Ian McCormack

As we move through the heart of summer, it is a good time to pause and ask a simple question: Are you making the most of the season? In my recent blog, Making the Most of Summer, I reflected on how the traditional “dog days of summer” seem to have disappeared. What was once a predictable slowdown has been replaced by a year-round pace of work, particularly in local government, where operational demands, strategic planning, staffing challenges, and election preparation continue regardless of...

We used to talk about the ‘dog days of summer’ as a time when everything slowed down. It was expected, even accepted, that work would ease off for a while as people stepped away to recharge. Summer provided a natural pause before the push into fall, when school resumed and business life accelerated once again. That rhythm feels much harder to find today. Instead of a predictable lull, many people now remark on the absence of any true slow season. Work continues at a steady pace year-round,...

In Animal Farm, George Orwell famously wrote that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” or something close to that. While Orwell’s point was rooted in political critique, there is an interesting parallel in how we operate within local government. Formally, every member of council is equal around the table. In practice, however, relationships, influence, and structural realities create distinctions that matter a great deal, particularly in the relationship between the...