Article content

If there’s a lesson Jim Watson can take from the recent stunning defeat of Denis Coderre as Montreal’s mayor, it’s this: Stay close to your citizens and listen – really listen – to their concerns.

In presenting the city’s 2018 draft budget Wednesday, Watson showed he is indeed taking taxpayers seriously. He embraced their priorities while presenting a plan that stays within the two-per-cent tax-increase ceiling that has long been his pledge.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Editorial: Ottawa budget a careful election-year effort Back to video

That doesn’t mean you won’t face higher increases in some areas that fall outside the budget itself ­– water rates, for instance – but it at least signals that the promise-all-things-and-spend-wantonly fever infecting the provincial Liberals has not spread to city hall. Instead, the mayor is focused, for the most part, on bread-and butter items.

“What we are hearing,” he said, “is the need to continue to do more about the state of our roads, infrastructure, buildings and parks.” No grandiose schemes; no telling taxpayers what’s good for them. Just fixing up what we have.