Five hours after the council meeting began, the main library project was back on track. After a couple of months of mixed messages and confusion, the library advocates were pleased with the definitive 9-4 decision to proceed with a new main library and the hard cap price tag of $67.1 million. But not all voices were heard.
In the ever expansive quest to maximize our local democracy, many us wonder if all those correspondences at the back of the agenda are given due consideration. A lot of the people who appear at council can be classified as "frequent flyers," people who know how to delegate, and do it often. But they're not the only ones that speak on an issue.
For people unable to come to council because of work or family reasons, or for people who might have a bit of stage freight or another sort of social anxiety, being able to write your thoughts down and send them to the clerk is a good second (or even first) option. Still, it feels like we weigh these two types of engagement differently. The live delegates get reported on, but do the equally engaged and enlightened writers?
That changes this week. On this edition of the podcast, you will hear a reading of some of the numerous, and occasionally lengthy, written submissions for Monday's council meetings. Some of them are a short couple of sentences, others are highly detailed, but you'll notice that they're all in favour. We're always making a case the there needs to be more listening in modern political discourse, so let's do just that.
So let's here from you, the people, on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast!
Do you want to know how it all turned out? Recap the city council meeting here, or subscribe to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet every Tuesday and Friday here.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here, or download them on your favourite podcast app at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and Spotify.
Also, when you subscribe to the Guelph Politicast channel and you will also get an episode of Open Sources Guelph every Monday, and an episode of End Credits every Friday.
End Credits #333 - March 20, 2024 (Love Lies Bleeding)
GUELPH POLITICAST #411 - Raw Audio News
Open Sources Guelph #462 - March 14, 2024
End Credits #332 - March 13, 2024 (Perfect Days)
GUELPH POLITICAST #410 – Buses and Trains Wanted!
Open Sources Guelph #461 - March 7, 2024
End Credits #331 - March 6, 2024 (Dune: Part Two)
GUELPH POLITICAST #409 – Advanced Repeat
Open Sources Guelph #460 - February 29, 2024
End Credits #330 - February 28, 2024 (Drive-Away Dolls)
GUELPH POLITICAST #408 - Greg Dorval Has Things to Say
Open Sources Guelph #459 - February 22, 2024
End Credits #329 - February 21, 2024 (Maestro)
GUELPH POLITICAST #407 - Mike's Homes
Open Sources Guelph #458 - February 15, 2024
End Credits #Repeat - February 14, 2024
GUELPH POLITICAST #406 – The Rest of 2023 at Council
Open Sources Guelph #Repeat - Febraury 8, 2024
End Credits #Repeat - February 7, 2024
GUELPH POLITICAST #405 – The State of the City 2023
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