In my time using my Twitter account to cover local political events and council meetings live, I have been the one posting words next to the Twitter handle with my name and my picture. By necessity, that all changed this past November when the 2017 budget process unfolded on consecutive Wednesdays. I needed someone to step in and fill the void, and a desperate call out out to Guelph Redditors delivered me the man who kept Politico in the game. His name is Bradley Breedon, and he is the guest on this week's Guelph Politicast.
It seemed appropriate given the time of year, and the conclusion of the project I hired him to do, to invite Bradley into the studio for an exit interview of sorts. It's also an occasion to chat about the job, the work we've done this year, and the budget process itself, which was supposed to be the toughest in recent memory but actually seemed to sail through debate with relative ease. The 2016 budget passed barely after two nights of meetings at nearly eight hours each; the 2017 budget passed unanimously in less than seven hours. So what happened?
That's one of the questions I talk to Bradley about as we look back at his experience live-blogging city council for Guelph Politico. We look back at the process, the personalities, and how the practical nature of governance compares to the political science that Bradley studies at the University of Guelph. Bradley was essential to Politico's success this year, and I'm grateful for his commitment, just as I'm grateful to the small but dedicated group of patrons that support this site and allowed me to pay Bradley to cover those budget meetings.
So having said all that, let's put a ribbon on the year by talking about the fun and unexpected pleasures of transcribing city council meetings in 140-character servings...
A programming note: there will be no Guelph Politicast next week as we make the switch-over from posting the weekly podcast on Wednesday as opposed to Friday. I have a lot of really great ideas for guests coming up in the new year so stay tuned for more great Guelph Politicasts to come in 2017.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.
No comments:
Post a Comment