Rob Ford's Toronto

[Lenser]

If that's so - and somehow I doubt it - I still don't see Council agreeing to reinstate Rob Ford to take over for... Rob Ford. The fatigue factor is huge; people are already working to distance themselves from the Ford camp, no matter how hard the Ford brothers try to spin things otherwise.

It's true that, in such a position, Ford would have no real power but nevertheless I imagine that, at this point, Council would rather work with someone - anyone - who shows a trace of an inkling of resolve to be be less bluntly partisan and isolationist than Mr. Rob Ford himself. This is a man who claims to unreservedly love this city but whose actions paint a much greyer picture.

 

[Torontovibe]

How does Ford show his love for the city? Is that done by trying to close the High Park Zoo, The Centre Island Farm, as well as Riverdale Farm? If they were closed, would that make Toronto a better city? What has Ford done to show he loves Toronto? Where is there any evidence of city building and investing in Toronto? I just haven't seen it. Ford is all about starving the city of the tax base it needs to grow and improve.

 

[MetroMan]

I'm pretty well connected to NDP/progressive circles in Toronto especially Trinity-Spadina and I can assure you that Adam Vaughan and Olivia Chow will not run against each other

Note that I said the dynamics would be different if Chow or Tory enter the race. Either one would overshadow all the remaining candidates. But if it's a councillors vs councillors, it's shaping up to a be a Royal Rumble. With a 45 day campaign instead of a drawn out year long affair, anybody entering the race can afford to remain in it until the end. This won't be a Right vs Left contest, it'll be a Keep Ford vs Right and Left. Ford Nation (let's say about 20-30% of the electorate) will have their guy, while all the "replace Ford" will fraction into their usual Right or Left candidates. With as many as 6 candidates possibly running, it's hard not to see them splitting the "Not Ford" vote between them regardless of their political ideology.

 

[Lenser]

While in your scenario vote-splitting would constitute a credible threat to candidates on both the left and the right, I expect that in short order - well before the 45 days are up - the real contenders will emerge, with all the others fading back. The electorate prefers tight, clearly-defined races between two or three candidates, rather than a full slate of a half-dozen with a fair amount of greyness in the distinctions among them. It's not unlike sports, really.

But it's also possible that another candidate on the right could start pulling more numbers than the Ford camp... if they stay on message and keep hammering away at the Ford camp's weaknesses (while equally spending time and energy slamming leftist candidates). A mayor on the right is entirely possible - and it needn't be a Ford, either. The challenge to the Fords will be to bring something fresh to the game. The entire city already knows what they'll be campaigning on; given their brand fatigue, I think they're going to have a tough time just running on their previous slogans.

 

[js97]

Is it just me or is it a complete waste of money to run for Mayor for 1 year term?

Your re-election campaign will start right when you get elected...

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

js97:

On this we do agree.

AoD

 

[js97]

I'm pretty well connected to NDP/progressive circles in Toronto especially Trinity-Spadina and I can assure you that Adam Vaughan and Olivia Chow will not run against each other

Well.... to be clear Vaughan did run against Olivia's puppet Helen Kennedy in the whole Tam Goosen scandal... where Olivia sent half of Tam Goosens supporters on the bus to Orillia for a 'free casino day'.... scandolous I know.... If it's between Vaughan and Chow and Doug Ford... I'd bite the bullet and vote for Vaughan...

 

[js97]

js97:

On this we do agree.

AoD

This is epic... It must be Christmas soon!

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I think there was already a link to the judges ruling but there was not one to Blatchford's article. I think Blatchford argued more on emotion (i.e. the people voted for Ford and not the judge), but my arguement was based on facts. He was guilty of conflict of interest, but the Act allows a loophole for small amounts of money. I did not follow the case in much detail, but obviously Ford did not do a good job arguing this point. He probably was trying to argue that it was not a conflict of interest.

Sooo... let's try this again. You linked to an article as a public service, but did not base your argument on it, but didn't read anything else. You admit to not following the case, but your opinion is more cogent than the judge's. And, the only reason Ford lost is he hired the wrong lawyer. STOP. NOW.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

That's the exact same thing I was referring to. in [43], the judge uses a quote from Ford that shows nothing about the monetary magnitude of the amount as it relates to Ford. It is clear that Ford thinks he has to return the actual donated money to the donors. The quote has nothing to do with showing that the magnitude of the payment is significant to Ford.

I think showing that Ford expenses every pencil, paper and coffee to his office budget would be a better way of showing that relatively small sum of money are important to him. It is also quite clear that the judges statement that "personal repayment of $3,150.00 is precisely the issue that he objects to", is true but because repayment, in Fords mind, is an admission of guilt and not an indication of the significance of the magnitude of the payment.

Seriously. Stop. You're making a fool of yourself.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

This article in the sun (http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/27/irony-in-rob-ford-being-bounced-over-money) hints that Council can choose anyone to be Mayor (pending clarification from the judge) - so why not Rob Ford. Council could force him to repay, or otherwise try to ridicule him in order to allow him to return. If Ford does not accept the terms, Ford would look like the bad guy who cost the City $7M. If he returns as Mayor, he still would have no real power since Council had taken that from him earlier this year.

Hahahaha... so, the city solicitor says he can't run in the by-election (pending clarification on the application for a stay), the judge has just vacated his seat, AND YOU THINK A LEFT-LEANING COUNCIL SHOULD PROPOSE HIM AS HIS OWN REPLACEMENT?????

I'm sorry, I was taking you seriously before. Forgive my other comments about your lack of any sort of knowledge as to Toronto politics or the Canadian legal system, as you've obviously had your tongue in cheek the whole time and I missed it.

Darn the lack of emoticons!

 

[canmark]

Here's what The Economist is saying about Toronto: Model-T Ford breaks down. A city and its government are stuck in gridlock

Stand on the platform at St Andrew subway station in the city centre and Toronto’s problems are evident. The walls are grimy, and sections of vinyl panelling are missing. Renovations begun in 2009 are unfinished. Chronic underfunding of an overburdened public-transport network, and the council’s lengthy wrangling over a new plan have created a shabby and truncated subway that is unfit for the world-class metropolis Toronto claims to be. Although several new light-rail lines funded by Ontario’s provincial government are being built, the lack of public transport means that more than 70% of Torontonians with jobs drive to work. They face longer journey times than commuters in car-obsessed Los Angeles.

A second problem is that, whereas Chicago and other American cities have turned their waterfronts into attractive, accessible public areas, Toronto’s is hidden by a wall of apartment towers and separated from the city by an elevated expressway. Last year Mr Ford withdrew the city’s support for a redevelopment plan endorsed by the previous council as well as the provincial and federal governments, which both own parcels of lakefront land. He wanted to replace a proposed park with a mega-mall and a giant Ferris wheel. After much debate and delay, the city has reverted to the original plan.

Toronto still ranks highly on international lists of desirable places to live. But its politicians’ inability to come to grips with its problems is alienating some admirers. Richard Florida, an American urban guru who moved to Toronto in 2007, says the city is now “a more divided and contentious place, its once enviable social cohesion at risk, a growing split pitting downtown against the suburbs”.

 

[King of Kensington]

Well.... to be clear Vaughan did run against Olivia's puppet Helen Kennedy in the whole Tam Goosen scandal... where Olivia sent half of Tam Goosens supporters on the bus to Orillia for a 'free casino day'.... scandolous I know.... If it's between Vaughan and Chow and Doug Ford... I'd bite the bullet and vote for Vaughan...

That was then and this is now (I supported Tam Goosen and then Vaughan BTW). Since then Vaughan has emerged as an NDPer in all but name (he endorsed Kristyn Wong-Tam over Smitherman's puppet Ken Chan in TC, Cathy Crowe over Glen Murray in the TC by-election, endorsed Peggy Nash's candidacy for the NDP leadership, etc.

Also a competitive council race in Ward 20 is basically a "progressive primary" more than anything else. The stakes city-wide are a lot higher and the progressives will be united.

And there is no way the center-right is going to cede the field to Doug.

 

[sarnya]

Steve Paikan has an interesting blog post on The Agenda's website: Why Rob Ford Could Win Again.

His points are...

If Ford Nation was becoming at all blasé because of the mayor's travails, that will almost certainly come to an end. Ford Nation will be energized as never before at what it perceives as the "vast left wing conspiracy's" attempt to remove Ford from office. They don't see a man who broke the law. They see the elites ganging up on their guy.

If the anti-Ford forces think there will be a coming-together over Olivia Chow's candidacy, think again. Some may see Chow as a champion of the anti-Ford vote, but Toronto politics is more layered and complicated than that. For example, it seems inconceivable that Toronto Liberals would work to elect Chow, someone they've tried hard to defeat ever since she first stood for MP back in 2004. She lost that election by fewer than 1,000 votes to Tony Ianno, but has held her seat in the three federal elections since.

Given the mayor's predicament, one can imagine a deluge of candidates coming forward to challenge him if he's thrown out of office now and runs for re-election in 2014. They'll all (wrongly, in my view) assume Ford is damaged goods and can be taken down. The more likely scenario is that, unless something completely unexpected happens (and 'tis the season for that), Ford will run again in 2014 and hold the 35 or so per cent of Torontonians, mostly in the inner suburbs, who swear by him. As more candidates challenge the mayor, the more they cannibalize the anti-Ford vote, and the more likely Ford is to win re-election.

As we're seeing with the federal Liberal leadership race, more people getting into the hunt doesn't seem to deter others. In fact, it has had the opposite effect. Politicians say to themselves, "Well, if that guy can run for it, surely I'm as good or better than him." And they jump in, too. If a similar scenario transpires at Toronto City Hall, it only helps Ford's chances of re-election.

It echos what a lot of people have been saying here. What I find disappointing is that it seems like you can't win with so-called Ford Nation. If you hold Ford accountable for his actions and errors, his voter base digs their feet in ... and if you ignore what he's doing and let his actions slide, his base is satisfied with the job he's doing. It's a shame all too many voters are willing to stick their heads in the sand and blindly support a terrible politician. More and more, I truly believe Ford Nation does not even like really Ford, they simply like that he ruffles the feathers of left-wing people. It's spite-based politics and it's not getting us anywhere.

 

[CN Tower]

Steve Paikan has an interesting blog post on The Agenda's website: Why Rob Ford Could Win Again.

His points are...








It echos what a lot of people have been saying here. What I find disappointing is that it seems like you can't win with so-called Ford Nation. If you hold Ford accountable for his actions and errors, his voter base digs their feet in ... and if you ignore what he's doing and let his actions slide, his base is satisfied with the job he's doing. It's a shame all too many voters are willing to stick their heads in the sand and blindly support a terrible politician. More and more, I truly believe Ford Nation does not even like really Ford, they simply like that he ruffles the feathers of left-wing people. It's spite-based politics and it's not getting us anywhere.

I support many if not most of Ford's policies and proposals (subways, outsourcing garbage, tough negotiations with the unions, weeding out bureaucratic waste) but virtually none of his buffoonery or dogmatic ignorance of contrary opinions. I think 'Ford Nation' would be happy with someone representative of the notion of accountability and operating the City within an affordable framework as opposed to the spiraling bureaucracy of previous administrations. John Tory clearly has the common sense and aptitude for the job but has yet to prove that he can actually play political hardball in the ring. Olivia Chow would represent a far far worse outcome for the people of Toronto if elected though her chances are very slight in the outer reaches of the city. The best move is probably to have the deputy mayor take charge until the next election.