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2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Mayoral Race

Riverdale Rink Rat said:
So, this is what I mean about unhinged. Thanks, Elec, for the examples!

1. Jarvis is no more a major commuter route than I am a pineapple. It's a 'major commuter route' for Rosedale & Moore Park. The bike lanes moved one LANE which reversed. The change added about 90 seconds to the commute of a whack of lawyers, and BOY did we hear about it. And to think that ANYONE who complained about this change would have been assuaged by a better express bus? <giggle>

2. LRT in Calgary spans the entire burg. Goes fast. Is used by thousands of commuters. You, average Torontonian, have been so brainwashed about the supposed negative aspects of LRT that you have stopped even thinking about it in a rational way. I look forward to the day when every Torontonian starts calling the Eglinton line a 'subway' so they don't have the cognitive dissonance of a fast, efficient LRT explode their skulls on impact.

3. 'Out here', wherever that is, you could have had faster, more efficient public transit to take you in 15 minutes to Bloor West Village, or North York Centre, or Scarborough Town Centre, or the Danforth. But... Miller was anti-suburban. Whatever.
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Just to be clear, I didn't vote for Ford. I don't even live in Toronto proper, but if I did I surely would not have voted for him. That said, it is all about perspective. Did these bike lanes and LRT lines destroy commutes? No. But Toronto is a large city, and it is not unreasonable to want to get across it relatively quickly. Montreal, which granted is a much smaller city, one can get to several destinations by rapid transit. Toronto even when it is running, you can't even get from Union Station to Ontario Place by transit in a timely manner by TTC, and they are linked by a streetcar ROW!

Now compound that sloth like commuting experience in a suburban locale. It doesn't even have to be Mississauga-esque sprawl, just detached homes near retail high streets. If transit can barely get you between the nearby movie theatre and your doctor down the street, how is it going to connect you to your university campus or city airport on the other side of town?

So yes, because transit failed to keep up, people bought cars. But once again it is about perception. Miller removed car lanes for local bike lanes, talked about removing the Gardiner, all while doubling the registration fee and investing billions into light rail lines that developed their own unnecessary niche between local and rapid transit.

Yes, we do need to strengthen the local realm, especially in the suburbs. People shouldn't need to cross the city to meet their daily needs. But at the same time, we also need to realize that a great city is one where people of all social classes can access opportunities from all corners of it quickly and efficiently. And I believe Miller didn't
 
GenerationW said:
I'll buy that Miller could have won a close race, but not that he would have blown Ford away.


I thought Tory won tonight's debate pretty easily. Ford had more crowd reaction (no doubt because he had more supporters there), but I thought he came across like a cheap huckster. Not much to say about Chow since she made little impression on me.
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Why must you play devils advocate all the time. Rob Ford can't even break 30 percent and you think the race would be close? Doug Ford, fine. And he won not John Tonight.
Silence&Motion said:
Nice way to belittle the issue.
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Stop making excuses for her. She should be ahead of these two dunderheads by 15 points right now. You have to have emotion to speak up. Olivia should try it sometime.
 
StevieD said:
It's painfully clear that Olivia Chow has no deep desire to be the next mayor of Toronto.
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MyNameisAndy via warrenkinsella.com said:
From the start, Olivia Chow has come across as the “reluctant candidate”, asked over and over to be the saviour that frees Toronto from the perils of Rob Ford. People can tell when someone is not into it. It really showed in her press conference announcing her transit plan and trying to keep her message on track.
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says it all really.
 
I think its more her personality than anything. The Ford's have made it much more a war than it used to be. Tory has risen to the occasion. Chow seemingly can't.
 
WislaHD said:
I don't know if you were watching the debate, but on that question Tory did not in any way, shape or form looked against Pride. He looked the complete opposite, proud of Pride.
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That was my point. At both Friday debates he said he'd pull it. And yet again, John Tory sticks his foot in his mouth, and then get's redirected by his staff.

I fail to understand why people flock to this man who has made so many gaffs over his political career.

travis3000 said:
Mark my words, this will become an epic battle between Ford and Tory. Expect Ford's popularity to rise to about 36-38% while Tory's will fall down into the same range. Chow will remain stalled around 25% or so IMO. If you guys don't want another 4 years of Ford style leadership than vote for Tory. It's your only chance.
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Ford's ceiling is 30%. I doubt that there will be an epic battle between Tory and anyone. I don't see the point of voting for one right-winger to keep out another right-wing wingnut. It's a trick perpetuated by Tory's rather unreputable campaign staff.
 
I think Rob's ceiling was 30%.

Thug can quite possibly be perceived as Rob without the drugs and scandals. The Ford message does resonate well with the suburbs and other disenfranchised people, and the ones who were disgusted by Ford's personal life can come back to Thug. Thug doesn't have a 10-month campaign to showcase is disdain for municipal politics either. He could really pull this off.

Ultimately, I don't care about left/right wing ideologues in municipal politics, I think they don't matter for shit. Tory has the best chance to beat Ford and Chow is hurting Tory both in debates by attacking solely him, and by splitting the non-Ford vote. I also cannot see a scenario where Chow can get back into this race.
 
travis3000 said:
Mark my words, this will become an epic battle between Ford and Tory. Expect Ford's popularity to rise to about 36-38% while Tory's will fall down into the same range. Chow will remain stalled around 25% or so IMO. If you guys don't want another 4 years of Ford style leadership than vote for Tory. It's your only chance.
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I doubt it--among other things, because if the trajectory last night continues, we have over a month left for the violence level among Ford Nation supporters to boil over. Voters turned off by the ugliness that wasn't there (really!) in RoFo's 2010 run.

And remember that in the recent provincial election, in the big debate, Tim Hudak was commonly viewed as the winner, most "premier-like" et al, while Wynne supposedly bombed--and yet, what happened?
 
adma said:
And remember that in the recent provincial election, in the big debate, Tim Hudak was commonly viewed as the winner, most "premier-like" et al, while Wynne supposedly bombed--and yet, what happened?
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The electorate voted Wynne in out of fear of Hudak.

I definitely see a lot of similarities here between Wynne and Tory.
 
Silence&Motion said:
Nice way to belittle the issue.
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Facts that are inconvenient to your point, are not belittling the issue. The fact is that she has run a terrible campaign, and it has nothing to do with her being a woman.


nfitz said:
I doubt that there will be an epic battle between Tory and anyone.
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You're right, Tory will likely win without much of a battle. He's already destroyed Chow, and Ford probably won't poll higher than 30%. At this point he just has to keep coasting.
 
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WislaHD said:
I think Rob's ceiling was 30%.

Thug can quite possibly be perceived as Rob without the drugs and scandals. The Ford message does resonate well with the suburbs and other disenfranchised people, and the ones who were disgusted by Ford's personal life can come back to Thug. Thug doesn't have a 10-month campaign to showcase is disdain for municipal politics either. He could really pull this off.
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If the best that said subset of the disenfranchised can do is gravitate towards someone along the lines of the Fords, perhaps it is best that the rest of the city further marginalize said subset of individuals into irrelevance.

AoD
 
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