Toronto Race for Mayor: It Comes Down to Marionette versus Grouch

Fate has removed Rob Ford from the 2014 election for Mayor in the city of Toronto and in doing so it has dealt a cruel blow to the citizens of this city.

With Mr. Ford out of the race, it is almost certain, barring devine intervention or a sudden infatuation of Torontonians for the blunt talking, truth telling Doug Ford, that John Tory will be elected . Granted, because of the lurid, continuous press coverage of Rob Ford's personal problems, he might well have lost the race anyway. Tory was well ahead in the polls when the incumbent Mayor was forced to withdraw from contention due to serious illness.

The Press, by and large, with few exceptions, were happy to prosper at the expense of Mr. Ford. Some of the press were positively gleeful to do so. One newspaper in particular started gunning for Mr. Ford as soon as he had declared his candidacy at the start of the last election, the one that ultimately brought him to power. This newspaper is a serious political player in Ontario. I believe that in going after Mr. Ford immediately, and never letting up on him, the newspaper in question was doing the bidding of "shadowy eminences" lurking in the backround of the life of our city.

It is clear that powerful people did not want Mr. Ford to be Mayor.

Unfortunately for those powerful people, a succession of terms of the City Council had made it clear to the public that a culture of "entitlement" had been allowed to grow in the bacterial broth at City Hall. Something had to be done about it. Mr. Ford, all along, had been a voice crying in the cacophony, while voters in Toronto had begun to scrutinize City Hall. They had heard that voice and they elected it.

Toronto is a very important place, according to a recent publication from The Toronto Region Board of Trade.

www.bot.com...

(Page 8)

The region produces almost half of the province’s economic output and almost 20 percent of the country’s.

That is a staggering bit of information.

Unfortunately, due to spending policies of the Ontario Government and of the Government of Canada, Toronto is falling to pieces.

Fact #1:

www.bot.com...

(Bottom of page 19.)

* For Ontario alone, the association of Municipalities of Ontario in their June 2008 working paper estimated that to close the estimated gap between actual infrastructure spending and what is needed would require at least $5.9 billion a year over the next ten years. This spending estimate includes transportation; water systems, wastewater systems, and storm water systems; solid waste facilities; parks; and municipal buildings. given that the infrastructure gap has yet to be addressed in any significant way, this figure surely underestimates the magnitude of the current gap. Toronto’s infrastructure gap is estimated to be around $30 billion, roughly equivalent to half of the Ontario total.

Toronto can't afford a lot of silly ass waste and frivolous expenditures at City Hall. Rob Ford addressed that issue in a vigorous way and took a lot of flack for it. Doug Ford has shown that he knows that funds must be pressed for, specifically at the provincial and federal levels.

We cannot possibly be getting our share, our fair share, of tax money in this city, in federal and provincial funds.

Here is an interesting quote from an article that appeared in The Globe and Mail in december of 2012:

www.theglobeandmail.com...

Citing the Drummond Report, the Chamber concludes that Ontario contributes $12.3-billion more to the federal government than it receives in transfers, even though 600,000 Ontarians are out of work, little economic growth is expected over the foreseeable future, and the provincial debt is approaching $300-billion.

Let me remind you of what we learned in another thread. (Incidentally, the entire linked thread should be read, by voters who want to vote responsibly.)

www.abovetopsecret.com...

In the same document the Government of Ontario claims the national championship in downloading the costs of public services to municipalities, like Toronto.

www.fin.gov.on.ca...

The government of Ontario already spends less per resident delivering public services than any other province, and is working internally to achieve even greater cost effectiveness while continuing to offer quality, timely service. Reflecting measures to improve efficiency, Ontario’s per capita program spending in 2012–13 was $8,311, which was the lowest among the provinces.

When you elect John Tory, the Province's nominee, Mayor of Toronto, you will have done your bit to make sure that state of affairs continues.

Kelly McParland: Wynne Liberals signal preference for Tory as the man to rid them of Rob Ford

fullcomment.nationalpost.com...

If the citizens of Toronto elect (the marionette?) John Tory, it will be tantamount to leaving themselves and the city, in the care of those at the federal and provincial level, who have done such a shoddy job of stewardship over the decades.

Vote for Doug Ford.

He's smart and grouchy. Smart and grouchy is what Toronto needs at this point in its history. When Toronto's financial and infrastructure problems are solved, it can indulge itself in a clothes horse like John Tory.

Hello Olivia.

Nice and informative OP. I live elsewhere in Ontario, so from my perspective it feels like John Tory has the backing of an old boy's club and they will do almost anything to put him in power. That scares me. As for Doug, I wish him well and send him lots of positive vibes. Too bad he has to fight an image of being grouchy. And as for Olivia, I liked her input and observations while on the federal transpo committee. However in municipal politics, there does seem to be a strong air of party politics and affiliation which I find quite strange from my vantage point anyway.

a reply to: aboutface

I think Olivia made a big mistake in not campaigning strongly for her NDP candidates in the provincial election. Her statement about it after the election had been won by the Liberals was particularly revealing, of self seeking, in my opinion. I don't think it went down well among her traditional support group in Toronto.

Having said that, a vigorous campaign along the lines indicated in this thread, might turn her fortunes around, but she will have to get into the trenches and grunt.

a reply to: ipsedixit

So what you're doing is trying to make a case for political party affiliations in local municipal politics then? Can't have it both ways, imo.

Doesn't Tory have some 1-2 billion dollar plan to waste money? Which will do nothing for the city. The best thing about the Fords is they are too dumb to do any real damage to the city. Find a real smart politician who is good at keeping up appearances and sink your city.

The fords are like wolves in dogs clothing. And every other politician is a sheep in wolves clothing. They are so blatant in their lies and so obvious, that they are totally honest with the public. On the other hand the other politicians are so good at lying you might actually think they are somewhat decent. They have the squeaky image and the wry smiles, but you know they are just waiting to sign a contract with the devil to sink your city.

Which one was it that sold off all the lands for a $1 that toll highway that covers the distance of a small country?

originally posted by: aboutface
a reply to: ipsedixit

So what you're doing is trying to make a case for political party affiliations in local municipal politics then? Can't have it both ways, imo.

I think these affiliations do exist, but the playing field in city politics is so small that there is a certain amount of flexibility and cross pollination and collaboration. I think Tory has done some kind of deal with the provincial Liberals, despite being a Conservative. Chow, in my opinion, alienated a lot of her potential support by not campaigning for the NDP during the provincial election. She was an MP in Ottawa, representing the NDP.

City council doesn't vote along "party" lines, but it would be an error to think that considerations involving political parties at the federal and provincial levels don't enter the picture.

When City Council voted to deprive Rob Ford of some of his powers as Mayor, that was a parliamentary style maneuver undertaken in a governmental forum that didn't have provisions to replace the Mayor with a "same party" replacement. Voters, in theory at least, vote for policies, not personalities.

In Parliament they would never reduce Steven Harper's responsibilities on the grounds that his personality lacks vivid color, or, as in the case of Rob Ford, had too much vivid color, but they did it in Toronto. However, if a leader lost the confidence of a political party in power in a parliamentary democracy, he could be replaced by a vote of the party or the consensus of cabinet. That's how Winston Churchill became Prime Minister during WW2.

Toronto's city government is being run as a governmental "mule", . . . not horse (party system), not donkey (consultative system) and with no capacity for regeneration. I'm sorry but that is not good enough for the voters of this city.

Politics should not be about who's the most popular kid in class. It's not kid's stuff. That it should have become that, in my opinion because of the unscrupulousness of people trying to ruin the Ford agenda and the political career of Rob Ford at any cost, is a disgrace.

A good example of the level of absurdity and hysteria to which some political forces in the city are willing to descend is the recent attempt by, who else, The Toronto Star to liken the appearance of Doug Ford as a candidate for Mayor to an attempt to impose a North Korean style dynastic dictatorship upon Toronto.

No such fear was expressed at the advent of Justin Trudeau of course. Trudeau has no qualifications to be a party leader or a Prime Minister other than his dynastic connection to a famous PM.

a reply to: boncho

Not sure about the $1 sale you are referring to. (It does ring a bell, but I can't remember any specifics. It may only have been a proposal of some sort.)

en.wikipedia.org...

When Mike Harris was elected Premier in 1995 on his platform of the Common Sense Revolution, the Ontario government faced a $11 billion annual deficit and a $100 billion debt. Seeking to balance the books, a number of publicly owned services were privatized over the following years. Although initially spared, Highway 407 was sold quickly in the year leading up to the 1999 provincial elections. The highway was leased to a conglomerate of private companies for $3.1 billion. The route was subsequently renamed the 407 ETR.[9] The Ontario corporation, known as 407 International Inc., is jointly owned by Cintra Infraestructuras from Spain (43.23%), subsidiaries of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (40%) and Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin (16.77%).[28] The deal included a 99-year lease agreement with unlimited control over the highway and its tolls, dependent on traffic volume; however, the government maintains the right to build a transit system within the highway right-of-way.[9]

In 2012 City Councillor, Adam Vaughn put a motion forward which would have the sale of the Gardiner Expressway considered by Council.

www.theglobeandmail.com...

Mr. Vaughan’s motion asks the city to determine how much money might be made off its potential sale and how the funds – which would vary depending on the number of the tolls and the way in which a deal with the private sector is structured – might be used for transit projects. He said he’s been told the city’s profit could be as high as $8-billion.

To my knowledge the Gardiner Expressway is still a bone of contention.

a reply to: ipsedixit

Not sure about the $1 sale you are referring to. (It does ring a bell, but I can't remember any specifics. It may only have been a proposal of some sort.)

My apologies, I retract the earlier statement. Not sure what I am remembering or if I am simply remembering it wrong. I worked the math thinking about maybe how much it costs per day but that isn't relevant either. In any case, the point I was trying to get across stills stands, just made a major error (which I should have checked before posting).

Cheers.

“Let’s face it, whatever the government does is going to get litigated,” he said.

Indeed, 407 International vice-president Kevin Sack pointed out that disputes over tolls have been resolved since the company’s successful 2006 settlement of a legal action filed by the McGuinty administration.

“We have closely examined the agreement and legislation and continue to be confident that the company operates in compliance with all agreements and legislation,” said Sack.

“The agreement has been the subject of legal reviews in the past and all matters were settled appropriately in 2006.”

Court records show Parmar testified as an expert witness for 407 International in that case.

In August 1998, at the behest of then Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris, Parmar spearheaded the sell-off of the electronic toll-way north of Toronto. The $3.1 billion agreement for a 99-year lease was concluded in May 1999.

While he maintains it was a good deal for the Ontario treasury, motorists have complained about soaring tolls and administrative fees.

It now costs between 19.35 cents and 22.95 cents per kilometre for a passenger car depending on the hour of day plus a flat 50 cent per trip charge.

There’s also an annual transponder lease fee of $21.50 or a $3.65 per trip video toll charge for those without an electronic collector.