03 May 2009

Mayor for 31 Years



88 year old Hazel McCallion, mayor of Mississauga, the 6th largest city in Canada. She recieved 92% of the vote last election, and is in her 11th term.

Regrets? "Transportation was not a basis for our development, unfortunately, and we are now struggling to provide a major transportation system."

2 comments:

Cincinnati NAMjA said...

These are words to live by. I hope that Cincinnati is listening.

Mark Miller said...

Good one Mike! But I don't think most people will get the joke.

Say the words "Three Mile Island" and the average American doesn't think of a place, but a nuclear disaster. Likewise, to the average Canadian, the word "Mississauga" doesn't conjure a city, but Canada's worst rail disaster.

In the 40's the whole place was pristine farmland. People fled there from big city problems in Toronto, and Mississauga incorporated as a town in 1968, and then as a city in 1974. They are basically Canada's poster child for rampant sprawl.

The mayor's tongue had to be practically poking a hole in her cheek with her comments about public transportation. Their reliance on buses and Toronto's regional rail system is one of the main reasons that they are debt-free with $700 million in reserves.