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Who'll run Canada's biggest town?

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Fri, 2010-01-29 23:48

#1

Lola 101

Who'll run Canada's biggest town?

Cheeky and unstuffy entry from progressive Mayor wannanbe...

In a tongue-in-cheek video just released on YouTube, Giambrone declares that he'll be running for mayor without actually saying the words "I'm running for mayor." With references to everything from Taxi Driver to Barack Obama, the video tries hard to hit the reset button on Giambrone's relationship with the public, which has become fraught of late in the wake of much criticism of the TTC.

According to Torontoist:

"It's an interesting move, and we're torn between finding it endearing and, well...unmayoral. One thing's for certain: Giambrone is doing a very good job of keeping the public's attention, given that he hasn't actually launched his campaign yet."

(P.S. re Babble menus: what's "central canada"? Like Thunder Bay? Winnipeg? Quebec City?)

Fri, 2010-01-29 23:05

#2

remind

remind's picture

Wow TO is now in the prairies.... ;)

Central Canada is ON and PQ

Fri, 2010-01-29 23:48

#3

Maysie

Maysie's picture

Haha! Moving to Central Canada.

And yeah, the regional forums are a bit wonky.

Central Canada covers Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, if they want to.

Sat, 2010-01-30 01:20

#4

genstrike

It's ironic geographically speaking... Manitoba is without a doubt a Prairie province, but the longitudanal center of Canada is only a little east of Winnipeg. And also the difference between "Prairie" and "Western" is god knows what

Sat, 2010-01-30 01:55

#5

WillC

According to one researcher, the centre of [b]population[/b] of Canada is Burke's Falls Ontario. Since Canada is its people, that has to be the most important.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ucv1a7FiCB0C&pg=PA275&lpg=PA275&dq=Kumle...

Too bad Giambone seems to have shot himself in the foot with his Utube video. For anyone on the left, he's the only chance we've got. Pantanleone has no chance. All the rest are at best centre right.

Sat, 2010-01-30 08:03

#6

jas

genstrike wrote:

It's ironic geographically speaking... Manitoba is without a doubt a Prairie province, but the longitudanal center of Canada is only a little east of Winnipeg. And also the difference between "Prairie" and "Western" is god knows what

Yes, some discussion has occurred already, to no avail, here:

http://rabble.ca/babble/prairies/prairies

and here:

http://rabble.ca/babble/rabble-reactions/missed-oppportunity

And in at least a couple of other threads that may not have made it over to the new Babble.

It's an outdated geographic concept of Canada, one that is perpetuated (maybe only here on Babble?), unsurprisingly, by people who live in Ontario. We don't use terms like "central" or "east" or "west" to describe population distribution. Never have. It's kind of akin to calling southwest Ontario "Upper Canada" and Quebec "Lower Canada". Maybe it made sense in reference to two dominant colonies along the St. Lawrence river two hundred years ago, but of course it would make no sense, and even be offensive, today.

Sat, 2010-01-30 09:35

#7

adma

Well, not that we're alone with this. After all, what's commonly thought of as the American Midwest is more like Mideast...

Sat, 2010-01-30 12:36

#8

NorthReport

To what extent has power shifted to the West in the last 50 years. Quite a lot I would suggest. It seems to have gone from Montreal to Toronto ands now to a certain extent from Toronto to Calgary and Vancouver.

Sat, 2010-01-30 13:16

#9

Papal Bull

This thread is on topic!

Sat, 2010-01-30 13:59

Unionist

Hey Polunatic2, editing tip: You should always hit "Enter" after ending a quote - i.e. after the [ /quote ]. That will solve your reduced font size problem.

Tue, 2010-02-02 21:00

asterix

I don't think the video completely destroys him, as long as he isn't still playing it jokey and tongue-in-cheek in the spring and summer.

To be honest, though, I wasn't ever terribly confident that he really had much of a chance to begin with. Then again, I didn't think that Miller did at this point in 2003, either -- but Giambrone's going to need at least twice as much good fortune on his side to pull it off, I'm afraid, because the narrative of the campaign so far isn't exactly favouring the progressives in the race.

I would very much like to be wrong, because, well, Giambrone over Smitherman any day, any day, any day. But I'm not seeing a compelling reason yet to assume that I'm likely to be.

Wed, 2010-02-03 11:39

Stockholm

Its a long, long time to late November when we have the election, but so far Giambrone seems to be coming across as something that David Miller never came across as when he was way behind in the polls at this stage in 2003 - an object of ridicule.

Sun, 2010-02-14 15:03

robbie_dee

So Giambrone is out. Some have now speculated that [url=http://www.rabble.ca/babble/central-canada/miller-mayor]Miller will jump back in[/url]. I doubt it, though.

It looks like the race is now Smitherman's to lose.

Does anyone think that Pantalone can rally the forces on the left? He seems like a decent enough guy to me, and he certainly knows the city inside and out. I don't really understand why people weren't more excited about him before the Giambrone implosion.

Will there be any more high profile entrants to the race?

Sun, 2010-02-14 17:04

Lord Palmerston

Miller would certainly be the strongest progressive mayoral candidate. It wouldn't be a cake walk though. One acquaintance of mine who supported Miller twice and likes him personally said as much as he doesn't like Smitherman he thinks he may support him because he'll be able to get a better deal from the province.

Sun, 2010-02-14 17:10

G. Muffin

What is Canada's biggest town?

Sun, 2010-02-14 17:33

remind

remind's picture

Toronto

Sun, 2010-02-14 21:43

adma

Technically, when it comes to the label of "Town" (as opposed to "City"), I think it might be Markham...

Mon, 2010-02-15 18:15

Doug

Now you too can join the scandal! "I slept with Adam Giambrone" buttons

Mon, 2010-02-15 18:26

NorthReport

Actually Alberta has the largest town in Canada followed by three in Quebec.

Mon, 2010-02-15 18:29

adma

What town would that be? It'd be hard to beat Markham's 300 thousand, or wherever its pop is now...

Mon, 2010-02-15 18:31

NorthReport

Here's a little background on Mayor Melissa Blake

Melissa Blake - Mayor

After serving two terms as Regional Councillor for Ward 1 (Fort McMurray), being elected Mayor on October 18, 2004 was deeply gratifying to Melissa Blake. Being one of the top elected officials for such a vast municipality brings with it tremendous challenge, but the responsibility is one she is ready for.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is diverse on so many levels; it is young, dynamic, and filled with opportunity. But for the most part, it is the people living here that Melissa draws her inspiration from, and that inspiration is simply to help make this the best place to be.

In addition to her regular council duties, she has served on a number of committees, including those related to development, protective services, community services, audit and budget, and the Wood Buffalo Housing and Development Corporation. In her time on the WBHDC, she has seen the completion of a number of initiatives for low income, social and supportive housing, and perhaps more importantly, she remains a solid supporter of the future endeavors of that organization.

Melissa brings a range of experience from her corporate career including public affairs, materials & services and human resources and she holds a Bachelor of Administration degree from Athabasca University. She currently resides in Timberlea with Peter Jurak and their young son Jackson

Mon, 2010-02-15 18:42

Max Bialystock

Not very exciting prospects for Mayor. Joe Who?

Mon, 2010-02-15 20:26

TheEtobian

Jeez people it was supposed to be tongue in cheek. So much hate on for the Tee dot out there.

Mon, 2010-02-15 22:25

Le T

Le T's picture

Quote:
One acquaintance of mine who supported Miller twice and likes him personally said as much as he doesn't like Smitherman he thinks he may support him because he'll be able to get a better deal from the province.

A better deal on an auction company to sell off all the city's assets?

Mon, 2010-02-15 22:32

Lord Palmerston

No, I don't think that's his reason...this person is (generally) pretty left-leaning and likes Miller a lot. He thinks Smitherman would be better at getting the province to deliver money to the city.

Mon, 2010-02-15 22:53

Lord Palmerston

With Smitherman trying to straddle the mushy middle, I guess a good campaign slogan for him would be "Privatization If Necessary, But Not Necessarily Privatization."

Mon, 2010-02-15 22:54

Doug

That's wishful thinking. Maybe better at getting the small drips of funding available but no big new funding is coming for any city in Ontario - the money just isn't there right now.

Mon, 2010-02-15 23:56

Lord Palmerston

I agree - I just find it unfortunate that Smitherman may get elected by such Tammany Hall tactics.

Tue, 2010-02-16 07:31

edmundoconnor

Although he might not want to emulate such tactics too closely.

Tue, 2010-02-16 17:29

Wilf Day

NorthReport wrote:
Actually Alberta has the largest town in Canada followed by three in Quebec.

Whereas the smallest cities in Canada are Melville, Saskatchewan, 2006 population 4,149, and Desbiens, Quebec, population 1,074.

Tue, 2010-02-16 18:10

Lord Palmerston

I see Toronto Life has Smitherman on the cover, and it looks like it gets pretty personal. Looks like we're in for a very ugly mayoral race this year.

Wed, 2010-02-17 20:39

Unionist

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2010/02/17/sp-tiger-woods-media.html]Tiger Woods to break silence Friday[/url]

I predict this means he'll drop out of the mayoralty race.

Fri, 2010-02-19 11:32

NorthReport

That's exactly what Tiger said this morning.

Fri, 2010-02-19 17:21

Stockholm

I was reading somewhere today that there is renewed speculation that Shelley Carroll may run for mayor and she herself said she was starting to reconsider her decision not to run now that Giambrone is out. I always thought that she was by far the strongest progressive candidate and i had heard that Pantalone was a bit of a stalking horse for her.

I would not be surprised if in the next month or two she decides to run for mayor after all and pantalone immediately withdraws and endorses her.

Tue, 2010-02-23 16:01

TheEtobian

I just noticed that Giambrone is still listed as a candidate on the Toronto votes website. Also has anybody seen the Mammoliti website? http://www.mammoliti2010.com/

Tue, 2010-02-23 18:37

edmundoconnor

Dunno about having voting for him at the BOTTOM of the to-do list. Also, anyone who needs to be reminded that they have to 'goto' work is in enough trouble without voting for Georgio.

Tue, 2010-02-23 18:47

TheEtobian

A laugh and a half indeed. It makes you think whats underneath the scribble at the bottom of note.

Tue, 2010-02-23 23:12

adma

Someone should pick on Giorgio as the ultimate cartoon Italian in the race--the Snooki of the mayoralty

Wed, 2010-02-24 03:27

TheEtobian

The ultimate irony is she is not even Italian! She's Chilean. As easy as that would be it would too akin to good ole Robby Ford's "Gino Boy" fiasco, and thats the last person I want to be compared to. Now Rocco Rossi as Ratso Rizzo is pure gold. (I'm sure alot of the older Babblers will no doubt get the reference, if you don't look it up before crapping all over me.)

Thu, 2010-02-25 15:14

Polunatic2

Quote:
tries hard to hit the reset button on Giambrone's relationship with the public, which has become fraught of late in the wake of much criticism of the TTC.

I heard John Moore and Tarek Fatah on CFRB yesterday discussing the video. Fatah made the point that using humor for "hit the reset button" is the wrong way to go and that Giambrone should be saying something like, "the TTC can do better and I'm going to make sure that it does as mayor". They also pointed out that self-deprecating humor works best for those with a lot of major accomplishments under their belt (like Smittyman). Moore, who has some comedy under his belt, thought that if Giambrone wanted to use comedy, he should have gone further. He didn't find the video very funny using comedy standards. I think they make some valid points.

Thu, 2010-02-25 21:34

adma

Snooki: the Iron Eyes Cody of Guidettes.

Thu, 2010-02-25 23:29

TheEtobian

HA! Gold, pure Gold Adma!

Tue, 2010-03-16 12:25

edmundoconnor

Rob Ford all but says he's running. The 'choices' as touted by the MSM are now dumb, dumber and dumberer. Ford might well drag the Luthors down with him. Moreover, Miller might actually have a chance (if he ran).

Tue, 2010-03-16 12:50

Stockholm

With any luck Ford will run and stay in the race to the end and that way we get rid of him on council!

Thu, 2010-03-18 17:01

robbie_dee

The Star reports that mayoral candidate Sarah Thompson wants to [url=http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/781241--exten... extend the Toronto subway system and pay for it with road tolls[/url].

I think that's not a bad idea.

But who the heck is Sarah Thompson?

Thu, 2010-03-18 18:21

TheEtobian

Mammoliti update. It seems he removed previous picture,To-do list "goto work" and replaced it with this http://www.mammoliti2010.com/intro2.jpg Is it just me or does it look like he's got white face paint on like in that movie Dead Presidents? I'd love to see a Mayoral debate with Ford, he'd just loose it and yell at everybody especially Mammoliti. Now that's entertainment!

Fri, 2010-03-19 12:21

edmundoconnor

robbie_dee wrote:

The Star reports that mayoral candidate Sarah Thompson wants to [url=http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/781241--exten... extend the Toronto subway system and pay for it with road tolls[/url].

I think that's not a bad idea.

But who the heck is Sarah Thompson?

She own The Women's Post, whose empty bins you see attracting old pop cans, bus transfers, etc. across Toronto. AFAIK she's conservative, but not batty like Rossi. Zero experience politically, even less than Rossi. She's going to get toasted, and this idea is only going to help. The basic idea is sound, but her planned implementation is dotty. You need to throw a ring of tolls around the City of Toronto, so everyone will have to pay, much like London. That could be promoted as freeing up roads inside the city for public transit (which there would be more of, thanks to the tolls) and for everyday folk to get around, plus lessening pollution. London's example has shown that the mayor who pushes it through will undergo a firestorm (even more so here), but once the tolls are in place, no-one's going to touch them as the city will like the money they bring in. Boris Johnson, hardly an ideological ally of Ken Livingstone, has not even suggested the tolls come down or even be loosened.

Fri, 2010-03-19 14:39

Stockholm

Don't forget Joe Pantalone - who is by far the most qualified candidate and today Miller's campaign chief John Laschinger announced he would manage Pantalone's campaign!

Fri, 2010-03-19 15:24

johnpauljones

pantalone is now guarenteed to lose. yes the same man who ran john tory's faith based funding provincial election will run another mayoral race.

Fri, 2010-03-19 17:48

edmundoconnor

TheEtobian wrote:

Mammoliti update. It seems he removed previous picture,To-do list "goto work" and replaced it with this http://www.mammoliti2010.com/intro2.jpg Is it just me or does it look like he's got white face paint on like in that movie Dead Presidents? I'd love to see a Mayoral debate with Ford, he'd just loose it and yell at everybody especially Mammoliti. Now that's entertainment!

Oh dear. An Obama rip-off, really? Is that the best Gorgeous Georgio can do?

The mayoral debates are going to be fun, but in a scary way. Smitherman, Rossi, Mammoliti, Ford and Thomson. Wow. Smitherman only has to be comparatively sane (relative to the others) and he'll walk it.

Fri, 2010-03-19 17:56

robbie_dee

Per Stockholm's post:

Kelly Grant, [url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/miller-campaign-chi..."Miller campaign chief joins Pantalone,"[/url] Globe and Mail, Friday, March 19, 2010.

Quote:

Toronto's most sought-after campaign manager has decided to work for Joe Pantalone, meaning it's unlikely another prominent left-winger will emerge to challenge the deputy mayor.

John Laschinger, the architect of David Miller's successful mayoral bids, confirmed yesterday he will chair Mr. Pantalone's campaign.

"If you look at the choices, Joe fits my vision of what a mayor should be," Mr. Laschinger said. "He's not talking about cutting services or rationalizing services, he's not talking about selling assets. ... He's talking about making [the city] better."

Mr. Laschinger said he was approached by every major candidate to pilot their bids. In search of a candidate who would carry on Mr. Miller's legacy, he initially backed TTC chairman Adam Giambrone, whose campaign collapsed under the weight of the candidate's infidelity.

Mr. Laschinger said about half a dozen people from the Miller team, including some who signed on to Mr. Giambrone's short-lived effort, have pledged their support to Mr. Pantalone too.

Mr. Pantalone, who has represented Trinity-Spadina for 30 years, said Mr. Laschinger's move is part of a "clear trend" of centre-left support coalescing around his candidacy.

"There's people from the cultural industries, there's people from the labour movement, there's people who previously supported Adam Giambrone," he said. "They figure that with my experience and given my belief in a progressive city, that I'm the candidate to support."

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