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Gap-Toothed
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2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Mayoral Race

All this talk about ethnicity in local elections reminds me of what Archie Bunker's theory was on the subject, "What’s the matter with this? I call this representative government. You’ve got Salvatori, Feldman, O’Reilly, Nelson–that’s an Italian, a Jew, an Irishman and a regular American there. That’s what I call a balanced ticket." :)
 
I asked someone at lunch who knows lots of Chinese (Cantonese) people how the Chinese-Canadian community feels about Olivia Chow.

She said they probably haven't even heard of her, but as far as she knows don't have anything against her.

She also implied that some Chinese-Canadians might vote for her simply because she's Chinese.. lol. I would never use that as a reason to vote for someone, but apparently there are people who would.
 
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TFC said:
Speaking of Soknacki, he released a discussion paper about the political gridlock. I think it's well thought out and deserving of credit (and discussion)!

Team Soknacki on the issues, again. Kudos to him and his campaign so far.

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/ds/pages/118/attachments/original/1394816869/David_vs_Political_Gridlock.pdf?1394816869


A few key points:
-in favour of a ranked ballot system for the 2018 election
-proposes redrawing the ward boundaries
-proposes changes to the way the executive council is selected
Click to expand...

Oh wow, I am heavily in favor of ranked ballot and redrawing of the wards.

The legacy of amalgamation and its ward boundaries really screws with Midtown. If Soknacki drops off I hope at the very least these points become campaign issues for the other candidates.
 
The Legend Lives!

Grimace said:
Why? Chow, Tory and Stintz are known commodities. Anyone who approaches politics with a consistent perspective does not need to endure an endless campaign to at least know whether they are on the Chow side vs. the Tory/Stintz side. There is a lot of blue sky between Chow and everyone else in this campaign, with the possible exception of Socknacki, though I don't think so. Yes, I know there is the legendary "undecided" and "swing" vote out there but I believe these are people who do not have a consistent ideological perspective and either largely don't pay attention to politics until the last minute, which is fine, or people who pay too much attention to campaign promises over established records.
Click to expand...

Grimace -- I might be a 'swing vote' of one, but I've voted all over the spectrum. I tend to vote on intelligence and policy, but I've voted Green, NDP, Liberal, Conservative and independent. In Toronto elections, I've voted from 'left' to 'right'. I would say I'm consistently a fiscal conservative & social liberal, but that's not a consistency I have been able to find in candidates.

You do make a good point insomuch as I do pay attention to campaign promises, and it could be I'm swayed too much by them.
 
ShonTron said:
Uh, Joe Fontana, but unfortunately that doesn't help.

Vaughan and Hamilton have had Italian-Canadian mayors. Two small towns in Northern Ontario - Mattawa and Kapuskasing - have had Black mayors.
Click to expand...

Kapuskasing certainly is small, although I'm surprised (pleasantly) at the diversity in their mayoral history.
 
Lots of Ontario cities have had Italian Canadian mayors: DiIanni in Hamilton, Chiarelli in Ottawa and currently Scarpitti in Markham.

They're definitely involved in politics out of proportion to their share of the population. Unfortunately Toronto's Italian Canadian candidates have been pretty lousy: Nunziata, Rossi and Pantalone.
 
TFC said:
Speaking of Soknacki, he released a discussion paper about the political gridlock. I think it's well thought out and deserving of credit (and discussion)!

Team Soknacki on the issues, again. Kudos to him and his campaign so far.

http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/ds/pages/118/attachments/original/1394816869/David_vs_Political_Gridlock.pdf?1394816869


A few key points:
-in favour of a ranked ballot system for the 2018 election
-proposes redrawing the ward boundaries
-proposes changes to the way the executive council is selected
Click to expand...

That's exactly what Ford proposed. Wait, I looked at the link and there was this:

My Alternative: Redistribute to maintain a 44-ward Council in 2018. Toronto’s ratio of councillors to residents will still be manageable. Even with a population of three million, Toronto would average one councillor for every 68,000 residents – on par with, or better than councillor-resident ratios in New York, San Francisco, Calgary and Mississauga.
Click to expand...

"On par with or better" - does a better ratio means more politicians per population or less?
 
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ShonTron said:
Uh, Joe Fontana, but unfortunately that doesn't help.

Vaughan and Hamilton have had Italian-Canadian mayors. Two small towns in Northern Ontario - Mattawa and Kapuskasing - have had Black mayors.
Click to expand...

Shows you how much I pay attention to my local politicians, haha! Maurizio Bevilacqua.

But in Vaughan (Woodbridge), we pretty much have no choice but to vote for someone Italian. :-/
 
I find it interesting that Markham has never had a Chinese mayor, and the city council has 1 out of 8 councillors of Chinese descent, judging from last names.

Markham ethnically is 38% Chinese.
 
ehlow said:
I find it interesting that Markham has never had a Chinese mayor, and the city council has 1 out of 8 councillors of Chinese descent, judging from last names.

Markham ethnically is 38% Chinese.
Click to expand...

The same problem in Brampton - all but one council member is white (though all but one MPP and all but one MP are South Asian). Mississauga council is entirely white.
 
BurlOak said:
That's exactly what Ford proposed. I looked at the link and there was this:



"On par with or better" - does a better ratio means more politicians per population or less?
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ford proposed redrawing the boundaries as a result of going from 44 to 22 councillors. Soknacki is in favour of redrawing the current riding boundaries but staying at 44 wards/councillors.
 
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