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Next Mayor of Toronto?

Fac1 said:
So, in the case of the "waste" of having 44 councillors, can you explain to me how Ford will halve the number of councillors from 44 to 22 and thus end the "gravy train" (extra points for parroting that talking point!)?

I'd love to see the "waste" that he cuts because it looks an awful lot like a know-nothing populist that blows hot air. The numbers simply don't add up and his woeful transit plan is a great example of this. Is he going to save money by cancelling contracts with Bombardier and being forced to pay a hefty cancellation fee?

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Ending the gravy train goes way beyond simply cutting the size of council in half but cutting council in half is very doable given the egotistical nature of most politicians (see my previous post). As for cancelling the contract with Bombardier, Team Ford has already stated that they WILL NOT subject the city to cancellation fees. What they will do is take delivery of the cars and sell them on the open market. Under this scenario the city might even wind up making money since, as with most markets, buyers will generally pay a premium for a product that can be delivered right away as opposed to waiting years.
 
And how exactly do we plan on replacing our older gravy trains (i.e. streetcars) that Ford won't be removing which are nearing the end of their service life ?

Is Ford also planning on ordering at least 1.5X the number of buses - and whatever else he needs to the routes he's eliminating downtown (If I were to guess that would be the likes of King / Queen / ...).
 
Fac1 said:
Vaughan can say that because he knows how popular he is and that he is ensured a job. What other councillors are in favour of that proposal? It's funny that you call Vaughan egotistical because that's precisely what Ford is, but I don't think it's as much a negative trait as you do. Further, I don't think it makes sense in a city where people complain about how hard it is to get in contact with their councillor - we'll see how much harder it will become with even less representation.

Regardless, do you truly think a majority of council will do that? What did he correctly point out - that a tiny minority would be in favour of it, far short of the necessary majority? It's laughable to even conceive that idea - a majority will not vote against their best interests and it's misleading at best for Ford to include that in his estimated budget cuts.
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I have no doubt that more than 50% of the Councillors consider themselves to be invincible. You don't get into politics unless you have a very big ego and yes, this applies to Ford also - he has a VERY BIG and healthy ego - he understands what motivates a politician which is why he proposed cutting council in half.

As for how this would effect "customer service" lets not forget that it was Ford who rolled up his shirt sleeves to address constituency issues OUTSIDE of his own ward. We can function just fine with half the number of Councillors if they are in the Rob Ford mold and not in the Kyle Rae mold - a Councillor who has done nothing but sit on his fat ass for as long as anyone can remember.
 
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taal said:
And how exactly do we plan on replacing our older gravy trains (i.e. streetcars) that Ford won't be removing which are nearing the end of their service life ?

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The Streetcars would be replaced with electric buses which will be far less disruptive to the flow of traffic thereby reducing greenhouse gases. Also if a bus breaks down it will not bring all of the buses behind it to a grinding halt.
 
Peepers, you're delusional if you think Ford is honest. The drug bust was just the most recent blatant lie he was caught on. What about getting drunk at the ACC and being loud and belligerent and then insulting a couple? When he was asked about it, he blank faced lied and said he was never there! That's being honest?? Of course, when proof was shown that he was there, he admitted to it -- not that his admission was needed at that point.

When this man lies first and only admits to it when proof shows that he was lying, that is not honesty. It's the worst kind of intentional liar. Yes, it's a repeated display of character, but not as you see it. He's a liar and is on his best behaviour during the election. Ford will do anything to get elected.
 
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lafard said:
Downtowners focus heavily on their careers/stay in school for up to a decade longer, tend to get married late if at all, frequently gay, children are the minority, can take or leave the back yard and the SUV. The generally short commute and cost effectiveness of downtown life (combined with carfree/childfree/professional salary) means they [we] have added leisure time and often money to enjoy Toronto's amenities and absorb the various Millertaxes with little complaint. Outsiders because we're different, and elite because our lifestyle leaves us with extra money even if our salaries are the same.
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A very apt description of what inner suburbanites see as the urban elite. Ford's voters are the polar the opposite of these folks.
 
Admiral Beez said:
A very apt description of what inner suburbanites see as the urban elite. Ford's voters are the polar the opposite of these folks.
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Except I don't get how they are "elite". They just happen to live in a different place and lead a slightly different lifestyle. Few of them make obscene amounts of money and even fewer are old money. Quite likely, they are those who move the economy forward. This is all in-group out-group tribalistic mentality that doesn't really have much to do with reality. Pretty much all of this 'elite' is the opposite of what Ford is like: a self-entitled, smug guy with an inheritance.
 
Okay, perhaps elite is the wrong word, but Ford has thus far built his success upon differentiating his base from the urban dwellers. Surely you've heard the saying that Miller spent more time in Copenhagen than Scarborough - likely a total fabrication, but it resonates with the Ford supporters.
 
^Someone whose raison d'etre is differentiating himself from the urban base shouldn't be mayor. And if someone like that is mayor he should keep his hands off urban issues (like streetcars and bike lanes) which he clearly knows nothing about.

Peepers said:
The Streetcars would be replaced with electric buses which will be far less disruptive to the flow of traffic thereby reducing greenhouse gases. Also if a bus breaks down it will not bring all of the buses behind it to a grinding halt.
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If these new buses are going to carry as many people as the streetcars you're going to need twice as many buses, which would be way more disruptive to traffic than the streetcars. But more realistically, many of those riders will just stop taking transit altogether and drive. Most of them are middle class choice riders and it's been shown that people would rather take rail transit than buses, all things being equal.

It's kind of a moot point though because cars get in the way of streetcars more than the other way around and Rob Ford isn't going to get rid of streetcars.
 
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You'll need more than 2 buses to replace each streetcar. More like 3 to 4.

More traffic is only the beginning of the trouble replacing streetcars with buses. Because each bus carries way less people, you'd likely begin seeing very stressed people at bus stops pushing and shoving to get on the next bus. Currently, you're pretty much guaranteed to get into a streetcar, unless it's very packed at which point you'll get in on the next one for sure. This is why you don't see people forming straight lines and most are courteous, shuffling in one at a time. With a bus, only 1/4 of those people will get in the first time, so they won't be as courteous. As more people arrive, they'll add to the crowd, so you might be waiting for 4 or more buses to finally get on.

The new streetcars will have all door loading/umloading so the current system will be even more easy-going and faster loading.

As for less traffic, Rob Ford is selling you some swamp land and you're buying it. More buses weaving in and out of traffic to load and unload at each stop will create more traffic. You won't be waiting behind a streetcar, but you'll be waiting behind a bus. Nobody wants to wait behind a bus. Except this time, you'll have 4X more buses than streetcars.

Streetcars don't cause traffic, cars making left turns do, whether or not theres a streetcar behind them.

Luckily, either Ford won't win or if he does, councillors won't let him cancel our streetcar purchase. From the looks of it, we're on track to electing a pretty progressive council. I've not been following the council races in wards that would see the Finch LRT and Eglinton LRT pass through them but I will bet you that those councillors, even if conservative, will not let Ford cancel transit city and completely neglect transit building in their wards. Ford has an uphill battle on his hands.
 
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