MacDonald

The debate over whether the city should make completing the four-laning of MR35 a priority offers a lesson in what a local government can accomplish — when it has its priorities straight.

The fact an NDP leader was in town this week talking about cutting taxes for small business is a testament to how difficult it's getting to tell where the centre and left is these days in Canadian politics.

Tom Davies Square is a much happier place these days.

After back-to-back provincial and municipal elections, you would think voters in Greater Sudbury would get a respite. Not so much.

Voters in this city are angry. You can hear it in the coffee shops, in the malls, on blogs and social media — people are deeply unhappy with city council and city hall in general.

But it turns out satisfying those concerns only led to new complaints.

Not so long ago, a Liberal government in power for more than a decade and battling several scandals and public fatigue, announced it was fighting a budget deficit by boosting spending.

Since Mayor Marianne Matichuk was elected in 2010, it has been an education for both the public who voted for her, and for the mayor, a first-time politician who clearly had no idea how to make good on her campaign agenda.

When Bartolucci announced his retirement in January 2013, he left a strong campaign narrative for whoever succeeded him. Voters showed they wanted change, but it's not like the former cabinet minister scorched the Earth on his way out the door.

When Sudbury city council voted 12-1 to fire Ontario Ombudsman André Marin a little more than a year ago, no doubt, they felt certain that no matter how much bad press they would have to endure, at least they would be rid of him.