Mayor John Tory's Toronto

[rbt]

So Tory won't smoke crack and he'll walk in the Pride parade. I really don't see much substantive difference in the two platforms. (Ok, one promises "subways, subways, subways" , the other one promises a horribly flawed plan that I have come to call LaughTrack.)

The larger difference is that Tory will probably work with council to accomplish something where Ford refused to co-operate with anyone and accomplished very little.


If all Tory does is rubber stamp Waterfront Toronto, most funded Metrolinx plans, and doesn't make city staff miserable; we're far ahead.

 

[JasonParis]

Agreed. The Rabble stance (that Ford's incompetence makes him preferable to Tory from a lefty perspective) has occurred to me as well. However it's a huge gamble to rely on that. Don't forget that if Ford is re-elected his "reduced powers" would all be returned to him. Furthermore, other councilors would have to acknowledge that the electorate had given Ford a fresh mandate and at least attempt to work with him. He will not be totally sidelined as he's been during the latter half of this term, unless he engages in a new round of crack-induced scandal (not impossible, but again, relying on that seems risky.)

One only has to look at the first year of Ford's tenure to get an idea of the types of stuff a second mandate would give him (at least at first). Basically, more transit cancellations/stalling, further TTC cuts, more user fees, potential LTT reduction when those revenues are needed, etc.

 

[Greg Banks]

Are First Gulf's 21 Donway, the Hybrid FGE and Broadview/Commissioners car going to get fasttracked in Tory's first hundred days?

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Anyone who thinks that Ford is better than Tory due to 'right-wing agenda paralysis' has not seen the past four years of Ford 'transit planning.'

I think Tory has every possibility of being a resounding success. He has operated at a very high level in both business and government. He has an extremely varied background; has been involved in a number of charities including CivicAction, which is directly involved in Toronto political and social life; his connections are everywhere.

He bleeds Tory Blue, sure. But he's most definitely not a tonier version of Ford Tea Party right wing.

If he hints at cancelling funded LRTs, I'll be the first to donate a WestJet seat to Calgary and sit the old fart down on a C-Train out to the university. But I'm not buying the 'cancelled Finch/Sheppard' scare story. Yet.

A few weeks back I opined that I thought the general electorate would swing to Tory or Chow to defeat Ford. It's looking more and more like it'll be Tory. Good for him! And get OUT Ford!

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Are First Gulf's 21 Donway, the Hybrid FGE and Broadview/Commissioners car going to get fasttracked in Tory's first hundred days?

What needs to be fasttracked about them?

 

[nfitz]

OK, I'll bite -- to whom are you referring?

I didn't have anyone in particular in mind. My recollection from the time is that there was more than one.

But one can't help but think of notorious bigot Randy Hillier.

 

[Greg Banks]

Haven't seen a Preliminary Report on 21 Donway come to Council...this project has been nicknamed "Toronto's Canary Wharf" it could be the next big thing after the PanAm builds
Haven't seen an approval for an EA on the Hybrid...now there has been discussion on its viability however that is six months behind the other options and something has to be done with the FGE east in the forseeable future...
The Broadview/Commissioners won't even be looked at until at least the Prelim is on the table...It is also a way to kick to the Queens Quay East car and open up the Portlands and Cinema quadrant....

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I didn't have anyone in particular in mind. My recollection from the time is that there was more than one.

But one can't help but think of notorious bigot Randy Hillier.

Nfitz, IMHO, you throw around the terms bigot and racist with reckless disregard. Randy Hillier's more than a bit whacko, but Tory being the leader of the PCs where Hillier is a duly elected MPP does not make Tory a bigot nor racist.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Haven't seen a Preliminary Report on 21 Donway come to Council...this project has been nicknamed "Toronto's Canary Wharf" it could be the next big thing after the PanAm builds
Haven't seen an approval for an EA on the Hybrid...now there has been discussion on its viability however that is six months behind the other options and something has to be done with the FGE east in the forseeable future...
The Broadview/Commissioners won't even be looked at until at least the Prelim is on the table...It is also a way to kick to the Queens Quay East car and open up the Portlands and Cinema quadrant....

So... No reason, then. Except you wanting to play inside baseball, again.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Nfitz, IMHO, you throw around the terms bigot and racist with reckless disregard. Randy Hillier's more than a bit whacko, but Tory being the leader of the PCs where Hillier is a duly elected MPP does not make Tory a bigot nor racist.

Yeah, overuse of these terms makes them meaningless.

AoD

 

[nfitz]

Yeah, overuse of these terms makes them meaningless.

subways subways subways

 

[Admiral Beez]

Nfitz, IMHO, you throw around the terms bigot and racist with reckless disregard.

That's funny... I just logged on and saw that Nfitz was the most recent poster and thought to myself, uh oh, he must have called someone a bigot again. And here we are.

 

[adma]

One thing to remember about Mayor Tory is that a lot will hinge on whatever executive he assembles and whatever roles he delegates, so let's not place *too* much weight upon his head; indeed, it's far more likely that he'll be conciliatory and cross-partisan like Miller (and Lastman!), than ideologically bull-headed a la Ford. And in fact, that's where a little "wiggle room" re his more contentious promises/proposals might lie...

 

[Greg Banks]

So... No reason, then. Except you wanting to play inside baseball, again.

Is that a problem? I would think if your nic has some geograhical reference to who you are, the question would be of interest.
As a UT poster I'd surmise you would have an interest in a project that offers untold man years of employment in the construction industry as well as long term employment to the community after the build is complete. I would think the possibility of easing traffic patterns with the extension of Broadview and additional "rapid" transit would be of interest. Given the bugaboo that FGE east is, it is in commuters interest. Am I wrong?

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Is that a problem? I would think if your nic has some geograhical reference to who you are, the question would be of interest.
As a UT poster I'd surmise you would have an interest in a project that offers untold man years of employment in the construction industry as well as long term employment to the community after the build is complete. I would think the possibility of easing traffic patterns with the extension of Broadview and additional "rapid" transit would be of interest. Given the bugaboo that FGE east is, it is in commuters interest. Am I wrong?

Greg, you're not wrong. But you couched your reference to fast-tracking as if proceeding as normal with every other project was not possible, or that you had some inside information about whether Tory would do so. I asked why we should expect fast-tracking, and you had no answer.

If you want to advocate for fast-tracking, great.

Also -- genuine question: Do you know anyone who refers to the Gardiner as FGE? Have I missed that all these years? I had a devil of a time figuring out what you meant by that part of your comment. IMHO, tearing down the Leslie stub solved many if not most of the Gardiner East issues -- the big question now is about maintenance vs. teardown, rather than traffic. I'd tear down the east end, a la Miller, because of the great things it does for Waterfront Toronto's plans.