How supportive the voters of T-S are of this issue is an open question. It was not an obvious or large point of distinction between Adam and Helen in the election they faced off in.
This is starting to get repetitious. I think we have established the nature and degree of of our disagreements.
That is true. But Stockholm insists on trying to equate Adam Vaughan's stated positions on collective bargaining issues at city hall with Joe Pantalone's stated positions on collective bargaining at city hall, which is plainly ridiculous. But this is really just a way of justifying his own equivocation on this issue, which is pretty much in line with Vaughan's views.
My point is simply, that Stockholm's positions on this issue indicate that Vaughan could still count on substantive support from T-S NDP'rs regardless if Vaughan accepted a deal on cutting back city hall staff, privatizing curb side pickup and making the TTC and essential service. So, doing so might not kill him in the riding because of the NDP/Labour axis which you alluded too. The labour part of the NDP vote is soft on these issues, imo.
Yawn...you really need to find a new hobby.
I feel like I just stepped on an ant.
I guess it wasn't so clear. As far as I can tell, you are misrepresenting Stockholm's position, and, more to the point, using your representation of it to impute the position to T-S voters. We don't have good evidence of the voters position.
So you are saying that Stockholm has an unequivocal stand on collective bargaining, and is opposed privitization of curb side garbage pick-up, making the TTC an essential service and reduction of city hall staff?
It's not really important or anything, but in fact he has taken no position on any of these things, even though he has had plenty of opportunity to do so when I raised them. Instead he tried to deflect any discussion of these issues by talking abbout the garbage strike, Joe Pantalone and other evasions.
That's a bit different from implying that he is in favour privatisation, which is how I read your posts.
Gotta hand it to Ford: He's as natural born a demogogue as any I've ever seen, every bit as cheap and transparent as he is thuggish and stupid. When I was working as a courier downtown during Mel Lastman's reign, there was a nickname circulating about ol' Mel that many of us found to be hilarious: "Mayor Krusty." Because it was like having Krusty the Clown as Mayor. And Ford's shaping up to make Lastman look like Sir Winston Churchill by comparison.
I mean, for fuck's sakes: "The War on Cars?" Really? From the look at the traffic congestion at practically any area of the city you'd care to name (have a look at Finch and Yonge during Rush Hour sometimes, why don'cha), if there really was a "war" on cars, then I'd say the cars won. Just like Ford's bullshit pronouncement that the city was "open for business again" after his election victory...as if it had ever been closed to business to begin with. I strongly suspect this aspect of his governing 'style' is going to severely test my patience over the next few years.
I also agree with y'all who think the simpletons who voted him into power are likely to the be the ones most fucked over by him and his agenda. Frankly, they deserve it.
That's a bit different from implying that he is in favour privatisation, which is how I read your posts.
Right. So now we are clear on this point. So we take your thesis which is that NDP'rs are not going to vote necessarily along party lines because of the "democracy" issue, and then combine that with the fact that issues of collective bargaining may not be a deal breaker for a substantial number of T-S NDP voters and it is quite possible that Vaughan could take positions where he accepted these things as "negotiable", even in the "least worst option" frame of concessions to Ford, and he might not kill himself in the ward.
So to my mind, I am not sure that the ward voters really act as too much of a restraint.
I assumed you were referring to Joe Pantalone since he was 100% supportive of the city's attack on CUPE during the strike last summer.
For the love of Pete, Stockholm; there was NO attack on CUPE during the strike. Agreeing with everything a union proposes isn't bargaining - it's capitulation.
One of my Facebook friends also thinks David Miller "attacked" CUPE during the strike by not giving in to all their demands. This guy was also an ardent George Smitherman supporter, which goes to show how being logic-challenged on one issue leads to similar deficiencies in others.
Anyhow, I've sent off a letter in support of Transit City to [email protected], basically saying that as a taxpayer, I'm deeply concerned about the potential waste of funds, etc.
If only others could see how transparent Ford is.
To the pro-Ford lover above - "good business savvy"?? You realize this clown got his business from his daddy right? It isn't like this idiot started from scratch and became a millionaire. Any "wasteful spending" this asshole finds will be chopped. Did he define "wasteful spending"? No, he just threw that out there and this followers caught it like it actually stood for something of substance. What he didn't tell you was that all this cutting? it will come at you expense. Swimming pools closed, parks charging money or closed, all those things you like, including transit - done like dinner.
Hope you like your Toronto after he is done. And thanks for voting for him. Really appreciate it. After all, we know right wingers are so good with money - NOT
I think there are ~8,000 voters in the ward for whom it would be a deal breaker. Nobody will know until the election. If Adam moves to do that he is betting his council seat. He might not want to do that. In particular, the history is VERY clear that he faces no challenge from the right in this ward.
It’s a BAD IDEA to spend good monies after bad! Think about it….if Transit City was such a great idea, why would it take 7 yrs. in the planning? Great ideas take no time at all. Bad ideas are dragged out in the hopes of finding something good about them.
*** Way to go Mayor Rob Ford! Way to go! Keep those subways coming!
It took 7 years in the planning because the funding had to be secured, plans had to be made, Environmental Assessments had to done, consultations needed to take place, contracts had to be haggled over, and so on. Transit projects take time because funnily enough, governments aren't too keen on handing out money to cities for half-considered ideas that haven't had the life studied out of them, any more than a bank manager would agree you to give you $20,000 for "you know, stuff". You need to make sure the project is in the right place, goes to the right places, that people will actually ride it, and that it will benefit the area where it's going to go.
He hasn't brought any new subways to Toronto, and he hasn't been too clear on how exactly he's going to get them, which strikes me as being rather important. Do you know how he's going to do it? The rest of the city and I would like to know. Also, how would he pay for them? Thanks to getting rid of vehicle registration tax, the city has *less* money to play with, not more. Any hope of the province or feds helping out is nonexistent. The private sector isn't too healthy, and would need subsidies to become interested. In any case, how will Ford deal with the inevitable cancellation fees (running into tens, maybe hundreds, of millions), and the city ending up with nothing?
I think there are ~8,000 voters in the ward for whom it would be a deal breaker. Nobody will know until the election. If Adam moves to do that he is betting his council seat. He might not want to do that. In particular, the history is VERY clear that he faces no challenge from the right in this ward.
I think there are 4129 voter in the ward for whom it would be a deal breaker. I also think there are at least 5476 voters who will vote right if given the chance.
I think that Vaughan can afford to lose those 4000 votes and still win Ward 20.
I also think that if he really has no ambition to be mayor, then his political aspirations lie elsewhere and as such he needs all the profile he can get. If he wants to be mayor it makes sense for him to stay on the outside looking in, since he can campaign from the opposition, but if he is looking to build profile being on Ford's executive (perhaps playing a critical role salvaging council from total collapse) is a good way to go.
How did you compute those numbers?
My 8,000 is half the NDP vote provincially.
So you are saying that Stockholm has an unequivocal stand on collective bargaining, and is opposed privitization of curb side garbage pick-up, making the TTC an essential service and reduction of city hall staff?
I'm getting really tired of having to respond to these ridiculous "when did you stop beating your wife?" type questions - from some self-styled arbiter of ideological purity. Who do you think you are? some Stalinist prosecutor during the Slansky trials - trying to expose party members who YOU think aren't "pure" enough.
I support collective bargaining. I oppose privatization of garbage pick-up. I oppose layoffs at city hall and I oppose making the TTC an essential service (even though doing so would result in arbitrated settlements that would be far more generous that what the union would be able to negotiate - so people on the right better be careful about wishing for something - it might happen). If I took the opposite view on these issues I would not be a New Democrat in the first place.
I've never heard Cueball explicitly state that he opposes gay-bashing or that he thinks that the Holocaust was a bad thing or that he is against violence against women. I can only surmise that since he never explicitly expressed these positions - he doesn't share them.
Yes, that's what Toronto needs. To look like Mississauga.
And by the way, it was the business savvy Mike Harris government that canceled the Eglinton subway. Ford's father was part of Harris' caucus and undoubtedly supported canceling a subway that had already been started. Harris was at Ford's victory party.
Ha, ha, ha, ha! Your sarcasm about Mississauga says it all! Scarboro & Mississauga where designed to accommodate future growth.
If you even remotely studied how Toronto's design came about, you would scream NOOOOOO! Think of future growth rather than pile houses one on top of the other, with such narrow street.
Take a Real Estate History course. You will see that every immigrant built homes to resemble the crowed streets of the town they came from. A total hodge-podge mess.
As for Harris.....he does not hold a candle to Rob Ford. They are not even in the same league. Harris is a puppet, Rob Ford is THE MAN!
As for those Ignorant ppl calling a person names bcos of their looks. Wow, I just can't wait until you have kids of you own and they come home
crying their little eyes out bcos the kids at school are calling them names. Let's see how you feel then. Grow Up!
I LIKE living in narrow streets with houses piled up. Well, not so much the piled up, more the cheek by jowl of the classic Toronto 15ft wide house. Hodge podge is a GOOD thing. I grew up in the suburbs, I left as soon as possible and never went back.
Try doing a cost accounting of the burbs, when downtown stops subsidizing you, things will hurt.
Yes, that's what Toronto needs. To look like Mississauga.
And by the way, it was the business savvy Mike Harris government that canceled the Eglinton subway. Ford's father was part of Harris' caucus and undoubtedly supported canceling a subway that had already been started. Harris was at Ford's victory party.
Ha, ha, ha, ha! Your sarcasm about Mississauga says it all! Scarboro & Mississauga where designed to accommodate future growth.
You do know that McCallion has stated that her biggest regret as mayor was not planning for transit early on, right?
Could you address the questions and issues from my last post? Cost and things actually happening being important, and all.
As for Harris.....he does not hold a candle to Rob Ford. They are not even in the same league. Harris is a puppet, Rob Ford is THE MAN!
Yikes.
Well, there might be some entertainment value here.
Or we all get neck exercises from shaking our heads.
Missy, are you Rob Ford? Or do you play on his football team?
Try doing a cost accounting of the burbs, when downtown stops subsidizing you, things will hurt.
This is a great point. Everytime I'm downtown and cross that paralyzed intersection at Front and whatever the Gardiner exit is and all those people hopping on the Go I think about all the hidden costs that Torontonians absorb so that rich fucks in Oakville can have three cars and a sailboat.
As for Harris.....he does not hold a candle to Rob Ford. They are not even in the same league. Harris is a puppet, Rob Ford is THE MAN!
Remember how team Ford had those fake twitter accounts during the election campaign? I think those same folks are having some fun here.
Everytime I'm downtown and cross that paralyzed intersection at Front and whatever the Gardiner exit is and all those people hopping on the Go I think about all the hidden costs that Torontonians absorb so that rich fucks in Oakville can have three cars and a sailboat.
Le T: you rock!
If you even remotely studied how Toronto's design came about, you would scream NOOOOOO! Think of future growth rather than pile houses one on top of the other, with such narrow street.
"Toronto" used to be several different cities. If you go into the more established neighbourhoods, you will find that the houses are more tightly packed and the streets are narrower. Why? When that part of the city was being established, people generally did not have cars. The city had no choice but to plan residential and commercial areas so people could have their needs met within the neighbourhoods, and a transit system that moved people around. The outer burbs grew mainly during the post war boom when automobile use became far more common and people started moving into single family, suburban dwellings. That plays a huge role in the differences between the inner city and the outter burbs, and why the urban/suburban divisions came about.
Take a Real Estate History course. You will see that every immigrant built homes to resemble the crowed streets of the town they came from. A total hodge-podge mess.
You mean how the Real Estate industry managed to convince the vast majority that home ownership was the way to go? Did you know that in the US residents get tax breaks on their mortgage while renters receive no such assistance?
How did you compute those numbers?
My 8,000 is half the NDP vote provincially.
My number comes from the number of people who voted for Joe Pantalone in Ward 20. Joe was clearly the only candidate with a clear stand on these collective bargaining issues. Smitherman and Ford were both for a reduction of city hall staff and privatizing curb side garbage pickup. Obviously Joe was the only major candidate you could vote for if privatization and breaking up the city hall bargaining units is a deal breaker.
To my mind this means that even if some of your estimated 8000 NDP voters might not like breaking up the bargaining units and privitization, it does not mean they are not pliable, if they think they need to vote for a "least worst option".
Ford got slightly more votes than Pantalone, and Smitherman got 16,000 (the provincial NDP number co-incidentally). Oddly Mike Yen, Ford's guy in T-S got less votes that Ford by about 1100, one wonder where they went? Vaughan... maybe.
During the campaign, when Ford was challenged about how his numbers didn't add up ...
It sounds like Ford is about 99 cents short of a buck. Batman where are you?
Missy is gone.
And if Cueball and Stockholm could dial down the snipe-fest, my life would be complete. Well, not complete, but you know what I mean.
On Tuesday Ford repeated his promise for more transparency & accountability. By Wednesday he was flipping the bird to the media.
Harper congratulates Ford in person
Ford was tight-lipped about what the two discussed...“Maybe you should ask him,” Ford said. “I really can’t get into that information.”
We can only speculate that the discussion was political and focused on the Con's fortunes in Toronto. Didn't take Ford long to show that his loyalties lie with his party and not the city he wants to "lead". Don't expect Ford to take on the Feds anytime soon.
Cueball, will you just stoooooooppppppp going after Stockholm? It's soooo annoying and pointless. It just reminds me of a line I heard from a very clever person: "who cares about what the right is doing, the left will kill itself every time." What we don't need now is an imploding left.
To the moderator: why did Missy get banned? Seems all she really did is support the "wrong" candidate (and maybe a different vision of what urban planning is about). But I don't see why she should be banned for that.
Olly,
From her first post at #42 Missy demonstrated contempt for babble and babblers. This isn't a good way to begin.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Mississauga Mayor Hazel Mccallion have business savvy along with common sense and long term successful and profitable visions!
Such text is laughably transparent as coming from a conservative troll.
How is pointing out that Stockholm is soft on collective bargaining issue, and thinks that it might be reasonable to support candidates that attack collective bargaining rights "going after Stockholm"! This is a political board where we discuss political issues, it is not some Stalanist party enclave where people like you get to come along and assert party discipline in order to prevent division in the "the left".
Political issues include issues of collective bargaining rights. I didn't realize the personal political views of babblers was off limits. I thought the point of the board was to discuss personal political views.
I am sorry if you think the left ideas can include infringement of collective bargaining rights of workers, or attempts to break up collective bargaining units. Sorry, it doesn't. In my view your vocal support of a Mayors candidate who thought that such rights were expendable was not and indication that either he (Smitherman) or you are on "the left" or even "progressive", whatever that means these days, which seems to be not much.
My point was quite simple, there seem to be many people who like to call themselves "progressive", even some in the NDP, who would think that "collective bargaining" rights are "negotiable", even if they support them theoretically, but when the cards are down would be willing to sacrifice workers rights in order to support the "least worst option".
As if people on this board would find it acceptable to support a candidate who is soft on same sex marriage rights, because a candidate might be firm on "collective bargaining" rights. NOT! Obviously, to be truly progressive neither is acceptable.
Yes, thank you Maysie. We don't need any screaming deluded idiot Ford voters. Fucking tea baggers of the north., Ford can fuck off. I will never call that fucking asshole "mayor".
Sorry for the language but I am as fucking pissed at Ford as I was at his buddy, Mike, "Kill those fucking Indians" Harris, and I really don't give a fucking shit which one of my suburban friends i piss off with my anti-Ford diatribes.
BTW, I sent an email three days ago to that fucking assclown and McGuinty. I guess we will see just how quickly that asshole returns emails. I won't be holding my breath.
That's not a horribly unreasonable approach. However, for that dynamic to go into effect the right would need to drop a star candidate into TS. Which seems unlikely.
To flesh out the prospect a bit, we assume Adam votes for privatising and the NDP runs a candidate against him as a result. The right senses a split left vote and runs a strong candidate. The pressure is on for strategic voting. So, who gets squeezed? If the ~4,000 votes are firm against privatising Adam is the one in trouble, or the idea of strategic voting is. The right needs ~6,000 votes at least to win in a 3 way fight (less if lower turnout, but those ~4,000 are Pantalone supporters are hard core voters, so lower turnout doesn't help the right). 6,000 votes is probably twice the number the right can reasonably expect in the ward. So we are back to a 2 way fight on the privatising issue. I think Adam loses that fight.
This could change if the right found a ridiculously strong candidate, someone with the draw of Mike Clemons. I don't see them having one, and even with that level of draw, T-S would be a crapshoot, they wouldn't risk him, or (extremely unlikely) her.
I also think this analysis should be public. I want Adam to see this problem coming a long way before he has to decide how to vote.
My number comes from the number of people who voted for Joe Pantalone in Ward 20. Joe was clearly the only candidate with a clear stand on these collective bargaining issues. Smitherman and Ford were both for a reduction of city hall staff and privatizing curb side garbage pickup. Obviously Joe was the only major candidate you could vote for if privatization and breaking up the city hall bargaining units is a deal breaker.
To my mind this means that even if some of your estimated 8000 NDP voters might not like breaking up the bargaining units and privitization, it does not mean they are not pliable, if they think they need to vote for a "least worst option".
Ford got slightly more votes than Pantalone, and Smitherman got 16,000 (the provincial NDP number co-incidentally). Oddly Mike Yen, Ford's guy in T-S got less votes that Ford by about 1100, one wonder where they went? Vaughan... maybe.
There is plenty of room in the center of T-S for Adam to take a Smitherman-like position on these issues and survive politically. Then you have the following calculation of where Vaughan sees his political career going.
1) He wants to be the T-S Ward councilor for life, and maybe be mayor some day, after Ford is gone. In which case being on the executive and getting what he can get for T-S on the inside is pragmatic.
2) He wants to run for mayor in 2014. In this case he definitely wants to be on the outside, so he can run against Ford from opposition and stay clear of any entanglements.
3) He has aspirations at the provincial or federal level. In this case being in the executive and being a high profile consensus builder helping save something from the jaws of disaster, would be a good way to get some profile.
In the first and third case there is good reason to be in on the executive, and if he doesn't have an ideological approach, then he very well could end up backing Ford on privatization and cut backs of city hall staff, in the Smitherman vein -- Smitherman politcs are obviously not antithetical to the main body of the riding, since of course Smitherman got 16,000 vote in T-S, more than enough to win Vaughan the seat without the NDP/Labour axis.
Not saying this would happen right away, but the I consider the prospect of Vaughan finding himself on executive in a couple of years to be a good prospect, since of course, we are looking at an executive that seems bound for a crisis sooner or later: an executive that may need to be shuffled.
The Ford vision for subway routing does not solve the isolation of the 13 identified revitalizing neighbourhoods. For them, connection will move them from survive through revive to thrive.
But the revival of the neighbourhoods is not on the Ford radar.
This is curious, given Ford's all-night intervention on behalf of one of hise "at-risk" football players during the mayoral campaign, as related by Nick Kouvalis at the November 5 debrief for mayoral campaign managers. Had services been in place, the youth and Rob might have rested easy....
At October 7 Toronto mayoralty debates held at St. Lawrence Centre, Rob Ford said he had no evidence to show that investments in the priority neighbourhoods were producing results. Ford would not commit to continuing the City of Toronto portion of funding.
Here's the evidence Ford couldn't know: A day later on October 8, of the 112 model schools located in the 13 revitalizing Toronto neighbourhoods there were 80 schools approved for Parent Reaching Out grants by the Ministry of Education. For many schools, it was the first time.
Typically the schools located in more prosperous neighbourhoods have routinely and regularly accessed the grants since 2006. In those schools there are longstanding community relationships and a familiarity with the paper trail process. Given the less stable environment in priority neighbourhoods, the Toronto District School Board - Inner City Advisory Council were delighted at the Model Schools' unprecedented application and approval rate in the Model Schools cohort.
How was this change made possible ?
The investments in priority neighbourhoods meant that relationships and trust, which take time and not much money, started to take root. With improved access to community health, before- and after-school programs, improved access to social workers and community development workers built capacity for people to start planning a life beyond the next immediate and urgent moments.
Having connection in communities meant that parents and schools found a way to get the message out about the application deadline change and build a grant application to prevent loss of funding for a 2010-11 school project. End-of-year Parent Council meetings held in super-busy May normally deal with final preparations for EQAO-testing, graduation-planning, annual recognition awards and end-of-year BBQ planning.
Parent Reaching Out grants are parent-school collaboratives which are designed to help inform parents on how to help their students be better prepared for learning. They are funded once per year by Parent Engagement Office at Ministry of Education. Outcomes are measured by student success in improved report card results, improved attendance, improved participation in co- and extra-curricular activities and can often be measured in upticks to year-over-year EQAO results.
Rob Ford's policy adviser Mark Towhey was made aware on November 5 of the as-yet non-fiduciary impact of investments in neighbourhoods which can only be seen over time as students do better in school.
In the short term, parents getting smart on how to access more money into their schools seemed to make a positive impression on him.
Catherine Soplet
Advocate of the idea for "Citizen Apprenticeship"
a prosperity response of public education in poverty reduction
Obviously the issue with schools is not teacher perfromance but funding.
Hopefully Rob Ford's career as Mayor will go the way of Larry O'Brien's.
Cueball, the 16,000 number for Smitherman needed the Ford bogeyman to happen. The ward may be changing with the condos going up, but nobody has been able to put together the coalition you are describing in almost 40 years. That's a lot of history to ignore.
Is Rob Ford typical of the voter mentality among Torontonians in general?
What is it about Ford that appeals to so many people in Toronto? Why would they find common cause with a politician who promises not to raise taxes?
Is it because working poor people and especially immigrants to Canada aren't seeing enough of their current tax dollars invested in the common good and returned to them in the form of better services and first rate infrastructure?
Are too many of these Canadians still working the same low wage jobs since arriving in Canada and never receiving pay increases? Is this what's at the root of their anti-tax revolt causing them to vote for Rob Ford types?
You're right Fidel. The social-dem agenda of the Miller executive and council as well as the ONDP has not delivered to poor people.
Cueball, the 16,000 number for Smitherman needed the Ford bogeyman to happen. The ward may be changing with the condos going up, but nobody has been able to put together the coalition you are describing in almost 40 years. That's a lot of history to ignore.
We are talking about wether or not these collective bargaining rights issues are "deal breakers" or not for voters. Obviously if they can vote for Smitherman as a "least worse option" and ignore his intention to bust the City Garbage Workers union, then "collective barganing" rights are not a deal breaker... they are willing to accept the "least worse option": Smitherman over Ford, regardless of Smitherman's position on collective bargaining rights... which was truly fucking horrible, by the way.
Exactly my point. If it had been a "deal breaker" they would have voted for Pantalone, or not voted.
You're right Fidel. The social-dem agenda of the Miller executive and council as well as the ONDP has not delivered to poor people.
And it's nothing to do with the top-down federalized neoliberalorama in this country since Mulroney and Chretien? My-my, anything but blame those guys, because as we know it's really been David Miller and the ONDP who've been running things in Canada all along. Who knew? How much do they pay people to lead in this kind of partisan cheering? Where do I pick up my bleu et rouge pom poms and bull horn?
News alert! The ONDP haven't been the government in this province for the last 16 years! Not since the last ideologically driven economic meltdown engineered in Ottawa.
And bless David Miller. You tried your best, buddy. You're worth a dozen of those idiots any day o' the week and twice on Sundays. God help them in Gotham City now.
Are too many of these Canadians still working the same low wage jobs since arriving in Canada and never receiving pay increases? Is this what's at the root of their anti-tax revolt causing them to vote for Rob Ford types?
I suspect that's a large part of it. If there's no more income to be had through wage increases (or price increases if you earn money as a small business, taxes going down becomes more than just a little nice thing and having to pay for the increases city workers get becomes somewhat painful. There's also a big disconnect between what you could call David Miller's "world" of artists, academics, students, developers, environmentalists and urban planners (regardless of what he actually *did*, this is who you tended to see him with) and the people outside of that world. Don Cherry puts it rather well, actually - "People are sick of the elites and artsy people running the show. It’s time for some lunch pail, blue-collar people." Rob Ford kind of spoils it by not actually being a blue-collar person, but that's okay, he can play one on TV.
There's also a big disconnect between what you could call David Miller's "world" of artists, academics, students, developers, environmentalists and urban planners (regardless of what he actually *did*, this is who you tended to see him with) and the people outside of that world. Don Cherry puts it rather well, actually - "People are sick of the elites and artsy people running the show. It’s time for some lunch pail, blue-collar people." Rob Ford kind of spoils it by not actually being a blue-collar person, but that's okay, he can play one on TV.
Somehow, when it comes to the macro-picture, I wonder how well Don Cherry playing the symbolic introductory role that, I suppose, Jane Jacobs played for Miller will go over. Indeed, I wonder how many "Fordite-out-of-convenience" councillors might be having serious misgivings and second thoughts--come to think of it, I'm wondering whether the first Ford-era Council meeting might collapse in a heap of bleccchhh before it even wraps up, or whether there'll *ever* be a coherent Ford-led meeting of City Council.
Who knows; at this rate, we might as well be seeing Mayor Ford and his tinpot advisors opting for a Margaret Thatcher/GLC solution and abolishing Toronto City Council altogether, thus putting everything in the hands of his "cabinet of appointees". And if anyone objects, he'll just say "we won the election fair and square, the people have spoken, so, nyaaah."
the reason Ford won could be that alot of people who do not live in "priority neighborhoods" cannot "plan a life beyond the next immediate and urgent moments."
For example..I live right next to a subway station, but I am not a homeowner, I am a renter, and I am barely able to afford rent..so am I supposed to be considered as someone who is more privileged than those living in "priority neighborhoods"
I understand we need to lift everyone out of poverty, but very few people can really be totally compassionate and empathetic to the downtrodden when they also see themselves as member of the downtrodden but are being passed over as not having it all that bad by the David Miller administration.
Rob Ford has a phobia towards streetcars and light rail.
One may present all the facts we can find, but the facts will not persuade someone with a phobia. Better to turn our attention to the other city councilors who will listen to the facts presented.
I think Ford is just abused as a child and he has to overcompensate by hurting those who need help the most..but thats another story..
tell the council you want transit city
http://www.emailthem.ca/transitcity/
Rob Ford has a phobia towards streetcars and light rail.
This could be his achilles heel. He seems to think his winning slogan was "stop the war on the car" or "stop the streetcar" not "stop the gravy train." I wonder if he has some polling data to back this up? If not, he may paint himself into a corner.
Than again, some people forget that Mike Harris won in 1995 on the slogan "stop photo radar." The "war on the car" has longer legs than some downtown folks think.
I don't think anyone voted for Ford because of his transit plan. Or even if that was part of his equation, it was not the biggest part. One of the fundamental problems of this campaign, and the Miller adminstration was being able to communicate their vision to the people of the city, and this was largely compounded by the fact that major media outlets, in particular the Toronto Star, spent the last year trashing Miller, as opposed to explaining transit city.
If the Star had actually endorsed "Transit City". as opposed to George Smitherman, then Ford might have been defeated on the issues.
