(in full)

I don’t think that grassroots lobbying will ever take the place of old school lobbying. Tha main reason is money. Grassroots works well in civic politics, but moving to a provincial or federal level means that huge masses of people will have to be mobilized, not just a small, albeit committed, minority.

It’s no secret that social media (whatever that really means) played a role in the closure of the City Centre Airport, but I’m not sure about the extent to which it was successful, especially considering that there are more people who supported closure who DIDN’T use social media than those who did.

The other thing about traditional lobbying is that it will never die until we demand change in the electoral system. As long as candidates need money to run for office, traditional lobbies will stay in place because those lobbies often provide the funding for candidates. Is that broken? Sure, but there’s no quick fix to the problem.

I think the passive way I was able to gather information- through links and websites presented to me on Twitter and through blogs, on both sides of the airport debate – allowed me to easily research a topic that has a lot of levels.

The city streaming online is also a huge tipping point, in my opinion. There I sit at my office, working at the computer, and still keeping up on the debate.

Time always tells, but if what Mandel and others at City Hall are now saying about the increase in correspondence is true then maybe we’ve seen the first chips form in the facade of old-school lobbying.

Anyway, congrats to all for getting the airport closed. Hopefully it’s redeveloped in a more transit-orientated way. I live in a neighbourhood like that and I love it.