Introducing the new and improved Council Scorecard

City Hall Watcher #350: Presenting a new and very nerdy subscriber-exclusive feature providing interactive access to 15+ years of Council vote data and analysis

Hey there! A big milestone today. Three hundred and fifty weeks ago, I typed these words: “Hello. Thanks for subscribing to City Hall Watcher. Let’s see what’s going on at City Hall this week.”

If I had known at the time how many of you would subscribe to this newsletter — and how much I’d enjoy this gig — I probably would have tried for something a bit more flowery and exciting, but alas.

Still, thank you for coming on this ride with me. Today, the ride takes a whole new turn. I’m a web developer now, I guess. For subscribers, I am launching City Hall Watcher’s FIRST-EVER full-blown web application. It’s incredibly nerdy. It’s incredibly powerful. Just like all of you.

— Matt Elliott

graphicmatt@gmail.com / Archives / Subscribe

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At long last, the Council Scorecard levels up

🗣️ TL;DR: The Council Scorecard is now available at CouncilScorecard.ca.

Your subscriber code for the month is available on the subscriber page.

Way back in 2011, I put together a rudimentary Google Sheet tracking the results of the Toronto Council votes I deemed significant. It wasn’t much to look at — though it was colourful, at least — but it turned out to be quite useful.

I knew I was onto something when I watched a city councillor, during a meeting, pore over their own data, not looking particularly happy about what they were seeing. Later, I heard from staff in the office of former mayor Rob Ford that they were using the Scorecard to plan how to win votes. (They turned out not to be very good at winning votes, but I don’t think that’s the Scorecard’s fault.)

I’ve kept up the spreadsheets in the years since, but it’s always felt pretty janky. I’ve long wanted to create something more dynamic, usable and comprehensive. I’m happy to say I finally have.

Introducing the new and improved Council Scorecard

The new Scorecard contains all the same data from the old spreadsheet. You can quickly see the latest votes and how councillors voted in a basic grid, with green checkmarks for yes votes and red x’s for no votes. Don’t mess with a classic, right?

But this Scorecard also lets you:

🗳️ View any councillor’s voting record. Click on a councillor’s name and you’ll see their profile page, with a scrollable list of all their significant votes this term. You can also search for votes or filter by things like vote type. If you ever wanted to generate a quick list of all the things Councillor Stephen Holyday has voted against this term, the Scorecard has you covered.

🔬 Analyze trends. Each vote in our database is now properly categorized, so you can see how councillors are voting across categories. It’s a good way to understand Councillor Brad Bradford’s opposition — he’s supported the mayor on a lot of housing items, but on financial matters, there’s little agreement.

📊 Compare councillors with maps and stats. The Map page includes an interactive ward map, coloured by the current level of support for Mayor Olivia Chow. The Leaderboard page includes even more nerdy stats, letting you compare councillors across categories and look at how their support for the mayor compares to the support the mayor got in their ward in the 2023 by-election.

But this isn’t just a Scorecard for the present — it’s also about looking back at the years gone by.

Blast from the past

I have brought all the data from four previous Scorecard spreadsheets into this app. Additionally, all 450+ votes have now been validated against the official Council minutes, cleaning up a few instances over the years where my clumsy fingers caused some errors.

The historic data means you can:

👤 Head down memory lane and check out the voting records of 50+ former councillors like Doug Ford — I heard he got a different job after he left City Hall — or Neethan Shan, who is currently seeking to return to Council as part of the upcoming by-election in Scarborough.

📉 Compare data across terms for multi-term councillors. For councillors who have been here for a while, their profile pages include a “Career” tab. Click into the detailed analysis, and you’ll see a handy line showing how their support changed across the tenure of various mayors. Some councillors, like Councillor Michael Thompson, have a pretty flat chart over the years. Others, like Councillor Josh Matlow, show a wilder ride.

You can view maps and leaderboards for previous Council terms, too.

Let’s go deeper

For current councillors, their profile pages also include a section with key demographic data pulled from the most recent census.

And for extra fun, I’ve also added a section looking at their most recent electoral performance — and the results of the 2023 mayoral by-election in their ward. You can remind yourself how close a veteran like Councillor Frances Nunziata came to losing her seat, or how Councillor Amber Morley muscled out incumbent councillor Mark Grimes, but then how her ward did not really turn out strong support for Chow a few months later.

📣 I am looking to add more data to the demographics section, especially — if possible — related to travel modes and commutes. If anyone has a lead on ward-by-ward data about how people get around the city, let me know.

On-the-go data

While I tend to think the best way to use the Council Scorecard is on a big desktop screen, the app has also been designed to work on our tiny little mobile screens. Instead of a grid, you can swipe through votes or councillors.

It’s quick and easy to do things like:

🔎 Search every vote in the database across multiple terms. Trying to remember which councillors voted to remove the bike lanes on Jarvis Street? Or which councillors joined former TTC chair Karen Stintz’s revolt against the Rob Ford subways-subways-subways plan? Or which councillors wanted to tear down the Gardiner Expressway? Just run a search.

🗺️ Map every vote. Every vote in the database has been mapped, even those that took place when there were 44 wards. Clicking on a vote will reveal a geographic view of who supported the mayor on the issue, and who opposed.

Sharing is caring

While most of this app is intended to be exclusive to newsletter subscribers, the permalinks to the vote results are totally public — and easily shareable.

Drop a link to a past vote in a text message, a Slack channel, or Bluesky, and users will see a quick preview of the vote result.

Getting access

Ongoing access to the new Council Scorecard is included with your City Hall Watcher subscription.

• 👉 To get the current ACCESS CODE, visit this page.

• 👉 Then go to CouncilScorecard.ca to check it out.

As is my custom with this newsletter, I am not opposed to some friendly sharing. If you have someone in your life who you think would enjoy this, flipping them the code so they can take a look is encouraged. All I ask is that you recommend they subscribe if they like what they see.

This new app comes with some additional hosting and bandwidth costs, so any additional support will help keep things sustainable.

What’s next?

This is a very new project. With the help of some great beta testers, I think I’ve squashed most of the nastiest bugs, but there could be others. If you see an error or UI issue, let me know.

I’m developing some additional features as I write this. Stay tuned for an enhanced LEADERBOARD with additional categories and a VOTE BUDDY feature that reveals which councillors have the most similar voting records. (I think there will be a VOTE NEMESIS feature too.)

I’m looking for additional ideas, though — get in touch if you’ve got something that you think might help extend the analysis.

I’d also like to know if you think there are votes missing from our database — from this term or before. Feel free to suggest additions.

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More from Matt: on testing out a more direct kind of democracy

📰 For the Star last week, I wrote about Councillor Chris Moise’s experiment with direct democracy. He’s one of just two councillors who have tried out participatory budgeting to determine which projects get funded. It’s a fascinating alternative to more top-down models for decision-making, and it’s led to some cool projects across Toronto Centre.

After I published, Moise sent over a statement about one of the more controversial participatory budgeting projects he’s implemented: the sidewalk decals reminding cyclists and scooterists to walk their wheels.

Here’s what he had to say:

My constituents asked me to take action because we've all seen and heard of too many near-misses when people ride bikes on busy downtown sidewalks.

Councillors can and do use the City’s logo in the products that they produce in their capacity as a Councillor. I consulted with City staff in Transportation Services, who had no objections.

Toronto residents have the right to know the work and initiatives that their respective Councillor is doing for them. In politics, criticism comes with the territory, but no one has disagreed with the fact that these bike decals can help make our sidewalks safer for pedestrians.

After we rolled out our bike decals, the City decided to do their own.

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The week at Toronto City Hall

MONDAY: 👉 The Corporations Nominating Panel met to consider potential names for the Toronto Seniors Housing Corp and the CreateTO Board.

🎢 The Exhibition Place Board also met. They approved a new five-year deal with Coca-Cola, making Coke products the official fizzy waters for the Ex for the next while.

🏚️ The Preservation Board met. Rosedale homeowner Matthew McGrath appeared before the committee to make his case for the brick wall he’s been building along his family’s property.

Via City of Toronto staff report

City staff say the wall doesn’t conform to the rules of the North Rosedale Heritage Conservation District. The North Rosedale Residents’ Association also doesn’t like it.

The committee ultimately decided they don’t want to see another brick in the wall either. They voted to tell Mr. McGrath to tear down this wall. Council will have the final say soon.

🚇✅ The TTC’s Audit & Risk Management Committee is also meeting this afternoon. Their agenda includes a peer review report by the International Association of Public Transport, which would be interesting reading. But alas, staff are recommending that the report stay confidential. Transit expert Steve Munro doesn’t think that makes much sense. (One notable line from the public UTIP presentation: “Operational speed for the streetcar is 30 percent lower compared to the global average.” Seems less than ideal.)

💰 The Debenture Committee also met. They approved the issuance of $200 million worth of new debt. The City got an interest rate of 3.9%. The money will be split three ways: $156 million will go to replacing buses, $19 million will go to the TTC’s signal systems, and $26 million will go toward cycling infrastructure.

TUESDAY: Rosh Hashanah. No meetings scheduled.

WEDNESDAY: Rosh Hashanah continues. No meetings scheduled.

THURSDAY: 🏘️ The Planning & Housing Committee meets. The committee will consider a staff report on the plans for Major Transit Station Areas. After a weirdly long delay, most of the City’s plans were approved by Minister of Municipal Affairs & Housing Rob Flack last month, with a few tweaks that the City’s Planning division doesn’t seem too fussed about.

The approval also means the inclusionary zoning is in effect for the first time in Toronto, with some of the station areas requiring developers to set aside a maximum of 5% of units for affordable housing, for at least 25 years.

This report is very preliminary. It won’t even go before Council for approval. Instead, staff say they’ll be bringing forward the necessary rezonings next year, in late spring or early summer. Expect fireworks then.

🅿️ The Toronto Parking Authority’s Audit & Risk Management Committee meets. They’ll tackle their 2026 budget submission. Toronto Today’s Aidan Chamandy has a good summary of the financial scenario for the Bike Share service.

🏆 Bid Award Panel contract award of the week: $3.6 million for improvements to Market Lane Park.

FRIDAY: 🚧 The Infrastructure & Environment Committee meets. Some highlights:

• A staff report suggests City crews have no choice but to drive their trucks on the grass in 186 parks to pick up garbage. Reasons cited include “remote bin placement” and “high pedestrian and cyclist usage on paved pathways.”

• A staff report finds that Yonge & Eglinton meets all the criteria for a pedestrian scramble, but analysis finds that adding the scramble would actually result in increased delays for pedestrians. It’s a strange report.

• A report on tree maintenance finds again that the City is no longer seeing significant savings from outsourcing operations. Staff are recommending increasing the number of in-sourced crews.

• Staff are proposing a pilot project in 2026 that will subsidize the cost of rain barrels for homeowners who want to have a barrel of fun.

• After the matter was deferred by Council in June, staff are again recommending loosening the rules for so-called “free-floating car share.” The cars don’t actually float. Instead, this is about car share services where you can pick up a car at an on-street spot and end your trip at a different spot. “Clearly, the free-floating car-share service has been embraced by residents of Toronto and increasing the service to other areas of the city in a phased approach will ensure the program's continued success,” the report says.

🤑 The Toronto Investment Board meets. The City’s accountants report that the $2.7 billion Sinking Fund declined below 1.1% in Q2, while the $6.3 billion Long-Term Fund saw a 0.1% decline. Both were below benchmark.

NEXT WEEK: Mayor Olivia Chow’s Executive Committee meets on Monday. The agenda includes a budget variance report forecasting a $105.4 million deficit at year-end, attributed to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s federal government coming up short on funds needed to cover the cost of sheltering asylum claimants in Toronto shelters.

“The City is engaged in continued discussions with federal officials on this matter, while investigating options to address this specific revenue shortfall,” the report says. To be continued.

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City Hall Watcher #350

Thanks for reading! Please take some time to check out the new Scorecard and let me know what you think. This is a new frontier for me, and I’m sure there will be some wrong turns here and there. I’m open to any and all feedback.