Councillor David Shiner in Mayor’s Ford inner circle
While Councillor Shelley Carroll to make her own way
Kris Scheuer
(Written Dec 4 for Town Crier)
Councillor Shelley Carroll.
There’s been a reversal of fortunes for North York representatives Shelley Carroll and David Shiner on city council.
Shiner, who complained of being sidelined under former mayor David Miller, was chosen in early December by Mayor Rob Ford to be on the 13-member executive team.
Meanwhile, Carroll who was budget chief and a member of Miller’s inner circle, was not among the new mayor’s picks for key council roles.
Although Carroll does not paint herself as an opposition member to Ford, she said those with differing views can still have influence at city hall.
“You have to ask the opposition to Miller if it had an impact, but I’d say very much so,” Carroll said. “You could be outside the mayor’s circle and have an impact and oppose things and amend (proposals).”
As in previous terms, her role will be to look at how any new city initiatives impact her ward, Carroll said.
“The first thing is to protect programs and services in my ward and anything in the city that’s a benefit to my ward,” she said Dec. 2 before council met for the first session of the new term.
“We haven’t had a council session yet,” she said so she’ll see how well the new council works together.
“If people calm down and get back in a groove of real consideration, then I think we can do a lot of what Rob Ford proposes in a way that works globally for all of us,” said Carroll, who is considered a centrist councillor.
Meanwhile, Shiner couldn’t be happier with Ford’s approach so far.
“After the disaster of seven years with David Miller, people want to see the services they had in North York. They want to be respected and responded to,” said Shiner, a right-wing councillor who ran unsuccessfully for the Progressive Conservative party in the 2007 provincial election.
Shiner said it makes sense that Ford would not recommend any left-wing councillors to serve on his executive as they will just oppose him.
“They are a natural opposition to Rob Ford ever since he was a councillor.”
Kris Scheuer 