Next Mayor of Toronto?

[Irishmonk]

It would be nice to have as our next mayor an individual who has done more with all his years in public office than buy his own pencils. It's easy to knock Smitherman's record for the simple reason that he has one.

 

[GenerationW]

It would be nice to have as our next mayor an individual who has done more with all his years in public office than buy his own pencils. It's easy to knock Smitherman's record for the simple reason that he has one.

And that individual's name is Joe Pantalone! Even though I don't agree with all of his platform (Transit City for example), unlike his opponents he is void of buffoonery, sleaze, and scandal. There IS no other choice for those who wish to vote FOR something rather than against.

 

[mangasparky]

3. What would you prefer, more subway? Given that it costs upwards of $350m/km, are you willing to pay a higher fare or higher taxes in order to support transit expansion

So approx. 7 billion for 20km of Queen St East and West? DO it.

 

[Fac1]

So approx. 7 billion for 20km of Queen St East and West? DO it.

Considering the average person seems to think TC serves downtown more than the rest of the city, I'd love to hear their reaction to the DRL and City Hall's pandering to the "elite."

 

[nfitz]

And yes, I am very familier with the TTC. I used to work summer jobs in Toronto, and stayed with my family in North York/Scarborough. I have been all over the city, know the busy routes, and know the problems. I even rode my biek a few times. And yes, I get very pissed when people have to yield to a streetcar stopping, or have to stay behind a streetcar going at 17/km per hour whhen I'm driving downtown with my dad. Do we need more of that? But hey, I guess I don't mind anything about the TTC because anything is better than Brampton Transit LOL.

Why would one be driving a car far along a streetcar route? There are plenty of other streets. The streetcars carry far more people on those roads than cars do.

Ford is so stupid, that he wants to replace the new streetcars with 3-4 buses each. Ignoring the huge cost, this won't improve congestion. He also wants to cancel the 12-km transit tunnel under Eglinton from Weston to Leslie.

He has spoken out about wanting to cancel off-peak bus service, saying that it's a waste of money.

Why would anyone want someone in charge of the TTC who so clearly wants to destroy it?

 

[adma]

Explain?

Ford fans = tasteless yokels with McMansion taste.

Also think

or

or

 

[adma]

This doesn't make me queasy, but it does make me wonder why you said that. As much as most of us find him aggravating and repulsive, we don't acutally want him dead. We'd rather he'd shut up, but nobody deserves death for political opinions.

That 9/11-scaled enough for ya?

That particular application of the "That 9/11-scaled enough for ya?" line was woefully misplaced.

Then again, you probably don't know who he is.

 

[Dilla]

I believe Rob Ford can make it easier for me to live and settle in the city.

Wat.

 

[JasonParis]

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.

This has been proven wrong a thousand times over. Why keep repeating it? Moreover, why are cities all over the world investing in light rail (even including places like Dallas, Atlanta and Phoenix), yet Rob Ford is wanting to do the opposite???

I spoke to a Pants supporter last night who said "Look what happened in Calgary - the third place candidate won there. Pants can win too."
Eeks.

The polls the week before the Calgary election were much different than Toronto's are now. Pants can't win by any scenario.

The general mood I'm feeling today is that Smitherman has lost some momentum coming out of last night's debate. Apparently Pantalone connected with people last night. Which is weird from my perspective because I've never liked him less than I did last night.

Smitherman has now had two bad debates (at least that appears to be the mood out there). Still, a debate on an AM radio station and an all-news cable channel aren't going to garner huge ratings, but have likely stalled the momentum a bit.

The debate may be forgettable, but Smitherman needs to continue the momentum he had going. He was looking like a winner, Ford was looking like a man on the fall, and Pants looked like a candidate in the distance trying unsuccessfully to get attention. That was the perfect storm for Smitherman to win it. I'm not sure now. Let's see how the polls look like later this week.

If the election were held last week, I'd say Smitherman had it. I'm less certain now. In fact, if it were held today, it would probably be Ford in a squeeker.

Just...plain...exhausted by this campaign, but excited to talk to so many people. I have been talking to a lot of Ford supporters and, as expected, are mostly nonsensical in their arguments, but they have an underlying anger and frustration that is legitimate, and I try my best to speak to that.

Myself too. Regardless of what happens, I will begin sleeping better again soon.

The frustration is legitimate, but I think it's also legitimate to say that Ford plays parts of the city against each other for his own gain. Speaking about transit visions should nullify some support. Sadly, transit seems to be getting lost in the mix this election.

I have a gut feeling that George Smitherman will be Toronto's new mayor.

My gut today is saying a Ford win.

However, it's still a very likely scenario that Smitherman's momentum will at least hold, more Pants people than are saying will vote for him, including many/most undecided. Moreover, voting in the suburbs may be less than Ford had hoped. If so, George has it.

It's also an equally likely scenario that Smitherman's momentum is stalling, Pants is performing better and that some are buying into his "worse than Ford" nonesense and that it may even sway some undecided. Moreover, the suburbs will vote in numbers not seen in a long time as they are excited by Ford. If so, Rob has it.

Regardless, Pants has made it that much harder for Smitherman as he's trying to bring him down with him.

 

[GraphicMatt]

Take a drink every time someone from the 905 says they're going to vote for Rob Ford.

 

[cgguy]

I have a gut feeling that George Smitherman will be Toronto's new mayor.

Nah. Sorry folks. Ford will win, and win handily.

Smitherman's following of Hipsters and Downtown elitists are great at spreading their feelings on Twitter and social forums like this one, but when it comes to voting Fords' mouth-breathing-suburbanite-faithful will turn out to the polls in droves.

I'm definitely going to steer clear of the downtown Starbucks locations on Tuesday morning. The bitter taste of tears and Java don't mix.

 

[TwoDogs_39]

Wow, did the Ford radicals just discover Urban Toronto? Our conversation has been quite reasonable up until recently. I think this is the main difference between Smitherman and Ford supporters: The latter have no sense of rationality. They're defense of Ford is based on pie-in-the-sky bullcrap. You can provide a Ford supporter with FACTS that will DIRECTLY contradict something Ford is arguing, but they still won't see the light. They are a hopeless bunch.

I'd like to think that I'm someone who has been relatively balanced even with my own Smitherman bias. If he screws up or says something I don't like, I don't deny it. Overall, however, there is little doubt in my mind that out of the 3 remaining candidates Smitherman is the best choice.

 

[GraphicMatt]

Recall that Ford's strategy for dealing with youth violence and gangs is high school football. Recall that his strategy for waterfront redevelopment is "it's too expensive." Recall that he seems to hold a belief that using debt to fund capital projects is a Very Bad Thing, which makes one pause and wonder how the hell he's going to fund capital projects. Recall that all this talk about how many busses it takes to replace streetcars is ultimately meaningless because surely he'll do a 1:1 replacement, crow about the operating money saved and leave transit commuters to rot. Recall that he has a record of voting against libraries, cultural funding, very successful harm reduction programs for the homeless and even donating our decommissioned emergency vehicles to third world countries who could still make good use of them. Recall that he wants to give TTC workers a guaranteed raise through arbitration every three years.

But, yeah, mostly I'm just not voting for him because I don't like the way he looks and that he represents the 'common man' which I look down upon from my lofty perch.

 

[TonyV]

New poll leaves Toronto mayoral frontrunners no margin for error

Today's Globe and Mail:

Anna Mehler Paperny


Mayoral candidates Rob Ford and George Smitherman remain locked in a tight battle for the mayor's chair, according to a Leger Marketing poll, which put the two within the margin of error.

Thirty-one per cent of the 600 Torontonians surveyed plan to vote for Mr. Smitherman, compared to 30 per cent for Mr. Ford. Deputy mayor Joe Pantalone garnered 10 per cent of the vote. Eighteen per cent of those polled said they're still on the fence.

And while 42 per cent of respondents pegged the former deputy premier when asked which candidate would make the best mayor compared to 36 per cent for Mr. Ford, the Etobicoke councillor had the most support when voters were asked who was most likely to bring change to City Hall – 47 per cent compared to 23 per cent for Mr. Smitherman.

With the Oct. 25 election just four days away and multiple recent polls indicating Mr. Smitherman and Mr. Ford locked in a dead heat, the candidates have been endeavouring both to reach out to undecided voters and mobilize supporters to ensure they get to the polls Monday (more than 60 per cent of Torontonians didn't bother casting a ballot in the 2006 municipal election). And while Mr. Smitherman has been painting himself as the only candidate who can beat the bombastic Mr. Ford, Mr. Pantalone has steadfastly insisted he's the only one of the three with a progressive vision.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ntrunners-no-margin-for-error/article1766631/

 

[Dilla]

Nah. Sorry folks. Ford will win, and win handily.

Smitherman's following of Hipsters and Downtown elitists are great at spreading their feelings on Twitter and social forums like this one, but when it comes to voting Fords' mouth-breathing-suburbanite-faithful will turn out to the polls in droves.

I'm definitely going to steer clear of the downtown Starbucks locations on Tuesday morning. The bitter taste of tears and Java don't mix.

This just in - fully 30% of Torontonians are hipsters and downtown elitists (40% when you count Pants supporters!). Yes, that's right, the elite are actually nearly half of the city.