Next Mayor of Toronto?

[christiesplits]

Enter Smitherman.

He needs to stop dithering and make up his mind sooner than later. Smitherman, as arrogant and unpredictable as his detractors claim, would be a much stronger candidate than Stintz or any other right winger on council. If he could hold centre and pick up those mushy North Toronto, Willowdale and York ridings, he could sneak through. Even by next year when McGuinty's numbers could slip dramatically with a massive deficit, I suspect his endorsement for George would not be nearly as toxic as a Stintz et al endorsement from Hudak.

Of course, the biggest fear for the anti-Miller camps is that a three way race could lead to vote splitting, leading to another four years of Miller, and another four years of material for Sue Anne Levy.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Smitherman? He might need a place to go when the e-health mess really hits the fan (all of which happened during his watch). I am not sure if he is good for Toronto at all, even relative to Stintz et al. from some of the stories I've heard...

AoD

 

[Whoaccio]

Don Drummond?

 

[lordmandeep]

^^^Well he is well respected figure by the business community but imo he could not survive the game of politics.

I would imagine the Union/socialist/NDP types will try everything to make sure he does not get elected.

I would support him, he would lower business taxes, run the city better and privatize some things.

 

[GraphicMatt]

I don't think Drummond will run. He might rather be an advisor to a mayor as opposed to actually being the mayor.

Smitherman would probably beat Miller. If it comes down to Miller vs. Stintz or Miller vs. Minnan-Wong or, in the most retarded scenario, Miller vs. Stinz vs. Minnan-Wong, then Miller will win without breaking a sweat. Miller vs. Tory would be a bit of a toss-up but only if Tory gets his shit together and runs as a straight-up, this-is-me candidate. If he lets others dictate his campaign strategy or waffles for too long on whether he'll be running, he'll lose too.

I like the idea of Smitherman or any other big-L liberal a lot, actually. Maybe it's time we had a mayor that DOESN'T come from city council.

 

[lordmandeep]

lol smitterman runs on privatizing garbage collection.

A monkey could run on that and win in this climate.

 

[Glen]

I don't think Drummond will run. He might rather be an advisor to a mayor as opposed to actually being the mayor.

He already has given his advice, in the news. It didn't do much good.

 

[adma]

Well, once again...what about Mike Thompson?

 

[MetroMan]

^ I already mentioned that above but nobody picked it up. Michael Thompson is 90% there to represent the centre-right interests/elite.

I think he'd give Miller a serious run for his money. He has no skeletons in his closet, a lot of city wide community involvement (he sits on different community committees) and is quite well spoken and charismatic.

 

[adma]

And AFAIK he's generally Liberal-affiliated; hence, the McGuinty team might not have problems endorsing him in lieu of a Smitherman.

I suppose it's the "downtownishness" of discussion realms like UT and a lot of the news media as well that make Smitherman loom so artificially large as a contender...

 

[GenerationW]

lol smitterman runs on privatizing garbage collection.

A monkey could run on that and win in this climate.

Bingo!

Hmm, I wonder what Miller's reply to that would be.

First they'll give you reduced service with private garbage pickup, and the next thing you know they'll build a bridge to the island!

 

[JasonParis]

He has no skeletons in his closet, a lot of city wide community involvement (he sits on different community committees) and is quite well spoken and charismatic.

Not exactly true...

http://www.ocasi.org/index.php?qid=819&catid=117

Michael Thompson is very pro-DRL though and could potentially sway a few Millerites through his advocating for higher-order downtown transit infrastructure.

 

[adma]

And from a friends-of-modern-heritage POV, he also sponsored the listing of the parabolic Metro store at Vic Pk + Ellesmere...

 

[Northern Light]

Hmmmm

I can't think of anyone on the right-centre who is both electable and likely to run in the near-term.

Stintz is telegenic, but she has shown some serious foot-in-mouth disease tendencies and I'm not sure she's ready for prime time.

Minnan-Wong is just not a contender in my mind; lots of potential problems for him vis-a-vis his record in office.

Off Council, I think John Tory was strong, but he's just damaged goods right now, and he would better serve himself, and the community in a non-political capacity.

***

The two folks on Council I see as logical successors are both Miller supporters, and so I can't imagine will run unless he steps aside.

Adam Vaughan, for all the obvious reasons; and Shelly Carroll, who if you've ever met her in person, is both quite sharp, and has a very good sense of humour. She speaks quite well too; but stays in the background right now.

I'm not aware of any high-profile leftists or centrists who are considering running except Smitherman, who I think overall, has the 'charisma' factor to give Miller a run. But his strange comments on the streetcars a few months back were not helpful; and I don't think he'll make a move unless he senses clear vulnerability in Miller. But we'll see.

 

[adma]

Adam Vaughan, for all the obvious reasons;

I'd qualify Adam Vaughan as a Miller supporter; he's more of an "anti-Miller-supporter" kind of Miller supporter...