August 19, 2010 - 11:48 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Yesterday I stumbled on Frances Bula’s hidden online gem about Mike Magee, the Chief of Staff to Mayor Gregor Robertson.
I think it is a pretty interesting look at the personality that the Mayor seems to trust more than any other (OK, maybe Amy his wife pulls ahead).
Magee is an enigma in many ways - at one time a star athlete that played hockey for the Blackhawks at the Chicago Forum in a preseason game, he has shifted pretty comfortably into his second career stream.
But what strikes me is the sentiment behind those that have surrounded Gregor Robertson for many years, REGARDLESS of whether you identify with all of their ideals and beliefs or not.
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October 1, 2009 - 3:03 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
It is time for the Mayor to take a national lead on afforadable housing.
The City of Vancouver’s resolution at the UBCM convention urging the provincial and federal government to develop and contribute to a National Affordable Housing Strategy received widespread support and passed easily. Long-term, sustainable funding – as in a consistent line item in both budgets – is a necessity, and it must begin with the federal government. A 2002 report on housing policy for Canada’s cities of the future by the Canadian Policy Research Network unequivocally states that “there is no escaping the need for significant direct federal expenditure.”
This is very smart positioning for Gregor Robertson, who has an opportunity to become a national spokesperson on behalf of the big city mayors towards getting the issue back onto the federal government’s radar (particularly with an election that is still very much a possibility within a couple of weeks – today’s motion of non confidence will be defeated, but Harper’s poison pill is coming, folks).
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