Choose Your Own Sewer Socialists Adventure

A reader survey, a Cambridge by-election, chickens, and social media collapse.

Nov 23, 2023

A note to readers: a reminder that there won’t be a new edition next week. Also, this edition was written in advance of Thursday, so if I missed any big news, I apologize. See you December 7th!

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash, Edited by Author

Survey says…

The future of newsletters

When I launched this little newsletter back in February, I had a vague idea where it was going. I wanted to look at local issues through a progressive, critical, and occasionally humourous lens, provide historical facts and detailed background stories for the challenges we face, and continue some of the work I had been doing over on X/Twitter to take my academic work and present it to people both inside and outside the academy.

There’s precedent for this. I’ve been commenting on local issues for a long time. My first letter to the editor was published in The Spec back when I was 16. Tensions between Six Nations and Caledonia residents had been building over a controversial housing development. This frustration boiled over, resulting in a highway blockade that we spent a lot of time talking about in school, the striking images of burning tire fires on the road evoking similar feelings to those felt when watching the ongoing invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States.

If a student at my high school had anything published in the Spec, the article would be cut out of the paper and posted above the main desk at the library. Being a massive nerd, I wanted an article up there, so I slapped together what I can only describe as a cringe-inducing plea for civility (I said the conflict “should be solved by sitting together and finding a peaceful solution, instead of blocking roads and fighting court battles” - ugghhh, shut up, nerd) which was promptly published with an accompanying photo of me with amazing hair and a silly little baby face. I had made it onto the library wall and realized that I could contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way with my words. Ugghhh, shup up, nerd.

Over the next few years, I would start and then abandon plenty of writing projects while also submitting pieces to RaiseTheHammer.org, The Hamilton Mountain News, and The Spec. By the time I was 20, I had landed a job at the McMaster student newspaper The Silhouette, where I’d cover politics, campus events, and submit regular articles to the opinion section (I had actually applied to be an opinion editor, but the editorial staff wanted me to work on the news side of things, which was a fun challenge). Ugghhh, shup up, nerd!

But now I’m here, writing this newsletter and sharing my ideas with all you amazing people. Despite that, I still only have a vague idea where things are headed.

I like to mix my methods, so while qualitative work has a special place in my heart, I love a good quantitative experiment. So I present to you the first ever Sewer Socialists Reader Survey! This is a chance for me to get a feel for where I’m at with this project. This means asking you what you like, how you read the newsletter, what can be done better, etc.

In each of the following section there will be one or more polls. The results will be hidden and they’ll be entirely anonymous, so you can be as truthful as you want without hurting my feelings (which are very easily hurt because I’m a sad little millennial who craves validation). Each poll will be open for 1 week, after which point I’ll collect the data and present the findings!

The way you answer will give me some barometric readings for the newsletter, but won’t necessarily translate to immediate changes. I may simply take the findings as they are and figure out if things need to change later. So don’t worry about me making any dramatic changes to The Sewer Socialists right away, if at all.

Last Week on Thursday with Chris

The Sewer Socialists has a pretty impressive subscriber count, if I do say so myself. I’m grateful for everyone who has recommended the newsletter on social media, over email, or in person. But I know that people get a lot of email these days. And, some weeks, it can be hard to engage with the news.

I get that folks might not want to read every week and that’s 100% okay. So, how often would you say you read The Sewer Socialists? This is the 37th edition, so the numbers below reflect how many you’d say you’ve read. For the purposes of this question, “read” means opened and at least taken a glance at a few paragraphs. There will be other questions below about how much of each newsletter you’ve read.

In for the long-form

One of the regular critiques I hear from folks is that each newsletter is way too long. I get that. I have a lot to say. And, when I spend a few weeks researching something, I don’t want to leave important details out. You deserve to know the history of the failed Hamilton Golden Horseshoe Arena, where Hamilton’s grocery stores used to be in 1912, and how candidates in the 2022 municipal election raised money for their campaigns.

Other Substackers produce newsletters on varying schedules. Erin in the Morning by the amazing reporter Erin Reed releases newsletters when big issues in the world of queer+trans politics come up. Addison Del Mastro’s newsletter The Deleted Scenes comes out every single weekday. And the free version of Ev'Yan Whitney’s amazing read Big Time Sensuality is published without any set timeline.

I publish on Thursdays out of habit. When I was a news editor at McMaster’s student newspaper The Silhouette, we published on Thursdays. There’s still a part of my brain that gets anxious on Wednesdays, thinking there’s something I should be doing to get a product out on Thursday. And now I have this newsletter to fill that Silhouette-shaped void in me!

So I have a couple of questions:

Focus and clarity

I cover a lot of different topics in this newsletter. While I originally intended to focus specifically on the issues impacting Hamilton and the surrounding region, I’ve broadened out, talking about Vancouver, Montreal, and San Francisco. My target audience is all over the place, from people interested in urbanist issues to people who want an in-depth look at local politics to progressive-minded folks eager for an alternative source for information.

But I can do things to add more clarity. I can focus on one story a week and condense everything else into a “cool fact”, I can leave out some background, or I can stick to some specific things.

So here are some content questions:

The Name Game

Okay, this is a controversial one. I’ve heard from folks on either side of the issue, but I want to open this up to everyone.

I’ve had to explain this newsletter’s name to a few folks after getting a less-than-positive reaction. Apparently the word “socialist” has baggage. Who knew? There are folks who will ignore the newsletter simply because that word is in the title, electing to not read the “And the name means…?” section that’s literally in the header. I have actually been in situations where someone gives me a disgusted face when the hear the name and then changes their mind after I explain where the name came from.

When Joey Coleman tweeted about me starting this project, the only two comments on the post came from a far-right anti-trans trolling account and the online manifestation of everyone’s sports-and-right-wing-talk-radio-obsessed uncle, all before I had even published a single edition.

While Blue Tick King of the TERFs and Uncle Marlie up there aren’t representative of anything more than how toxic the conversation on social media can be, I still hear from some folks that the word “socialist” might be turning people off before they can even hear what I have to say.

With regards to the name:

Thanks!

If you’ve made it this far, congrats. I’ll analyze the data when I’m all recovered and publish the results soon!

Most of all, thanks for being a reader. You’re the best!

oh no

Back in August, long-time Cambridge City Councillor Donna Reid passed away at age 85. Friends and colleagues described Reid, a former teacher and 2006 NDP candidate for MP in Cambridge, as a passionate advocate for social justice, inclusivity, and women’s rights. As her passing happened so soon after the 2022 municipal election, Cambridge council decided to hold a by-election to fill the vacant Ward 1 seat.

Ward 1 is a largely suburban/rural seat in the north of the city, home to the Toyota plant and the regional Butterfly Conservatory, and is bounded in the northwest by the Grand River. In the 2022 election, Reid won a very narrow victory over Helen Shwery, a founding member of the far-right populist New Blue Party of Ontario.

Shwery ran again in the 2023 by-election, facing off against former regional councillor Karl Kiefer. In the 2023 campaign, Shwery called herself a “mother, grandmother, business owner, audit and fraud specialist, and fed up taxpayer”.1 True to her New Blue roots, Shwery ran a hard right populist campaign, vowing to vote against tax increases, stand up for developers and mortgage holders, oppose consumption treatment services sites (instead plugging a faith-based rehab she’s been involved with), and advancing a law-and-order agenda, particularly in the face of a growing encampment crisis, telling a local reporter she is in favour of police-based responses to homelessness issues, “although I really haven’t seen a lot of tents or anything like that.”2

Shwery won the by-election last Wednesday, pulling in fewer votes than in 2022, but still managing to capture 49.2% of the vote. This is the first major instance of a supporter of the far-right New Blue Party winning elected office in Ontario after their disastrous 2022 provincial election campaign. The party’s official X/Twitter account congratulated her on her victory, making it look like the New Blue Party officially backed her candidacy.

What does this mean?

Well, it is hard to tell, but, when placed in the context of a growing, worldwide far-right surge, it doesn’t look great. As life gets harder for regular people and progressives fight amongst themselves over petty nonsense, the far-right is starting to appeal to folks. Why take time to address an issue that moderates, soft conservatives, and social democrats have had decades to fix without any tangible results? Why not just let some hard-right bully smash things with speed and enthusiasm?

At the same time, it is important to consider the context in which Shwery was elected. Cambridge’s Ward 1 is not very urban, was represented by the same progressive for 13 years, and was subjected to a dreary November council by-election where less than 15% of eligible voters came out to cast a ballot. On that ballot was a person who had just run a campaign a year ago and a former politician who was standing to carry on the recently-deceased incumbent’s platform. While it might seem like voters opted for change, the reality of the situation is more complicated.

Right now, only time will tell how Shwery will govern. Some populist activists have a hard time actually doing the work of governing (see America right now) while others fall into comfy little routines and hone their skills, embedding themselves into the political landscape. Ultimately, this by-election victory should be a warning to progressives who think the right will inevitably self-destruct and allow them to win an easy victory. Start working for 2026 now, folks.

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🐔ominous pecking🐔

As one chicken regime falls, others rise to claim the throne.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I think backyard chickens are a great idea. In a time when we’re reconsidering our relationship to food, grocery stores, and industrial agriculture, pursuing more sustainable options should be a central priority for municipalities. Allowing backyard chickens is a great way to give those of us who would be more-than-happy to care for a Gallus domesticus in exchange for delicious, delicious eggs the opportunity to get closer to our food.

Mississauga launched a backyard chicken pilot project in May, 2021 with that goal in mind. Unfortunately, the pilot project wasn’t well structured and directly impacted another municipal goal, namely the aim to avoid having coyotes running around everywhere. The municipality also didn’t collect data very well, so there was some confusion about how many people actually had backyard chickens. Those who did register with the pilot project did note that they bonded with the chickens, enjoyed having a regular supply of eggs, and appreciated a chance to educate their children about where food comes from. On the other hand, they did say that it was hard to access veterinary care for their hens. So, last Wednesday, Mississauga council voted to discontinue their pilot project. That is an unfortunate set back, but rest assured, anyone with a chicken will be allowed to keep them until the end of their lifespan.

At the same time, two municipalities are moving forward with pro-chicken policies. Over in Brant County, councillors there voted to legalize backyard chickens with the goal of having a by-law in place by next year. As one chicken proponent told the meeting: “They are as local as you can get, they consume kitchen waste that’s diverted from the landfill, they reduce damaging insects like ticks in the yard.”3 That’s all great news!

And in Guelph/Eramosa, councillors seem to be on-board with backyard chickens after receiving a report on the matter during a meeting on Monday. While the council there will wait to hear back from staff on the pros and cons of backyard chickens, all signs indicate the municipality will move forward with some kind of program soon.

There are ways to ensure a backyard chicken program works well. Any by-law legalizing them should also come with a licencing program, an educational component, and access to resources on how to best care for backyard chickens (including where to access veterinary services). If we want to have a better relationship with our food, programs that allow people to use their yards for productive purposes are an obvious first step.

And, after all that, not one hackneyed chicken pun. Yeah, I didn’t use any play on “egg” or “cluck” or “feather” or anything! Bet you didn’t even notice! I’m very proud of that.

HDLC + OFL - NDP

After Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama’s expulsion from the NDP caucus, the Hamilton and District Labour Council (HDLC) approved an emergency resolution that they would bring to the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) convention this week. That resolution would direct the provincial body re-examine their relationship with the party, potentially setting the stage for a messy divorce between organized labour and Ontario’s labour party. I discussed that back in early November as the fallout from the affair continued.

The HDLC reported on Wednesday that their emergency resolution failed to even make it to the floor of the convention. According to a post on X/Twitter, “Almost every union in the house voted against” the motion.

As we move further from Jama’s expulsion on October 23rd, the pressure on the NDP appears to be easing. Scrutiny relating to Jama’s speech debating the voracity of some of the initial reports coming from the region after the October 7th attack and her signing of a letter refuting claims of sexual assault has intensified, which has taken some of the pressure off NDP leader Marit Stiles and her decision to remove Jama from caucus. It doesn’t look like any new riding associations or MPPs are lining up to support Jama, giving the indication that the party is closing ranks around their leader.

What does this mean? Well, despite the HDLC’s rabble-rousing in support of Jama, their sentiments are not shared by others in organized labour. Whether the HDLC maintains support for Jama in three years when the election comes around remains to be seen, as their support for her may put them in the awkward position of campaigning against a formal NDP candidate. But three years is a long, long, long time. The HDLC might have a new executive by then. Jama might decide to not run again. The political calculus of Ontario might be entirely different by then. Who knows? The only thing that’s certain right now is that the OFL is sticking with the NDP.

X marks the end

The slow-motion blimp wreck that is the collapse of Twitter/X inched ever-so-close to concluding last week when the site’s owner, King of the Edgelords His Royal Highness Elon Musk, posted on the site agreeing with conspiracy theorists peddling the Great Replacement lie and advancing anti-Semitic tropes about engineered hatred against white people.

The site’s new CEO tried to do some damage control while Musk kept smashing away at things. He called Media Matters an “evil organization” for pointing out that anti-Semitic accounts were monetizing content and that big brands had ads beside pro-Nazi posts. He then went further, saying that anyone posting about “decolonization” could be suspended from the site. So a whole bunch of brands (and the European Union) pulled their advertising and Musk was condemned by the White House and the Anti-Defamation League. So naturally, he went further, interacting with transphobic posts, and calling advertisers “the greatest oppressors of your right to free speech.”

The legitimacy of the site is almost entirely gone and it is unlikely any amount of PR-spin from the grown-ups Musk has hired to give the operation an air of professionalism will fix things.

I’m really bummed about the collapse of the site. Twitter was an okay place to post ideas and facts. My “school trustee candidate factsheet” took off in large part because of my tweet about it, and that helped to provide folks with some extra info about the people running for trustee in the 2022 municipal election. But it isn’t safe place to do that kind of stuff anymore.

I haven’t found a half-decent platform to replace it, either. I tried Project Mushroom for a while, but it didn’t really have the same feel and it was the source of some controversy when their founder went rogue, stole their membership list, and subscribed them to his weather newsletter without permission. All the staff have been laid off, the Project Mushroom account hasn’t posted on Project Mushroom since March, and when you search for what’s trending, you get this embarrassing notification:

I’ve also played around with Bluesky a little, but mannn it is a deeply unserious and exhausting place. Bluesky is like if Twitter and Tumblr had an insufferable baby, hellbent and determined to fully embody the right-wing stereotype of the loud, insignificant, cultish social justice warrior.

Social media has to be informative, engaging, fun, and interesting. Bluesky fails to clear those bars far too often. The whole site gives off the feeling of being a joyless low-stakes fight club for terminally online grad students biding time between power struggles during the Zoom meetings for their pointlessly adversarial queer book clubs.

I want to like Bluesky, but hot damn I cannot be a part of another ostensibly progressive community that saps my energy and sends my anxiety spiraling. A critical eye to social issues is so, so, so important, but is nothing (and can be actively harmful) without a plan of action to address those same issues. So far on Bluesky, it seems like the conversation is too often driven by those who see criticality as an end-point, rather than a stop on a longer journey.

In Twitter’s prime, I would spend hours on the site (unhealthy, I know, but that’s not the point). In the case of Bluesky, I actually forgot I had an account for a week back in October. Still, if anyone is keen to see what it is like, here are five invite codes that are first-come-first-serve:

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Before anyone gets mad, I know a few of my readers are very active on Bluesky. This isn’t some targeted subpost about anyone in particular, since you’re all cool people. I’m speaking broadly about the general atmosphere on the site. If you show up at a party and see some friends but get a feeling that the whole vibe of the party is about to get weird, it isn’t the fault of your friends. But you kinda do have to let them know that the vibes are off. And I’m here to tell you that party makes me feel icky.

I don’t know what comes next for social media. Maybe we all get into TikTok. Maybe Threads takes off. Maybe Elon gives up and resets the timeline. Who knows? All I can really say is that I’m sad about how things went down and am not happy with the alternatives.