The Mad Hatter's City Council

Most of our 2010 forecast was bang-on: Bear Mountain fell apart. The silly steam clock and toy train planned for the roundabout got scrapped, and there were more big drug busts in Langford. But who cares? That's all ancient history, now.

Above: Stew Young in the mayor's chair 
What lies ahead for Langford? 2011 is the Year of the Great Reckoning -- the year when the bills come due. We know this from the subtle signals of our beloved city council, like the non-stop gnashing of teeth, stamping of feet and screams of "Off with her head!" The omens are troubling, and our outlook is guarded.

Has Mayor Stew Young already lost his mind?

During the last council meeting of 2010, His Worship reportedly spent an hour and fifteen minutes ranting incoherently at two retirees who attended to raise concerns about Transportation Planning the Langford Way.™ Who can resist our Mad Mayor when he's delivering a feature-length monologue of cranky bluster, mostly about his love for himself and his disgust for anyone who disagrees with him? Meanwhile, a couple dozen councilors, developers, staffers and residents looked on in amazement or desperately wished they were elsewhere. For 75 minutes. AWKWARD.

Our panel of esteemed political science experts has one question: Who DOES this at a city council meeting? Seriously - in Canada? It's possible that in places like Corruptograd, the Republic of Absurdistan, the mayor gets to lord over his fiefdom with this sort of compulsive arrogance. But in North America, such embarrassing displays of rank intimidation are (thankfully) almost non-existent. (Except here. Welcome to Langford!)

Has Councilor Denise Blackwell already lost HER mind?

Denise Blackwell (left)

For some reason, on Christmas Eve, Councilor Blackwell decided to tell the newspapers that a local non-profit group is to blame for the Bridge to Nowhere. That's right, it's NOT because Council made a stewpid decision to borrow ten million dollars and then let some sketchy developers skip out on the bill. No, it's the fault of the people who warned them that the whole business could go south and leave taxpayers holding the bag. And those people should all STFU and MYOB, ASAP.

Have the mayor and council fallen through the looking glass into a Bizarro World where everything is opposite and upside-down? Does the mayor STILL believe that he can get federal and provincial grants for a developer-funded project? Is this 2009 all over again? Is Langford turning into Las Vegas? Are we stuck in some horrible downward spiral into madness? Only time will tell!

Don't miss the next exciting Langford council meeting! On the agenda: Stew Young recites Jabberwocky in an annoyed monotone while the Walrus, the Carpenter, Tweedledee and Tweedledum look on, and Denise Blackwell shouts "Off with their heads!"