London City Council

:"London, England was governed by the London County Council from 1889 until 1965"

London City Council is the governing body of the city of London, Ontario, Canada.

Composition

One councillor represents each of the 14 city wards. London also has a four-member Board of Control and a mayor, elected city-wide, resulting in a 19-member city council.

The Board of Control, which deals with personnel and financial matters generally, makes recommendations to the city council, recommendations which can be altered, amended, rejected or endorsed by a simple majority vote of council.

City Council meets in London City Hall at 300 Dufferin Avenue, adjacent to Victoria Park and the London Life Insurance Company.

Recent Reform

Before November 2006, the London city council had 14 councillors, 2 from each of the 7 former wards.

Background

The composition and structure of city council was the subject of two questions on the 2003 election ballot, an action initiated by Ward 3 Councillor Fred Tranquilli and his discussion paper, "A Better Way", which proposed a smaller city council -- 10 wards with one councillor per ward, plus the mayor elected city wide and the elimination of Board of Control for an 11-member city council.

While the yes votes prevailed, the overall voter turnout was less than 50 per cent and according to the provisions of the "Municipal Act", the referendum results were not binding.

When the council decided to maintain the status quo, a grassroots citizen's activist group, Imagine London, appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to change the ward composition to 14 wards defined by communities of interest in the city, including a separate ward for the downtown core.

UWO law librarian/ media professor Sam Trosow argued the case at the OMB for Imagine London arguing that smaller wards based on communities of interest would result in more "effective representation" for the electorate. This argument is based on a 1991 Supreme Court of Canada decision involving electoral boundaries in the Province of Saskatchewan (often cited as the "Carter" case).

The OMB ruled for the Imagine London petitioners in late December 2005 and while the city sought leave to appeal the OMB decision to Superior Court "via" a full-day hearing in January 2006, leave to appeal was denied when Justice McDermid released his decision on February 28, 2006.

Council members

Mayor

*Anne Marie DeCicco-Best

Board of Control

*Tom Gosnell (Deputy Mayor and Budget Chief)
* Gina Barber
* Bud Polhill
* Gord Hume

City Council

* WARD 1: Roger Caranci
* WARD 2: Bill Armstrong
* WARD 3: Bernie MacDonald
* WARD 4: Stephen Orser
* WARD 5: Joni Baechler
* WARD 6: Nancy Ann Branscombe
* WARD 7: Walter G. Lonc
* WARD 8: Paul Hubert
* WARD 9: Rev. Susan Eagle
* WARD 10: Paul Van Meerbergen
* WARD 11: David Winninger
* WARD 12: Harold Usher
* WARD 13: Judy Bryant
* WARD 14: Cheryl Miller

ee also

*List of mayors of London, Ontario

External links

* [http://www.london.ca/_private/CityCouncil/CityCouncil.htm Official website]