Fresh Start, are you being paid to promote Rob Ford? Who in their right mind would say something like Ford most closely epitomizes what I would want out of a candidate? Seriously? I think out of all the candidates, none of whom I consider a good choice, Ford would be my LAST choice, by a wide margin. I think he's the most blatantly manipulative, dishonest and has the least integrity of the bunch. He's probably the most destructive too. He is the anti Miller candidate but he's also the anti Toronto candidate. We all know there are a lot of people out there who would love nothing more than see Toronto decline and go right down the tubes. Sadly, many of those people live in Toronto. Who do you think those people would vote for? I'd bet it's Rob Ford! Why? Because Rob Ford is all about punishing Toronto. The people who want to knock Toronto down a few pegs, are the ones who are lining up behind Ford. These are the people who only see the bad and never acknowledge that Toronto does a lot of things right. There is a reason Toronto is always near the top of any best place to live list.
Ford only gives easy answers. For instance, Ford wants to cancel Transit City and replace it with subways. He also wants to cut taxes and city spending. So why doesn't he explain to us what he's going to do and how he plans to pay for it? Where is he going to put a subway? How much will it cost? What if people don't want it in their neighbourhood? (we all know Ford supports all NIMBYs) When will it be built? Has he actually studied the issue and done some analysis? Subways cost a lot more than LRTs, so if we need to cut spending, I'd think subways are a no no. His policies seem inconsistant. (like fighting density in Lawrence Heights, then saying increase density to fund subways - Lawrence Heights is right between 2 subways ?) Can you not understand what I'm saying here?
We all know why Ford is pushing subways. They are built underground and don't interfere (slow down) with drivers, so we all know what the suburban, soccer moms would prefer. Might that not explain why someone who wants to cut taxes and spending, would push for subways, even though it doesn't seem logical? Does he really believe in subways or is he saying what he believes his voting block want to hear? Do they even use subways? So,what happens if Ford gets elected and has to pay for those very expensive subways? Well, he didn't actually make a promise, did he? So a few years from now, when he comes out saying we don't have the money to pay for subways, he can say, well, I didn't make any specific promises on a subway. (or blame other levels of government, when he knew all along they would not fund it) Of course, Transit City would be scrapped, so no LRTs. No improvement in transit = more gridlock everywhere. This is what I envision, with Rob Ford.
I don't see any substance, any specifics, any explanations about how things will be done. All we get are simple concepts like cut taxes, cut costs and bust unions but not details. How much does he plan to cut taxes? What services will he cut? How will he bust the unions and what might be the problems associated with that? Does he understand the ramifications and problems that might arise out of that? I want to see some evidence that he does. Before someone votes for him, shouldn't they know all the details, to know what we are getting ourselves into? (since he is the one pushing for massive changes in how this city operates)
My prediction, we will NOT get any real explanations about why, when or how Ford will do all that he has promised. He just expects people to vote for massive change, without ever telling us what to really expect. He will not explain because the truth is, he has no clue how he is going to do it.
