It’s been over 10 years since Karen Farbridge left office, technically defeated in the 2014 election by then one-term City Councillor Cam Guthrie. It ended up being an end to her days in elected office, but Farbridge isn’t gone, and she certainly isn’t forgotten, and in the last few weeks she’s been the one doing the remembering with a new series of Substack newsletters about lessons she learned from her career in politics. But what more can she tell us? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #500 – Unfinished Agendas (feat. Karen Farbridge)”
Tag: Mayor
GUELPH POLITICAST #447 – The Strong Mayor Year (feat. Cam Guthrie)
What do you think this year will be remembered for in the annals of Guelph history? Will it be the debate over the Public Space Use Bylaw? Was it the announced closure of the consumption and treatment site downtown? Was it when the mayor re-opened the 2025 budget to try and shave off two-thirds of the proposed levy increase? In any event, all roads lead back to one place, or rather, one person. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #447 – The Strong Mayor Year (feat. Cam Guthrie)”
LIVE BLOG: Mayor’s State of the City for 2023
A lot has changed in the last 10 months since Mayor Cam Guthrie gave his last State of the City. There are a lot of challenges in front of us, but there’s only one question we want answered going into this year’s State of the City speech: What gimmick will Guthrie build his speech around this year? For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s speech, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: Mayor’s State of the City for 2023”
GUELPH POLITICAST #345 – Election Night 2022
You probably know who all the new members of city council and the school board are, but do you know how it all unfolded on Election Night? Preserved for posterity, and for the edification of those who might have otherwise been busy on Monday night, we’re going to replay nearly two hours of non-stop political nerdiness as we counted all the votes as they rolled. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #345 – Election Night 2022”
ELECTION RESULTS: Resounding Re-Election for Guthrie, 5 New Councillors
The results of the 2022 Guelph Municipal Election were predictable in some ways, but really quite surprising in others. Among the especially notable surprises is that while nine incumbents were running for re-election, only eight of them are coming back to the council table in the new term. As for those five new councillors, who are they exactly? Let’s go through the returns below! Continue reading “ELECTION RESULTS: Resounding Re-Election for Guthrie, 5 New Councillors”
CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – William Albabish, Mayor
“I am running for mayor of Guelph because I believe that we can do better. This city has had enough of high taxes, unaffordable living, failing infrastructure, petty theft crime, and more. I want to make sure that the city is a place where everyone feels welcome and has an opportunity to succeed. I want us to be a city where people are proud of their community and feel connected with each other.” Continue reading “CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – William Albabish, Mayor”
CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – Danny Drew, Mayor
“I am running for head of council so that I can help get us on a better path as a society: Where we all share the whole economic pie instead of giving most of it to a few corporations, leaving crumbs for the rest of us. One that leads to real environmental sustainability. To long overdue justice for indigenous peoples, as well as other people of colour.” Continue reading “CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – Danny Drew, Mayor”
CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – Shelagh McFarlane, Mayor
“Because Guelph needs a “Mayor” & we don’t have one. We have a “head of Council” under oath to THE CITY STATE & we have a GLOBAL MAYOR working for the World Economic Forum. Neither position works for us, in case you haven’t noticed.” Continue reading “CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – Shelagh McFarlane, Mayor”
GUELPH POLITICAST #337 – An Election Preview!
While there will be council business to discuss in a couple of weeks, the main thrust of local political issues lately can be summed up in one word: “Election.” The municipal election takes place here, and in municipalities across Ontario, on October 24. Nominations closed nearly two weeks ago, so the ballots are set, and all that’s left is the vetting, which begins with this week’s episode of this podcast. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #337 – An Election Preview!”
Half-Dozen Choices for the Next Mayor of Guelph
For the longest time it looked like Cam Guthrie was going to run unopposed this election, but in the last week something happened. Guthrie filed his papers to run for re-election way back on May 3, the second day that candidates could submit their nomination, and suddenly, this week, there were five competitors for the role. Who are these new faces that want to the head of Guelph city council? Continue reading “Half-Dozen Choices for the Next Mayor of Guelph”









