Redefining Windsor Politically: the Ward Boundary Review

On Thursday I attended an open house and lecture session on the City of Windsor's Ward Boundary Review with many other local Windsor bloggers and community enthusiasts, including Chris Holt (scaledown.ca), Andrew Foot (internationalmetropolis.com), Justin Langlois (brokencitylab.org), Adriano Ciotoli (windsoreats.com), Denny Timm (windsoryouth.com) and I believe, the Mayor of Monmouth (themayorofmonmouth.blogspot.com).

The purpose of this open house was to engage citizens of Windsor in offering opinions on the upcoming reform of the ward system - in simpler terms, what areas city councillors represent, and how their jobs can be more efficient (efficient representation) while retaining or improving the quality of representation for their constituents.  Consultant, and former UWaterloo professor Dr. Robert J. Williams presented arguments for each of the potential ward changes he developed, and then those in attendance were offered the chance to ask questions and provide feedback.

Some argued in favour of a higher numbered ward system (8 or 10 wards) where specific neighbourhoods (basically) would each have their own council member, while others argued that the current system of five wards should be retained, while adjusting the boundaries to reflect population movements to the 'burbs.  Photos of the proposed ward change options below...




 

4 Ward System - Reformed 5 Ward System



 

8 Ward System - 10 Ward System






The City and the consultant are looking for opinions about the proposed changes, and even if you know nothing about this sort of stuff, it's worth letting them know which way you'd be better served as a citizen in Windsor.  Lots more information on this topic can be found at this link on the City of Windsor's website:

http://www.citywindsor.ca/003030.asp