Josh Morgan is the Deputy Mayor of the City of London. He is an active member of the London community and was first elected to London City Council as Councillor for Ward 7 on October 27, 2014. He was re-elected to a second term on October 22, 2018 with support from 75% of voters. He was appointed as the Special Advisor to the Mayor on budget during the 2016-2019 Multi-year Budget and was formally appointed as Council’s first Multi-Year Budget Chair for the 2020-2023 budget. He also serves as Chair of Council’s Audit Committee, Chair of Council’s Governance Working Group, and an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Josh has formerly served on the London Public Library Board as Chair, as President of the Western Fair District Programming Council (and Member of the Board of Governors), as a Director of The Raceway Corporation, as a member of the Museum London Board, and is a Past President of the Oakridge Optimists.
Twitter: @JoshMorganLDN
Instagram: @JoshMorganLDN
Facebook: facebook.com/JoshMorganLDN
Podcast
Deadly Roulette by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3625-deadly-roulette
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Our conversation begins with.
- The first part begins with you, as we introduce you as the guest. Who are you? What is your day job (if not a full time politician)? How do you engage the community? Why did you run for council? What drives you?
- Who are your people? If you represent a ward/whole community what does it look like (urban, suburban, rural)? Who are your constituents – what do they do for a living, what are the issues you see in your inbox or talking to people week in and out.
- New role as Deputy Mayor? What does that mean?
- Describe your municipality as a whole. Paint a picture for someone who has not been to your town or community before or has only seen it as a sign on the side of a road. What is working, and what is not, what are you building towards?
- What is your region, what is in common/different between your community and your neighbourhood? Most municipalities are a part of some upper tier government, how does your community fit into that upper tier?
- Finally, how does your community and constituents fit into SW Ontario as a whole? Why should someone in Kitchener or London (as examples) care about your community? What should a Torontonian know about your community and why it is important?
The second half of the show is a bit more political/policy related to your community. We may not get to all of these topics and this might not be the order we discuss them in.
- COVID Impacts on London?
- Budget Impacts?
- London does a multi-year budget. How did that get impacted? <- Wonkieness alert we spend some time on this!
- What would we be talking about if COVID didn’t happen?
- London growth and potential challenges of ex-urban middlesex communities.
- Growth in Middlesex County vs London – Is there enough regional governance to manage it?
- Affordable Housing vs NIMBY
- Thoughts on the Provincial Budget?
- Where do you want London to be in 10 years? Challenges/Opportunities
- Magic policy wand – change one thing, what do you change and why?
SW Ontario Council Watcher 