch design problems?

How affordable does transit need to be? Some councillors on the left want it to be free. Of course, very few things are free and transit is not one of them. ‘Free’ transit comes out of your property taxes. What tax rate is Leiper proposing?

And what is Leiper’s policy on bikes?

So welcome to traditional civic politics. Left or right, the more it changes, the more it stays the same.

Ken Gray

For You:

Leiper Isn’t Mayor Material: BENN

Mayor’s Race: Some Like It Hot: PATTON

The Cold Reality Of Running For Mayor: QUOTABLE

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