How do we mobilize support for Joe Pantalone?

I always knew you had a sense of humour Stockholm. None of those things are possible for Smitherman because unlike Ford, Smitherman takes his marching orders from Dalton McGuinty.

A vote for Joe is a vote for the little guy!

I read today on someones Facebook that you can vote for "the ultra-right, the extreme right, the right or the loony right. Or you can vote for Joe Pantalone for Mayor."

Again, I have to reiterate the point that the mayor above all sets the tone for council decision making. The mayor is not a president. So, in fact the battle takes us beyond the immediate frame of the election and into the next council, where we need to make the point that there is no clear mandate to sell off Toronto.

the way to support Joe is to not make it about Joe, but to make it about saving Transit City from a Ford take over. And take inspirations from Obama, he stated "The challenge, I think, for the Tea Party movement is to identify specifically what would you do. It's not enough just to say 'get control of spending,'"

i think Ford is going to be mayor, but he is going to release a slate of candidates to help support his policies on the council. we need to prevent those councillors from being elected.
And Joe needs to practise his lines better.
 
edited* and stop the personal attacks on Ford, i cannot believe my eyes today when i read Mallick's piece on Ford in today's star
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/864045--mallick-waking-up-with-mayor-rob-ford
disturbing and fatphobic, and only turned people against the anti-ford leftist crowds.
some members of the downtown urban leftist intellectual crowds need to learn some manners, people in scarborough do not really like having anyone really being called as a fat pig and ignorant and stupid.

I'll probably end up voting for Joe, but unti he renounces his own actions in helping paint CUPE into a corner and votig to commend Chief bLiar for repressing our civil liberties during G20, I refuse to lift a hand to campaign for him. I have no candidate for Mayor.

You're wasting your time on this bourgeois politicians.

What has Joe ever done for the working class?

Can anyone post a link to his quotes on abolishing the Capitalist system?

Your time would be better spent running your own working class candidate.

At least then you will learn what needs to be done.

Look, get used to Ford and people like him.

As capitalism keeps coming up short and the bourgeois politicians keep chasing it's tail, the city will sink further into the abyss.

People like Ford are just the reactionary out come of this course.

Looking at Ford you will see a man that can't even make the proper dietary decisions. He can't even control his thoughts and comes up with never ending bigoted remarks. How is he going to manage a city?

That's not the point, the point is, he is the outward expression of society. This is the guy people are turning to.

My only conclusion is that the working class has no direction. All the people acting as the leaders of the working class, have failed.

Just look at the two main strikes over the last few years. One at the TTC and one by the city workers. In both cases the bourgeoisie and their media outlets were able to bash the workers unopposed. Why? Were were their representatives?

Ford won a long time ago.

Cueball wrote:

ETA, Mallick is a well known idiot. She should be ignored. I do. Doesn't everyone? I always thought the Star hired her because she was the perfect pastiche of a "lefty" moron. Don't be surprised if she endorses Thompson because Thompson mentions Jane Jacobs every oppotunity she gets.

Mallick isn't much of a lefty.   A leftover perhaps but definitely not a lefty.   She doesn't like ATU 113 president Bob Kinnear's hairstyle???    Gimme a break!!!

Quote:

[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/city-votes/three-to... Toronto mayoral candidates balk at early release of donors list[/url]

In a race dominated by the themes of financial accountability and transparency at city hall, three of the leading contenders for the mayor's chain are refusing to reveal before voting day who is funding their campaigns.

George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi and Sara Thomson intend to keep their donor lists secret until the law... requires them to disclose the names more than five months after election day ...

... the Joe Pantalone and Rob Ford campaigns are the only ones planning to release their lists early so voters can follow the money.

However, Mr. Ford doesn't appear to have given the issue much thought.

The main point, I believe, is that Pantalone is the only candidate other than Ford willing to release the names of donors before the election. For all the bashing of current municipally elected representatives that they do, Rossi, Smitherman and Thomson aren't willing to practice what they preach when it comes to transparency.

Only the two candidates who have experience at city hall are prepared to be open *before* the people vote. One candidate is progressive, with a nuanced understanding of the city, of politics, and of finances. The other is extremely reactionary, simplistic, destructive. Rather than being Pantalone's "baby", as Rossi would have it, Ford is son of Harris. The rest, despite their objections otherwise, have positioned themselves as Harrisite wannabes. Wannabes who don't want us to know where they are getting their money when we go to the polls.

I think it would be smart for those who want Pantalone's support to increase to compare and contrast with Ford, and address how a progressive approach and Transit City will address the issues and alienation of Scarborogh, Rexdale, North York ...

He's the only one supporting Transit City, which addresses those concerns. All of the others want to break away from what has been planned, approved, budgeted for and started. Voting for any one of them will mean more delays, more suffering.

What you write simply underlines my point.

Quote:

Your time would be better spent running your own working class candidate.

Nominations are closed unfortunately. Not an option this election. There is an option to support Pantalone the longshot. My suggestion is to help Joe and your favored local candidate by doubling up literature to drop in mailboxes. 

My simplistic view is that Ford was able to tap into the anti-elitist sentiment that angry people feel when they perceive things aren't going well. It's clear that much of the Toronto "elite" is backing Smitherman. Joe needs to distinguish himself from the "elite" and tap into the anger from a perspective that's the polar opposite of Ford's. 

Axing half the Councillors (how many did we lose with amalgamation?) is a direct attack on local democracy. It is not a cost saving measure. It's a dictatorial measure. Maybe Joe should stand up for local democracy too? Ford will succeed at reducing local democracy is he and Hudak are elected. The only contradiction is that Ford is lining up his councillors now. How many of them are stupid enough to support axing their jobs in order to get elected this time. 

takeitslowly wrote:

if Joe didnt talk about how toronto is really a nice garden and needs little fixing, and instead realize the horrifying nightmare of sitting at a subway train that is barely moving from Kennedy station all the way throughout Bloor and Young, or the fact that the RT at Scarborough is literally dying before our very eyes and going down in flames, we might be able to relate to Joe better.

Fixing the Scarborough LRT and bringing it up to modern standards is part of Transit City.

There is still a ton of time left in this campaign. It's not just possible that the polls will change dramatically over the next weeks, but likely. Municipal elections are very fluid affairs. It's not just the 2003 Miller example. In 2006 in Ottawa, all through October Alex Munter had about 40% of the decided vote and was well in the lead of his two challengers, but he ended up losing to the guy who was at 6% in August.

I'm working on Joe's campaign, and have seen the underlying numbers. Rob Ford is still very beatable, and the only person who can do so is Joe Pantalone. It won't be easy, but if Joe gets enough volunteers and enough money it is possible.

To repeat Writer's call, if you have any time, please sign up at mayorjoe.ca . If you have any money, please donate. For anyone who doesn't know, the city has a very generous rebate program. For any donation up to $300, you are refunded 75%. So a $300 donation actually only costs you $75.

@radiorahim post #20:

There's nothing bigoted about my remark. The guys fat. Meaning that in all likely hood his eating habits are out of control. That may not matter to you but to me it shows a person that manages his stress in a negative way.

You think one thing in the guys life doesn't relate to other things? How about the guy take a serious look at himself.

He's fat, prone to addictive substances, says bigoted remarks, has reactionary right winged tendencies, will not compromise with others, and the list goes on. Yet people think this guy can lead the City of Toronto. What's that say about the whole situation?

Heres the prediction . Unless the guy takes a serious look at himself and start to fix his own life, the following will happen, if he becomes mayor of Toronto.

The stress of the job will become a burden. He will turn to his vices to over come his problems. He will make bad decisions and become very confrontational with others. He will blame everyone else. Toronto will suffer.

Personally the guy should take care of himself. This is just going to make his situation worse and make us worse at the same time. The people voting for him are blinded by there own ignorance.

This is not a good time for Toronto. Capitalism is in the shitters and people are looking for direction. The left parties have abandoned their Socialism and confidence in it a long time ago. Conservatives are confident in themselves and their ideology. As people look for answers the conservatives will sound appealing.

trippie wrote:

@radiorahim post #20:

 

There's nothing bigoted about my remark. The guys fat. Meaning that in all likely hood his eating habits are out of control. That may not matter to you but to me it shows a person that manages his stress in a negative way.

 

You think one thing in the guys life doesn't relate to other things? How about the guy take a serious look at himself.

 

He's fat, prone to addictive substances, says bigoted remarks, has reactionary right winged tendencies, will not compromise with others, and the list goes on. Yet people think this guy can lead the City of Toronto. What's that say about the whole situation?

 

Heres the prediction . Unless the guy takes a serious look at himself and start to fix his own life, the following will happen, if he becomes mayor of Toronto.

 

The stress of the job will become a burden. He will turn to his vices to over come his problems. He will make bad decisions and become very confrontational with others. He will blame everyone else. Toronto will suffer.

 

Personally the guy should take care of himself. This is just going to make his situation worse and make us worse at the same time. The people voting for him are blinded by there own ignorance.

This is not a good time for Toronto. Capitalism is in the shitters and people are looking for direction. The left parties have abandoned their Socialism and confidence in it a long time ago. Conservatives are confident in themselves and their ideology. As people look for answers the conservatives will sound appealing.

"Direction and leadership" does not mean calling people "fatso".

For one thing, it is a mistaken belief that all people who are overweight are so because they overeat. Some, indeed, have different metabolism, and others have genuine disorders. Indeed, why am I reminded of a discussion with John Tory on 680 News, where some people were discussing charging people extra for health care costs associated with being over weight... judged by the pound.

There are a whole lot other things to talk about Ford, as opposed to bringing up his weight. If that is the best you can do for confident "leadership" from the left, the left is truly dead. Sounds like CPC (ML) bunko to me.

trippie wrote:

 The guys fat. Meaning that in all likely hood his eating habits are out of control. That may not matter to you but to me it shows a person that manages his stress in a negative way.

or, maybe he has a "glandular problem" or his metabolism is out of kilter and he actually doesn't eat all that much. But then again the comedian Lenny Bruce once said "Whenever you see an enormously fat person, they always say that it wasn't because of overeating - they just have a "glandular problem". If that's true why is that when the allies liberated Buchenwald - you never saw any morbidly obese prisoners walking out saying 'all I ate was bread and water for four years'".

I agree though that we are going wayyy off message by talking about Ford's weight. There are plenty of politicians on the left who could lose a pound or two as well (are you there Howard Moscoe?)

Moderator hat on.

What writer said.

trippie your choice of words, and your feeble "defence" of them in post #35 are deplorable. Stop now or you will be given a few days off.

Ford's not suitable for mayor of Toronto for many reasons. There's a thread about Ford here. His weight and size are irrelevant.

This thread is called How do we mobilize support for Joe Pantalone? Let's talk about that.

START TO CHANT

GIVE PANTS A CHANCE!!!

my frustration with Joe is once again he is always claiming that the city is wonderful and working fine, he doesnt seem to acknowledge and affirm the frustration and problems people face in all parts of the city..its about a lack of empathy and the preception that he is emotionally out of touch and downtown centric, regardless of the actual policies.

None.