Next Mayor of Toronto?

[archanfel]

^Maybe Rob Ford can het his own 1-800 number so that he can personally rush to every little complaint.

The more I follow this campaign, the less I find Rob Ford a bigoted oaf and more a ridiculous folk hero; I wouldn't be surprised if his favourite movie character is Jimmy Stewart's character from "It's a Wonderful Life". I think his heart is in the right place, but we don't need a mayor who will help coach little leagues and rescue cats from trees. We need an effective manager and a disciplined public administrator. Someone who understands that the city is a complex place where millions of people must coexist and yet compete for resources, and that nobody will get exactly what they want if we want to aim for some collective good. I think if I had one word to summarize Rob Ford it would be "naive" - or, even better: "childlike". I'm not even going to go so far as to say that he's a control freak; I think that he's just some naive, childlike individual who thinks that it's his job to attend to each and everyone's little concerns, unaware that he has a city to run.

People here seems to have grand schemes for the city. We are going to lead this, we are going to lead that. In reality, a lot of the voters don't give a damn. They want a recycle bin on their lawn within two days, not two months. And that's what Rob Ford delivered. Totally unimportant in the eyes of architects, but very important to common folks.

Plus, who is "a effective manager and a disciplined public administrator"? George Smitherman? Give me a break. I can maybe see an argument for Joe Pantalone. Unfortunately, the "progressive" element of the city are deserting their champion. I guess it's the politically savvy thing to do.

 

[jn_12]

People here seems to have grand schemes for the city. We are going to lead this, we are going to lead that. In reality, a lot of the voters don't give a damn. They want a recycle bin on their lawn within two days, not two months. And that's what Rob Ford delivered. Totally unimportant in the eyes of architects, but very important to common folks.

Well it's easy to deliver that when you're a councillor. As mayor, if you're concerned about things like someone getting a garbage bin then you're not doing your job properly. There's an old story about Johnson and the Viet Nam war. He started asking questions like "so are we going over this bridge in this battle?" as if he was the one who should be concerned with such minute details. He completely lost sight of the bigger picture by meddling in the small stuff. Mcnamara said that when Johnson started doing stuff like that he knew they were in trouble. Having a mayor who will personally address the petty issues of 2million+ people is similar. The Mayor needs to be a guiding force, not Toronto 311. That's why we have Councillors and public servants (want to see customer service go down? Just wait until all of these guys who are promising a smaller public service start actually going through with it.)

 

[MetroMan]

Miller is making his announcement in 1hr. At the very least, this will give Joe the entire news cycle today. Free advertising like this is great when you don't have money to buy any.

 

[js97]

Funny how everyone is on the Rossi campaign now eh??? Finally catching up to speed?


As if Ford didnt' need anymore angry voters...

Now the city has legislated how many cars you can park on your driveway! What happened to private property laws?
Yes, let's be concerned with he aesthetics of the roadscpae and not be concerned with the three generatiosn of family living under one roof. It just doesn't look good!

Elitist much? Scarborough just gave Ford another 5 more points in the polls.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/871230--new-bylaw-restricts-driveway-parking#article




And Miller has no chance. If anything, that's just another nail in Pantalones candidacy. Has he not been listening to the election at all? Smitherman sounds like a Tory running ...

 

[TonyV]

A positive development for Toronto:

http://thestar.blogs.com/thegoods/2010/10/tory-brothers-follow-thomson-to-smitherman-camp.html

Tory brothers follow Thomson to Smitherman camp
When Sarah Thomson quit the mayoral race last week, George Tory -- who with his brother John Jr. helped run her campaign -- told the Star he wasn't sure they would follow her to the Smitherman campaign.
They didn't know if there would be a role for them and they were still absorbing Thomson's decision to abandon a bid that had preoccupied their lives for months, he said.
John Tory Jr. now says they have indeed joined the Smitherman campaign, he as an adviser and George helping with messaging and debate preparation.
John said their reasons are much the same as Thomson's -- they want to stop Rob Ford from becoming mayor and they think Smitherman is the best candidate to do it.
"He's got a vision for the city, he wants to build Toronto and focus on our strengths and not build on our differences," Tory said. "It's not an anybody-but-Ford campaign -- I want to see George Smitherman the mayor of Toronto."

 

[JasonParis]

^ A poll showed that if Miller were running, he'd win by a landslide. People underestimate his popularity because the negative opposition is very vocal in the comments section in the media. I'm convinced this will give Joe a boost. Will it be enough to rally people behind him as the anti-Ford leader? I'm not quite so sure. Smitherman has that down right now. Nonetheless, Miller's endorsement will make Sarah Thomson's look like a buried newspaper article. This is THE endorsement of the campaign.

I think you are reading this a bit wrong. Endorsements don't mean much especially when there's little surprise to them. All die-hard Millerites are voting for Pants anyway. Even those that aren't wouldn't be surprised by this endorsement, nor do I see any reason why it would change many of their voting intentions. Someone like a Rossi or Tory supporting Smitherman would be much bigger news with a much greater impact to sway votes. Also, Tory's son's and Mihevic's endorsement of Smitherman are stealing some of Pant's limelight for today.

I'm a would be Miller voter but I really wish he wouldn't do this. I don't want the vote splintered more than it already is. There won't be enough to push Pantalone into the lead... just enough to ensure he steals enough from Smitherman to let Ford win.

I wish he wouldn't either, but it is his choice and it's not exactly a surprising one. Still, it could ensure enough vote-splitting to help Ford that much more. I do think Pants is in this until the end though. I had the opportunity to talk to him and listen to him speak the other day and I don't think he's going anywhere. He was even arguing how Smitherman could be worse than Ford as Mayor. His endorsement of Rossi "if not him" at last night's CBC debate is further proof. It's still possible for Smitherman to win, but indeed, it's that much harder with a stubborn Pants.

@Big Tony: I'm convinced that George is smarter than Rocco -- and the best candidate for mayor -- but both are brilliant and well-spoken people. Give Rocco some political experience as an MP or MPP, and he'll have a very promising future.
@Ladyscraper: this epitomizes what I can't stand about the NDP: it's always all about them and they never look at the bigger picture. I wouldn't at all be surprised if they do all they can to split the vote and help Ford win - just to further the chances of the NDP candate winning in 2014.

Rossi fell on the wrong side of too many issues at the start of the campaign and then tried to halt is falling numbers by throwing huge trial balloons in the air hoping something would catch the public's imagination. I don't think anything really has, although I still think he's maybe the smartest of the bunch. In the end, I think he's run a bad campaign and has let his handlers tell him what to believe. With the knowledge he's gained in this campaign though, I think he'd make a very good MP/MPP (and perhaps that was his ultimate goal anyway).

Indeed about the NDP. I have many NDP friends who simply won't support Smitherman as they see him as representing another party. His "big L" affiliation aside, this is municipal politics and the party lines aren't so rigid (unless of course you are a die-hard NDP supporter). The fear-mongering about how Smitherman is "Ford Lite" is just pretty silly stuff and at the end of the day helping to ensure a Ford win. In their view though, a Ford win ensures an NDP mayorship in 2014 (which is assuming way too much). Moreover, it puts our city in dangerously bad leadership for four long years.

 

[archanfel]

Well it's easy to deliver that when you're a councillor. As mayor, if you're concerned about things like someone getting a garbage bin then you're not doing your job properly. There's an old story about Johnson and the Viet Nam war. He started asking questions like "so are we going over this bridge in this battle?" as if he was the one who should be concerned with such minute details. He completely lost sight of the bigger picture by meddling in the small stuff. Mcnamara said that when Johnson started doing stuff like that he knew they were in trouble. Having a mayor who will personally address the petty issues of 2million+ people is similar. The Mayor needs to be a guiding force, not Toronto 311. That's why we have Councillors and public servants (want to see customer service go down? Just wait until all of these guys who are promising a smaller public service start actually going through with it.)

It's not a Councillor's job to be Toronto's 311 either. If our public service machines are working properly and efficiently, there's no need to phone either the Councillor or the Mayor. Unfortunately, that's not the case and I would like a mayor who actually would listen to the outcry of the people and I think that's a plus for Rob Ford. Of course, he needs to understand that his job is to figure out why he got all those calls and fix the machine (311 in this case). Unfortunately, that's a minus for Rob Ford since he doesn't appear to be a good team player or negotiator.

And using your Johnson analogy, you are right, Johnson shouldn't ask these questions. However, if a soldier found out there's a Charlie ambush on the other side of the bridge and his platoon commander, brigade commander, division commander all refused to listen, then he should have a channel to escalate it all the way to Johnson. Because in the end, no matter whose fault it is, if the troops got ambushed on that bridge, it's still Johnson's fault. The buck has to stop somewhere. Same thing for the recycle bin. A citizen doesn't care whose job it is, he/she just wants the recycle bin. Yes, he/she should call the 311 number first and you can put a screen on the mayor's phone to ask that question. However, if 311 is not resolving things, then he/she should escalate it to the Councilor. And if that still doesn't work, he/she should be able to escalate it all the way to the mayor. And as I said, the mayor shouldn't just solve the problem for the citizen, he should ask what the hell happened, why can't a recycle bin be delivered within reasonable time frame without the mayor got involved.

 

[archanfel]

Funny how everyone is on the Rossi campaign now eh??? Finally catching up to speed?


As if Ford didnt' need anymore angry voters...

Now the city has legislated how many cars you can park on your driveway! What happened to private property laws?
Yes, let's be concerned with he aesthetics of the roadscpae and not be concerned with the three generatiosn of family living under one roof. It just doesn't look good!

Elitist much? Scarborough just gave Ford another 5 more points in the polls.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/871230--new-bylaw-restricts-driveway-parking#article

And Miller has no chance. If anything, that's just another nail in Pantalones candidacy. Has he not been listening to the election at all? Smitherman sounds like a Tory running ...

As I understand it, Ford actually voted for it. Big minus sign for me. Shame on him.

 

[jn_12]

It's not a Councillor's job to be Toronto's 311 either. If our public service machines are working properly and efficiently, there's no need to phone either the Councillor or the Mayor. Unfortunately, that's not the case and I would like a mayor who actually would listen to the outcry of the people and I think that's a plus for Rob Ford. Of course, he needs to understand that his job is to figure out why he got all those calls and fix the machine (311 in this case). Unfortunately, that's a minus for Rob Ford since he doesn't appear to be a good team player or negotiator.

And using your Johnson analogy, you are right, Johnson shouldn't ask these questions. However, if a soldier found out there's a Charlie ambush on the other side of the bridge and his platoon commander, brigade commander, division commander all refused to listen, then he should have a channel to escalate it all the way to Johnson. Because in the end, no matter whose fault it is, if the troops got ambushed on that bridge, it's still Johnson's fault. The buck has to stop somewhere. Same thing for the recycle bin. A citizen doesn't care whose job it is, he/she just wants the recycle bin. Yes, he/she should call the 311 number first and you can put a screen on the mayor's phone to ask that question. However, if 311 is not resolving things, then he/she should escalate it to the Councilor. And if that still doesn't work, he/she should be able to escalate it all the way to the mayor. And as I said, the mayor shouldn't just solve the problem for the citizen, he should ask what the hell happened, why can't a recycle bin be delivered within reasonable time frame without the mayor got involved.

Well Councillors have traditionally been the avenue for many small concerns to get solved. It's always been much easier to go through a councillor than to try and find the right person to call at City Hall. Toronto 311 is a rather new attempt to rectify that issue and so councillors are still expected to do some of the dirty work as they always have. Toronto 311 just takes some of the pressure off.

As for the analogy, I'd agree with you but Rob Ford wants to not only plan the war but he wants to fight in it too. He thinks he can personally solve the problems of everyone because he was able to do so as a Councillor. As noted above, he said: "If you have a problem, call me and I'll personally make sure I resolve your problem." That's great (if you're interviewing for a position with Toronto 311) but I don't want a mayor doing a job someone at Toronto 311 is hired to do. Ya, sometimes the situation warrants the mayor to step in and take charge and it's the mayor's responsibility to hold people to a standard but Ford must not understand all that goes into being mayor if he's making claims like that.

 

[js97]

If there was any doubt that Miller had no chance in hell...


19 people at his luncheon? Interesting to see how many where city staff... lol..

http://thestar.blogs.com/thegoods/2010/10/my-entry.html

 

[MetroMan]

Wow, what a difference a week makes. Last week, I was resigned to the fact that Joe could never make up lost ground and it was either vote for Smitherman (which I was ok with) or let Ford sail into office. I felt that Joe would make a much better Mayor because he truly loves this city and has the experience to get the job done. Being a campaign insider, I saw how many of his supporters shared my feelings and many were on the verge of bailing. Morale was low, as was money.

Today, the picture was the complete opposite. With Miller delivering his endorsement, the team got a much needed shot in the arm. Laschinger knows what he's doing. He's keeping Joe relevant and on a steady growth and was waiting for the right moment to make the sprint for the finish line.

Today's announcement was just that. At a time when Ford is delivering disappointing performances at debates and internal polls show he's slowly losing his lead, and when Smitherman's unable to chip at Ford's support and is relying on Joe's supporters to come to him, Pants is steadily increasing and Miller's announcement will deliver a jolt at his poll numbers that will show that he can in fact carry the progressive banner. This jolt may not last long, but it only needs to last long 3 weeks now, not the months that Smitherman and Ford have had to maintain their leads.

I'm not yet sure if Joe can make it but Laschinger has consistently delivered impressive results and I'm just going to sit back and watch.

This is no longer a race between Ford and Anybody but Ford. It's a race between George & Joe. Whoever can get in to 2nd place in the polls by the weekend before the election will win the race. It's becoming clear that the Ford challenger will win, because whoever is in 2nd, be it George or Joe, the strategic voters will vote for.

 

[GenerationW]

^ Uh, right.

I thought the latest poll is suppose to be released today. What's the deal?

 

[js97]

^^ I commend your enthusiasm... but perhaps a dose of reality would be better?

calling it right now. Pantalone stays in race, Rob Ford is elected Mayor!

 

[GenerationW]

A positive development for Toronto:

http://thestar.blogs.com/thegoods/2010/10/tory-brothers-follow-thomson-to-smitherman-camp.html

Tory brothers follow Thomson to Smitherman camp
When Sarah Thomson quit the mayoral race last week, George Tory -- who with his brother John Jr. helped run her campaign -- told the Star he wasn't sure they would follow her to the Smitherman campaign.
They didn't know if there would be a role for them and they were still absorbing Thomson's decision to abandon a bid that had preoccupied their lives for months, he said.
John Tory Jr. now says they have indeed joined the Smitherman campaign, he as an adviser and George helping with messaging and debate preparation.
John said their reasons are much the same as Thomson's -- they want to stop Rob Ford from becoming mayor and they think Smitherman is the best candidate to do it.
"He's got a vision for the city, he wants to build Toronto and focus on our strengths and not build on our differences," Tory said. "It's not an anybody-but-Ford campaign -- I want to see George Smitherman the mayor of Toronto."

So they want to stop Ford, but it's not an anybody-but-Ford campaign. Double-talk for 1000, Alex.

And it takes a hell of a lot of chutzpah to say they didn't know if there was a place for them in the Smitherman campaign. It's painfully obvious that was a part of the deal Thomson made with Smitherman. Stop insulting the intelligence of voters.

If their guy doesn't win, I recommend the Tory family stay out of elections in perpetuity.

 

[Hipster Duck]

As for the analogy, I'd agree with you but Rob Ford wants to not only plan the war but he wants to fight in it too. He thinks he can personally solve the problems of everyone because he was able to do so as a Councillor. As noted above, he said: "If you have a problem, call me and I'll personally make sure I resolve your problem." That's great (if you're interviewing for a position with Toronto 311) but I don't want a mayor doing a job someone at Toronto 311 is hired to do. Ya, sometimes the situation warrants the mayor to step in and take charge and it's the mayor's responsibility to hold people to a standard but Ford must not understand all that goes into being mayor if he's making claims like that.

Agreed. Not to mention that responding to every citizen's petty complaint even goes beyond the duties of a city councilor. I'm absolutely certain that Rob Ford worked harder than anybody on council - except very little of it was related to his job. Coaching high school football and listening to people's gripes took up a lot of his time and, in the end, he was AWOL for the majority of council votes.

I think that if Rob Ford stayed away from politics and decided to be a private good samaritan, he would go down as one of the most popular and well-liked Torontonians in history. His personal life as a drunken wife abuser wouldn't be in the spotlight, and people wouldn't need to know about his political ideologies. There would be no invitation for the media to drag his name through the mud. He would not have created a cult of fervent supporters who believe that he is some shining white knight who is riding into town to save us all - much as Obama did during the 2008 campaign - that can end in nothing other than unfulfilled disappointment by those same supporters once elected and in power. In short, he could remain blissfully idealistic without having to have any real responsibility. By going into politics and, ultimately, angling for the top job I think he is deceiving no one more than himself.