I went ahead and voted for Rob Ford today

[denfromoakvillemilton]

You are completely wrong.

Of two recent polls, one has shown that the majority think Miller has done a good job, and the other has shown he would be re-elected.

Employment data shows that employment in Toronto has grown steadily since Miller was elected, peaking in early 2009, with only a small drop during the recession to 2007 levels, but still much higher than 2003.

So not only does not everyone not hate Miller, not even the majority hate Miller. And if businesses are leaving, why did employment hit record levels under Miller?

Then why is everybody trashing him on the radio, on the web and on the TV?

 

[SlickFranky]

Then why is everybody trashing him on the radio, on the web and on the TV?

This has already been explained. Everybody isn't. A loud minority are.

 

[grey]

This is a fascinating look into the psyche of the suburban voter.

This clearly demonstrates the need for better investments in education focused on the outer suburbs of the city. Everyone has the right to a decent education, and these people clearly aren't receiving it. This kind of voting behaviour is a result of ignorance and anger, and the outcome of these votes hurts everyone in the end.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

It's a fascinating look inside the psyche of an angry, uninformed, sad little man. I'd wager that his favorite channel is FOX "news".

 

[Fac1]

How do people become so ignorant? Toronto taxes aren't high ... compare to other 905 and 519 communities. We play less $.

No one likes taxes, but holy lack of perspective.

I find that a lot of people in Scarborough get irrascibly angry in regards to property valuation. "Why is my 1100 square ft. condo only worth 230 thousand and a bachelor downtown is worth more?! Downtown sucks! Why would you want to live with hundreds of panhandlers around your home every day!"

When I explain that property taxes are actually lower in Toronto than in the rest of the GTA I get a coy response along the lines of, "Well yeah, that's because our population is so big, it should be lower!" But shouldn't those "thousands of welfare abusers" be driving that up if it was really the case, and I thought there were "way too many immigrants in the city"....? Most of the rage directed at him from this one fellow is a ridiculous conflation of all the hatred he has for all levels of government, which he seems to think can be attributed to Miller. The HST is not down to Miller! :-/

I have only been living in Toronto for a year, but how much have taxes actually gone up under Miller? Land-transfer, vehicle registration..? How have property and business taxes changed since Lastman was in charge?

 

[ladyscraper]

What a surprise. Some right wing Ford voter joins the site and ONLY posts about this and doesn't care about any other portion of this awesome forum where we discuss every aspect of our city.
You guys are getting boring as hell.

 

[nfitz]

Then why is everybody trashing him on the radio, on the web and on the TV?

It is an interesting question on why he carry widespread support, however the media has been widespread in trashing him.

Though when you look at the 3-4 right-wing companies that control the media, then that starts to explain it. Add in the Toronto Star's campaign to move the city government more to the centre, and it's a perfect storm.

 

[Parsnips]

Ford would be good because he wouldn't let the unions walk all over him (unlike Miller)....aside from that, his platform is garbage. He'd let the downtown rot.

 

[CanadianNational]

It looks like Are_Be has returned.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

Why should OUR tax dollars go to fund YOUR Sheppard subway line, which shouldn't have been built in the first place, when more would be served with a DRL?

ask rob ford. doesn't he want to extend it?

 

[EnviroTO]

Just like when a forest is infested with disease or parasites and needs to be burned to the ground to be regrown, this city needs the same thing. And THAT is what Rob Ford will be very good at.

You really think Toronto is that bad do you? Considering Toronto is one of the highest ranked cities for liveability and has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada you must think that if Toronto "needs to be burned to the ground and regrown" then Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montreal, Saskatoon, etc must be nuked.

Toronto is not meant to be a place to house Canada's drunks and drug addicts and the world's criminals nor should funding go to pet projects.

Do you think that the "progressives" send out alcohol and drugs to these people or do you think they get it some other way? Do you think small town Canada doesn't have drugs and alcohol? Exactly how would you plan to deal with the issues that lead to drug and alcohol use in a "non-progressive" way?

I am very hopeful that Ford will have a budget of not one penny for social housing.

There are many places that don't pay for social housing. Most of them have shanty towns and children begging in the streets.

I am sick of seeing MY tax dollars going to fund YOUR downtown pet projects or waterfront or cultural events so YOUR city is so "lively and vibrant" and YOUR condos increase in price. I want MY tax dollars to fund MY area's infrastructure and that Sheppard TTC line so MY house increases in price for a change. And if that can't be done, at least cut the taxes!

If we cancelled the Transit City projects, none of which touch OUR downtown, and got rid of the most unprofitable bus routes almost all of which are located in YOUR suburbs, and reduced policing costs which spend far too much time in YOUR neighbourhoods, then we could lower YOUR taxes. The fiscal reality is that it is more expensive to serve YOUR area than it is to serve OUR area.

If Adam Vaughn or another porgressive piece of garbage thinks he's smarter that the Toronto people and bigger than democracy wants to trump the wishes of Rob Ford and the Toronto people than I will personally go down there and give him a piece of my mind.

The democracy is that each place in the city votes for a councillor and each councillor in each ward serves an almost equal number of people and gets one vote on council. It is just like the federal government where Harper is the prime-minister but he can't do squat without the support of MPs.

 

[GraphicMatt]

Ford would be good because he wouldn't let the unions walk all over him (unlike Miller)....aside from that, his platform is garbage. He'd let the downtown rot.

Check Ford's platform - he's committed to giving the TTC union a guaranteed pay raise every contract renewal by making them an essential service and has all but told the police union that they can have anything they'd like.

 

[archanfel]

In case you didn't notice, we are in a recession. Lots of people have lost their jobs, and some even their homes. This includes residents born and raised in Toronto. If you don't want to support social housing and services, I'd like to hear your ideas on how to deal with them.

Why should we deal with them? Don't tell me these people didn't save enough money to survive a single recession.

 

[archanfel]

What is it within Ford supporters, that makes them so gleeful when they are shit disturbing? They can't just express their views without getting belligerent and condescending. Everything is about right-wing, left-wing, socialism, communism and don't forget those unions. Anybody who disagrees with Ford is an NDPer,a hippy or a champagne socialist. Sheesh, this is municipal politics, political parties are not the focus. I'm not an NDP, Liberal or conservative member/supporter. I just think Ford is an ass hole and not fit to be mayor. It has nothing to do with him being right or left.

Why would someone even start a thread like this? I can only see one purpose, which is to start arguments. Some people (especially the Ford Horde) never seem to get enough. OK, you voted Ford, so? Yeah, you'll teach Toronto a lesson. Good for you.

There was an ancient Chinese story. A guy named Lantern became the mayor and he ordered the city to avoid using his name under any circumstances. Therefore, if you wanted to say "light the lantern", you had to say "light the fire". So what did they do during the Lantern Festival? The announcement of "We will light lanterns for three days" became "We will arson for three days". Later on, it became an idiom meaning while ordinary people are oppressed, the officials are simply doing the same thing under a different name.

Somehow it makes me think of that story when someone is calling Ford an ass hole yet complains about belligerent and condescending. Mind you, I think Ford is an ass hole too. Unfortunately, calling the other front runner an ass hole would be an insult to the ass hole community.

 

[Asterix]

Check Ford's platform - he's committed to giving the TTC union a guaranteed pay raise every contract renewal by making them an essential service and has all but told the police union that they can have anything they'd like.

And he also wants to increase the size of both unions: hire more police officers just because and hire more bus drivers to replace the higher capacity streetcars he's going to remove.

Given he also wants to wage war on graffiti and other street garbage, presumably that means he also wants to hire more workers to do those jobs (whether union or not, it's still an increase in the workforce).