larry o'brien

When municipal politics matter more than ever, why do so many cities end up with bad mayors?

With another round of floor-crosser rumour-mongering behind us, our Katie Engelhart considers what the Larry O’Brien trial means for the future of political favours.

Liveblog: Larry O’Brien is not guilty and can stay on as mayor

Yes, ITQ is headed back to the Ottawa courthouse this morning for what could turn out to be the first of several days devoted to the defence of Larry O’Brien after the judge rejected the argument that Ottawa’s mayor-in-limbo can’t possibly have broken the law because even if he had offered an appointment to a rival candidate — not that he’s admitting he did any such thing, mind you —  well, that’s just politics, and not a potentially criminal offence.  Yeah, the judge didn’t think much of that line of reasoning either, as it turned out.

That is, unless Team Larry’s lawyers have another plot twist in store for fans of Ottawa’s smash hit municapolitical reality show thriller:

Seriously, y’all, this is going to be fun, so check back at 10am for all the legal wrangling — and, depending on what the judge decides, what could be a fascinating morning of political philosophizing.

Up til now, ITQ had been able to resist the siren song of the Larry O’Brien trial. But with so many Hill staffers — and the occasional minister — turning up on the witness list, not to mention the historic ruling by the judge to allow journalists to liveblog and twitter from the courtroom — it was inevitable that she would eventually be lured into the maw. Anyway, with PMO appointments czar Dave Penner slated to testify this afternoon, it turns out that today’s the day that ITQ goes hyperlocal.