POLITICS AS BUSINESS: REVIEW

1
POLITICS AS BUSINESS REVIEW

• Business dominance of city government
• Weak government
• Cost control, competition, choice

2
WEAK GOVERNMENT A CLOSER LOOK

• Administrative strength for
• efficient management of service delivery
• Political weakness
• to limit democratic competition for influence

3
WEAVERS ACCOUNT AND LECTURES

• Social history
• Institutional analysis
• Class analysis

4
REFORM MOVEMENT A CENTURY AGO

• Battle against corruption
• Class struggle Established groups vs upstarts
• Established groups won
• Set the pattern for weak government

5
URBAN CANADA 1871

• Montreal 107,000
• Toronto 56,000
• Halifax 30,000
• Winnipeg 421
• Calgary 0
• Edmonton 0
• Vancouver 0

6
URBAN CANADAS POPULATION

• 1871-1901 650,000 to 1.3 m
• 1901-1921 Tripled to 3.6 m
• Winnipeg 1900-05 42,000 to 72,800
• Winnipeg 1911 128,000
• Edmonton 850 increase, 1901-09

7
TYPICAL MUNICIPAL SERVICES

• No public transportation
• No subsidized housing
• No city planning
• Primitive health services
• No sidewalks or wooden ones
• No public sewerage or water supply
• No fire safety inspection

8
MUNICIPAL PUBLIC SERVICE

• Lacked professionalism independence
• Was corrupt

9
CORRUPTION

• Department equipment, private use
• Selling surplus department materials
• Stealing from animals

• The fixer
• Election fixing
• Vote buying
• Bribing inspectors
• Investing public money for profit
• Nepotism

10
MISMANAGEMENT

• Toronto water system failure
• Winnipeg typhoid epidemic
• Calgary ruinous debt

11
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS

• Accounting procedures
• Modern business management
• Civil service independence, professionalism

12
POLITICAL REFORMS

• Class analysis

• Utility rates
• Petty trade regulation
• Sunday closing laws

13
NEXT INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

• Early reforms limited rights
• Later reforms more subtle

• Limiting effectiveness of representation
• Fragmenting political power