Fool me once, shame on me.
Fool me twice, shame on you. Fool me a dozen times…
How many of my blog posts have started with “I can admit when I’m wrong”?
Is it fair to say that I’m able to admit my mistakes?
It has taken two years, but I’m finally off the Rob Ford bandwagon, although my reasons differ from those of the people who never supported him to begin with.
That’s the key here – people who don’t support Rob Ford can be divided into two distinct categories:
1) Those that never supported him.
2) Those that did support him, but don’t anymore.
I feel as though the people who form category #1 can also be subdivided into two further categories:
1) Those that don’t like his politics.
2) Those that don’t like him.
The second category is not a good reason to dislike a political candidate, but when it comes to Rob Ford, it’s hard to fault people.
In the beginning I faulted the Ford-haters for assuming that a fat, loud, obnoxious person cannot be a good civil servant, and I felt as though many people who might benefit from and/or agree with Ford’s policies weren’t supporting him because he was a fat loaf. But that’s like redneck Americans voting for Republicans because Barack Obama happens to be black, even though the ignorant, racist, poor people in the deep south would benefit more from the policies of a black man than a lear-jet-flying, caviar-eating, horse-racing elitist. But that’s a topic for another day…
Rob Ford wasn’t really a “likeable” guy, but for many of us who disliked David Miller’s tenure as mayor, and wanted a change – Rob Ford was the guy to do it; like him or not.
And now here I sit, two years later, being so turned off by Mayor Ford and his actions that I’m having trouble not judging him for his fat, disgusting, crude self, as hypocritical as that is.
Rob Ford won the election on his promise to “stop the gravy train,” as well as other promises like eliminating the vehicle registration tax, and repealing the new Land Transfer Tax. He did the former, and forgot about the latter, which bothers me not just as a Realtor but as a taxpayer.
What was worse: the audacity to forget about the promise to repeal the land transfer tax? Or the naivety to suggest repealing it in the first place? Where would the city recoup the $336 Million that the land transfer tax would bring in during 2012? How childish to suggest eliminating the tax with no plan in place to replace it!
I think what Rob Ford’s four-year tenure as mayor will be remembered for is exactly that which is being accomplished at City Hall: nothing.
And where “nothing” hurts the most is with respect to our number-one problem in this city, as I see it: public transit.
I believe that in the year 2020, when the city of Toronto finally breaks ground on a massive transit plan, we’ll think back to the year 2010 when Rob Ford first took office and we were all so hopeful that the jackhammers would start immediately!
Can we all agree that NOTHING will be accomplished with respect to public transit until after Ford’s term is over? He’s two years in, with two years left, and City Council can’t agree on which plan to adopt. The left and the right are gridlocked, and can only agree on one thing: to disagree. It’s like Democrats and Republicans in the United States – neither wanting to compromise, because a compromise looks like weakness. Well Rob Ford and his opponents will never agree on a transit plan, and thus Toronto taxpayers will stand idly by while the rest of the world laughs at our feeble, pathetic, miniscule transit system that is holding us back from being considered a “world class city.”
I put 50% of the blame on Rob Ford, and 50% of the blame on his opponents, but unless something gets done, Ford will shoulder the blame historically.
I really can’t point to ONE massive, monumental failure or offence that Rob Ford has committed that has led me to turn on him; I mean, it’s not like he ran over thirty cute puppies in his pick-up truck or anything, but rather it’s a cumulative failure as a mayor and a person, culminating from dozens of minor offences.
As I said at the onset – I was willing to look past Rob Ford “the person” and look at Rob Ford “the politician.” I make no secrets of the fact that I fall right-of-centre politically, and I consider myself a social-liberal and a fiscal-conservative. Rob Ford’s policies and campaign ideas fell more in line with my wishes than did those of George Smitherman.
But Rob Ford “the person” had so much of an affect on Rob Ford “the politician” that it became almost impossible to separate the two.
Ford’s cold shoulder to Pride Week was insulting, and it showed his true colours. Even Mel Lastman got up and rode a float one year to try and show that he embraced ALL that is Toronto. Ford acted like a child, afraid of somebody “giving him gay” or maybe even “gaying on him” in the worst case scenario. Our cultural and social diversity is what makes Toronto the most unique city in the world, and people of all races and sexual orientations are welcome, and should be embraced. Mayor Ford made a point of letting his true feelings be known.
Then of course, we had the weight-loss-challenge fiasco. This was another slap in the face, and Ford basically saying, “I don’t care” to those who were paying attention. Let’s be honest here – we don’t really care if Rob Ford lost some of his 330 pounds. But we did care if he made an effort, showed up when said he would show up, or committed to what he said he would do. He simply gave up, and opted out, and that’s not a very good example for a mayor to set for his city.
The texting-while-driving incident was equally as offensive, not because he was texting though – I do this all the time, and I’ll admit it. Rather, it was the way he handled the situation. He accepted no responsibility, shouldered no blame, and simply said, “I’m a busy guy.” All we wanted was some BS, lawyer-written statement like what a baseball player who tests positive for steroid reads at a press conference: “This was a mistake, and I am responsible. I apologize to everybody, and I will endeavour to ensure that it never happens again.” That’s all he had to do!
These personal incidents aren’t what made me turn on Mayor Ford, however. These incidents merely serve to demonstrate that he’s a disgusting human being, who says, “I’m the fucking mayor” when he calls the police to demand that a comedian be arrested on his driveway.
The final straw for me was the “Road Work Scandal” that happened last week. This came after the “Football Scandal,” the “Donation Scandal,” the “Voting Scandal,” the “Civic Appointment Scandal,” and everything else we’ve endured as Torontonians.
As you all probably read last week, Rob Ford met with city staff outside his family business, Deco Labels and Tags, and later personally met in his office with senior officials to discuss repairs to potholes outside of the property. Deco Labels & Tags is about to celebrate their 50th anniversary, and it doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to suggest that after the work was completed in a matter of days, maybe, just maybe, Mr. Ford used his power as mayor to have this unscheduled work take place.
Is this a massive abuse of power? No, it’s not.
But it is an abuse of power, or at least an over-reach, and given all the other issues surrounding Mr. Ford right now, the fact that he decided to go ahead and commission city workers to fix potholes outside his family business at this time just confirms what we already know: Rob Ford doesn’t give a shit. He’s like the honey-badger, except not quite as smart.
It’s true. What other conclusions are we supposed to draw?
In the midst of yet another scandal, where Rob Ford hired a former football player as an office staff member (being paid by city taxpayers to work in the office), and then brought him along to help coach football, Ford has no problem using city resources to get his family property fixed-up!
And all this comes only weeks after Mr. Ford was in court with his role as mayor on the line!
He doesn’t care! He just does whatever he wants!
And not only does he refuse to apologize, he goes on the offensive! Or his brother does the talking for him, like this week when Doug Ford called the media “sucky little kids who whine and cry and moan.”
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you! This further demonstrates how clueless and hopeless the Ford Brothers are as politicians: they don’t realize how important it is to stay on the media’s good side.
It’s the Ford Brothers that are “a bunch of pricks,” to borrow a phrase from Doug Ford himself. They don’t care about anything, or anyone; just themselves. They know best, and they’re going to do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and then complain that they’re hard-done-by when people don’t like them.
Rob Ford does whatever he wants, and never admits when he’s wrong. Now it’s been revealed that Rob Ford’s lobbied the Provincial government for $2 Million to spruce up the field at Don Bosco Catholic School where he coaches football. His self-interest is overwhelming, and he doesn’t seem to be hiding it. Maybe I’m drawing conclusions on this one – I know that it wasn’t Ford himself who asked for the $2 Million, but can we connect the dots on our own here?
It seems to me that Rob Ford uses his power as mayor to push ahead with his own agenda, and THAT is why I no longer support him. Every week, there is yet another story about Rob Ford and his misuse of power, and it’s getting old.
I spent a full year defending Rob Ford, and now I’m embarrassed.
I tried hopelessly to draw attention to his political ideas to disguise what he really is: a disgusting, classless, pig of a man. A gravy-boat of self-interest. An embarrassment to the city of Toronto, even in the wake of Mel Lastman, who once voiced his concerns about “being in a pot of boiling water with natives dancing around” while on a trip to Kenya.
Rob Ford is worse.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want some lefty like Adam Vaughan running our city, I don’t care how charismatic, polite, or classy a politician is – I still have to vote along my political lines. But why-oh-why was THIS the man that best represented my wants and needs for Toronto? This man who acts as if Toronto and its people serve him, and not the other way around!
This man, who is accused of conflict of interest for participating in a council debate that would affect him greatly.
This man, who is in court over a misuse of funds raised for his football foundation, and who was almost removed as mayor.
This man, who meddled with civic appointments (a nice way of saying “hand picked”) for committees and boards.
This man, who used his power to fast-track unscheduled road work outside his family business.
This man, who lobbies to have million-dollar renovations at one particular high school football field.
This man, who uses city staff, driving city cars, and using city cell-phones, to help him coach football.
This man, who time and time again, thumbs his nose at everybody who doesn’t bow down to him.
That’s no way to run a city.
This is not the man that should be running one of the greatest cities in the world.
But if not he, then who?
Ralph Cramdown
at 8:23 am
It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong.
Dan
at 11:01 am
…And he’s so FAT!!!!!!
johnny chase
at 11:06 am
It all depends who is running against him at the time. If the options are Chow, Vaughan or Ford, I’d probably vote for him again. But if there is another fiscal concervative option, that person would proably get my vote. Ford never said he would get rid of the LTT… he said he would liket to see it removed and hinted that he could only potentially reduce it.
Sarah
at 11:33 am
Nothing wrong with changing one’s opinion as long as there is a recognition of change. We all have to making our voting decisions based on what we know of a candidate’s politics, promises and experience; but the reality is, no one knows how it will go once that person actually puts on the fancy chain and starts signing stuff.
Supporting a candidate is not an oath of fealty. We support people because we think they are the best choice (or the least worse choice) with the information we have at the time. When we learn more, we can choose to withdraw our support.
I didn’t vote for Ford. I’m group 1 subsection 1 (but also I’m feeling kind of subsection 2 these days), but if he’d actually found a way for his plan to work, I would have re-examined my opinion. Sadly, the only thing he’s done that I’ve agreed with is his choice to not bid for the Olympics. We already have the Pan Am games coming in a couple of years.
Stephanie
at 4:30 pm
I think the voters of Toronto had 10 years of Ford as councillor to assess his fitness for the top chair. He was not a good councillor – he did aid his constituents, it’s true, but he usually voted, without good reason, against any big-picture items that affected the city as a whole and not just his little corner of it. His personal behaviour was as wanting as it is now – the most infamous example being his drunken rant against strangers at a hockey game and his subsequent denial of it. Anyone paying the slightest bit of attention, and this includes the author of this article, should have seen this coming a mile away. I have no sympathy for those who ignored all indicators and pinned their hopes on someone who clearly would not be up to the job. They are not allowed to claim they were duped – the writing was clearly on the wall, had they bothered to read it.
Vlad
at 1:50 pm
Nailed it.
Matt
at 1:42 pm
John Tory, after all these years, seems to me to still be the obvious person to fill the mayor’s seat. He’s smart, a savvy businessman, thinks out issues rather than toeing the right’s party line, and knows how to handle the media. Hopefully he’ll be willing to take another kick at the can.
Ralph Cramdown
at 6:01 pm
I never understood the appeal of John Tory. He’s not a self-made man. His success in the law consisted of riding on the family coattails and in business consisted of competently running a profitable monopoly. Outside of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader, he’s tried, and failed, to be elected everything but dogcatcher. While sitting as party leader, his solicitations to his caucus for somebody — anybody — to give up a safe-ish seat so he could be elected to the legislature fell on deaf ears for an embarrassingly long time. Got elected, switched ridings to run against an incumbent cabinet minister and lose, was crucified over a terrible misreading of voters’ opinion on public funding for religious education… The guy had no political smarts. I would add that despite his political connections he apparently had no friends in high places, as typically he’d have gotten a seat when a member of his caucus resigned and was appointed to a plum position (the senate, an ambassadorship &c.)
Granted, Rob Ford is/was all political smarts and no leadership/consensus building ability, but still… You can’t say Tory was a good candidate defeated by an even greater candidate — all his opponents were mediocre to merely good. If you can’t win against that, do you deserve public office?
jeff316
at 7:54 am
Tory did get a caucus member to resign her seat for him after the 2007 election – a safe PC riding in the Kawarthas. And he subsequently lost the ensuing by-election to the governing Liberals. The former member ran again in the last election and beat the Liberal incumbent, something John Tory couldn’t seem to do even as leader… ouch.
One of the things that will eventually get lost in the historical narrative about McGuinty is the mediocrity of his opponents. Had Tory not championed the terrible religious school-funding policy, it is likely McGuinty would have been held to a minority (or worse) and may not have survived to this day. Instead, he’s seen as the first three-term Premier since Davis, a title ill-fitting to his bungling run in office.
Jewel
at 1:50 pm
Toronto screwed up big in 2003. Wonder what the city would be like today if John Tory had been it’s mayor since then.
David Fleming
at 2:56 pm
@ Jewel
I wonder what public transit would be like today if John Tory had been elected in 2003! Think about NINE YEARS of building infrastructure! We would be today, where we’re hoping to be in 2020…
That’s the most frustraing part about TIME. Once it’s gone, you can’t get it back
Vlad
at 3:04 pm
But you CAN get it back. Haven’t you seen Looper?
David Fleming
at 12:01 am
@ Vlad
I did see Looper, and I quite enjoyed it.
Bret East Ellis tweeted that he walked out and he couldn’t understand why others weren’t following, but come on – was it THAT bad?
The “Rainmaker” kid was really good! For a 5-year-old, he was damn scary and believable!
Jewel
at 12:20 pm
And even now, in reality we’ll still probably only be a a fraction of where we’re “hoping” to be in 2020…sigh…
JC
at 3:04 pm
I can’t really add much. The guy is an embarrassment to our city as Mayor and should be removed for conflict of interest. He didn’t feel the need to read councillor handbooks or attend orientation classes because “he was raised in a political family”?
Now the unscheduled paving in front of his family business?
There’s part of the problem there. He thinks that he and his family are above it all.
I didn’t vote for him, and I didn’t vote for Smitherman either. He seemed to think that because he was gay, that all gay people should be voting for him. Wrong.
What I’d like to know is just what has Ford been up to? He claims that he’s too busy for this or that, but docs obtained through freedom of information show that he’s had a very light official schedule.
At this point drawing names out of a hat, or even the hat itself would be a better choice.
jeff316
at 7:58 am
Smitherman thought that everyone should vote for him not because he was gay, but because he was Smitherman. All ambition no mission makes a terrib le terrible governing politician.
Smitherman would have made a terrible mayor. He is probably the least successful government Cabinet Minister in the last twenty-five years. Sure, John Snobelen spent more time in Oklahoma than he did in the Legislature. Sure, Shelly Martel once had to take a lie detector test to prove that she indeed lied. But neither enacted the damage that Smitherman did in his years in Cabinet. Smitherman has failed in every Ministry. He’s left a wanton waste of money in his wake unrivalled by anyone.
The thing I’ve always wondered about Smitherman is why did Liberals support his run for mayor?
Was it party loyalty? Were they too intimidated by him to tell him he was a subpar candidate? Or did they actually think he’d be a good mayor?
It’s the answer to the last question that scares me the most.
Joe Q.
at 10:48 am
Did the Liberal party establishment support Smitherman that strongly? I don’t remember that being the case.
jeff316
at 1:33 pm
They did, from very early on. It’s one of the things that scared off Miller from trying for a third time – a third of his organizational strength shifted to a rival candidate. The Liberals behind the scenes were understandably unhappy when Miller threw McGuinty under the LRT for delaying transit funding after the economic collapse. The liberal-oriented media outlets featured Smitherman heavily in advance of him even declaring. Miller knew winning a post-garbage strike election in a three-way race wouldn’t be a sure thing if Smitherman had the party apparatus behind him. In the end, even only the most stalwart NDPers worked for Joe.
The problem ended up being that deep down Smitherman was a gayer, more polished and phonier Rob Ford. So why not vote for the real thing?
Dan Dickinson
at 7:07 pm
I never supported him, but not because of his policies…it was because of his *lack* of policies. “Stop the gravy train!” isn’t a platform, and it certainly isn’t a plan for how to move the city forward. I can understand backing conservative fiscal policy (even if I don’t vote for it) but that’s not what he was espousing. He was the local chapter of the Tea Party, reciting the “Tax bad! Freedom good!” talking points that make angry people shake their fist at the government (as if the government is anyone but us) and completely lacking in any kind of stated strategy for how he’d run the city.
Really, I just expected several years of inaction and ineptitude from the mayor’s office, and — given the resemblance — some Chris Farley-esque blunders. But even I didn’t expect *this* behaviour. You’re right, he’s an embarrassment, but he actually doesn’t seem to have any idea that he’s an embarrassment. Lastman was a buffoon at times, but he was always trying to improve Toronto in some way (effectively or not) and he was always pretty aware when he was being a buffoon. Ford just seems…oblivious.
At this point I have to assume that we’re subjects in a social experiment. We’re being observed to see just how much asshattery Canadians can take before we politely revolt.
moonbeam!
at 8:35 pm
Where is Jane Pitfield when we need her?
Joe Q.
at 9:13 pm
Stephanie pretty much captured my view with her post above — Ford was great as an advocate for the residents of his ward, but his record on council and in his personal life showed an appalling lack of leadership and judgement.
Where I part ways with Stephanie is in her characterization of his “drunken rant against strangers at a hockey game” — it was much more than that. He got very drunk, he picked fights with a family sitting near him, he threatened a woman with rape (to be precise, he said she should be “raped and shot”) all the while handing out his City of Toronto business card. Security dragged him out of the ACC soon after. When confronted with the story, he not only denied that he did it, he suggested that left-wingers on council were “out to get him” and had made up the story to discredit him.
An amazing lack of judgement backed up by a scurrilous accusation against his council opponents — and this was in 2006. They say that history rhymes…
Stephanie
at 12:07 pm
You’re absolutely right, JoeQ. I just downplayed it a bit so it wouldn’t seem too much like rehashing old history but I couldn’t agree more. His behaviour then bordered on the criminal, in my opinion, and yes, it was much, much more than just a rant. I also believe he should have been charged with something for his attack on Daniel Dale.
Devore
at 12:48 am
David, can you take a look at C2240485 (660 Dundas St W) and the room dimensions? It would seem to me some laws of physics are being broken here. Maybe an example for one of your future rants.
Jerry Can
at 5:39 am
What’s Tiny Perfect doing these days?
Joe Q.
at 7:10 pm
He’s in his late 70s now, and so probably isn’t too interested in jumping back into the fray…
Anthony
at 5:32 pm
I think you DO have some reasons to gripe about. Ford hasn’t been the shinny knight and role model citizen that we should expect from the public eye. He has flaws (as most of us do). Only it gets magnified 10 times larger because he is the Major. He’s still the best Major we’ve had since Miller and Mel Lastman.
My view is this. I like the Ford brothers. Why? Because they are unconventional politicians which is a BIG fresh air. I HATE conventional politicians who disguise themselves. They look polished, polite, smooth talker, perhaps charming, a good representative that doesn’t embarrass the city but get nothing done ie. a Miller, a McGuinty. Toronto loves and falls for these guys over and over again and I’m glad we didn’t get Smitherman because it was heading down the same channel. As far as progress is concerned, there has been: privatization of garbage collection west of Yonge St is a start, eliminating the plastic bag fee (a fee that was good revenue for business but not what it was intended to be), taking care of Toronto social housing which the previous Majors neglected, cost cutting down at City Hall where Miller had little regards for. Surely those are some progress. What did Miller do in his term? Next to nothing.
The Fords as crude as they can be are fresh, real and a slap in the face to the way politicians are groomed to act. Mel Lastman was also similar in this sense. I agree with Doug Ford about the media especially the Star being a bunch of cry babies. How more truth is there then that? Have you read the Star? I don’t know how to say more emphatically that they are the most unprofessional media that is more embarrassing then anything the Fords have done. This is a media that has defending it’s reporters for spying on the Fords as well as wrote on average 2 mudslinging articles a day on Ford and call it “news”. Have they wrote anything positive? Never. They are so skewed in perspective it’s almost consider a propaganda campaign.
I don’t care if what Doug said doesn’t print will in PR. Boo hoo. Doug has balls. Something Miller seriously lacked. I’d rather have reality then PR BS. We need more of this. Toronto is not used to it being the polite and sometimes naive city that it is but we need some emotion..love it or hate it. It make people wake up. This city was asleep for a long time and the councillors especially the extreme lefties like Collin Vaughan are working against what we truly need for a long time and that is someone who wants to make changes to the system and not be part of the system. Everyone knows and admits the system is a broken one, abused for decades by politicians. Look at the banking system now. It has crumbled world wide because bankers and politicians abused it for so long that it just reached it’s limits and these countries are going under due to debt. Same thing is happening to way the city has been operating. At some point we have to face the enormous budget to bring it back to a manageable system that is oiled to run better.
Colin Vaughan was in favour of the temporary homeless shelter on Richmond and Peter that was built and an astronomical cost (it worked out to be something like $150,000 per bed).
There is too much bitching and fighting amongst them that it’s hurting progress. If we look at major cities which have much larger subway systems, why can’t we project into the year 2020 by building the frame work now. The short sightedness of these councillors that want LRT now and “let’s worry about grid lock” later is why I think Toronto is a second rate city NOW will eventually need to build a bigger subway down the road ANYWAYS. A vision of Toronto of the future has be be laid out and this is seriously holding us back. When you look at a city like New York, which is what Toronto wants to be we have to be better and more efficient in the city planning process. This leads me to my next point.
The main problem is the Major’s vote counts as ONE when it should count as 5 Votes. What is the point of being Major when your vote power is like any other councillors. There is no point. If this is the case we should just have councillors running the city (which is what’s happening now) and remove the Major title all together.
I would like to see this system changed and I believe the Major whether it be Rob Ford or any future Major should have more firing power and decision making ability. Think of a CEO of a company. The CEO makes the big decision and that’s when there is progress. When you are out voted by the the lower position employees what’s the point? That’s how our political system works.
In conclusion, Rob Ford is not bad. He’s a blue collar guy that’s a bit rough around the edges but I’d rather vote for him then any white collar guy in existence right now. The candidates are lack luster and now Olivia Chow wants a piece of the action? She’s not what Toronto needs either. We need a visionary, a game changer, not another politician that muddles through another 4 years without waking up the city. We need someone to make this city come alive and show that we are one of the best cities in the world in city planning. What’s holding us back is efficiency and the bickering down at city hall. That’s our biggest downfall.
Bertie Wooster
at 1:06 am
I have to agree with Anthony on this one. My biggest pet peeves about Toronto are (1) the odious David Miller plastic bag tax (never underestimate the power of constant low level annoyance) and (2) the garbage strike. Ford has delivered for me by getting rid of the bag tax and privatizing my trash collection.
The centerpiece of your beef with Ford seems to be the LTT and no action on transit. What do you think the city and province should be doing about transit?
jeff316
at 9:26 am
But Rob and Doug are conventional politicians. Don’t you understand that?
Promise lots, stay on message, no vision, no detail, all surface, deliver little, avoid accountability, obfuscate, parry blame, ignore. That is the hallmark of a traditional politician, and is Rob and Doug to a T.
Joe Q.
at 12:35 pm
I’m with jeff316 on this one. The Fords are politicians, through and through — the empty slogans, the pipe-dream promises, even convincing people that they are “blue-collar guys” when they in fact come from wealth. And just because the Fords “have balls” doesn’t mean that they represent reality any better than the “PR BS” that Anthony decries. I think this has been demonstrated in spades over the last two years.
Some people find their in-your-face approach refreshing — I think it’s counter-productive and is one of the root causes of the inefficiency that Anthony complains about, because it alienates even people who ordinarily would support them. In that sense, it’s not because of “the system” that the Fords can’t get much done, but because they are poor leaders, seemingly unable to work with others to achieve their goals.
jeff316
at 1:20 pm
Wee put. It is counterproductive. It leads to further alienation.
The only thing unconventional about Rob Ford as a politician is how extensive his rap sheet would be if the law ever followed through with him – DUI, unsafe driving, drug possession, assault (verbal and physical), domestic disturbance, public intoxication, uttering threats and now possibly conflict of interest.
johnny chase
at 5:30 pm
Sorry boys… they do what they say they were going to do. there have been no surprises… remove car tax? check. get ride of jaris bike lanes? check. contract out garbage? check. Negotiate concessions from unions? check and on and on…..
David Fleming
at 5:33 pm
@ Johnny Chase
When did they get rid of the Jarvis bike lanes? They’re still there today!
Why is Sherbourne Street shut down from Bloor to Gerrard to put in MORE bike lanes?
What about land transfer tax? That went hand-in-hand with the vehicle registration tax.
Anthony
at 12:05 pm
There is no politician that can do everything because 1) it gets blocked at city hall 2) no matter what you do people will say not enough is being done or that’s not what they wanted.
The fact still stands that Ford did more in 2 years then Miller had in his whole time and that is where I see the difference is between the two. Miller was a union lap dog.
With regards the transit, you know Ford wanted subways and had it not been blocked by the councillors we’d have that. It wasn’t a lack of effort. Again as I’ve said, when a major counts for 1 vote it’s really hard to press forward with a vision when you don’t get the support of the councillors(same can be said about Obama and his battle with congress). Look at this plastic bag situation and how much time they are taking to deal with such a minor issue. That’s the problem with the lack of efficiency.
I think there will never be a politician who can deliver on all promises. If they can keep or work on 80% of the campaign promises I’m more then happy. To cap what I’ve already said. Ford promised to cut down spending which he has, tried to push for subway which he did, tackle the union to save money which he has, do something rather then nothing about the state of the Toronto Housing slums which Miller ignored. In my eyes there has been lots of progress on major issues.
Rob Ford is about cutting down waste and saving money from the Union which is powerful. He’s tried to tackle this. He is not a visionary and I’ll be the first one to admit this that doesn’t take anything away from what he has tried to do. I see a man that really cares about making a difference for the City of Toronto and I couldn’t see that with Miller.
Regarding mixing business with personal agendas, which politician hasn’t milked the system? Doesn’t everyone milk the tax system to saving on taxes? Are we all squeeky clean? Reality check.
The line between business and personal is sometimes mixed. If it’s minor, it doesn’t matter to me. But at what magnitude do you step away and say “wooo wait a minute” is the question you should ask. People are up in arms about using a business cellphone for talking about football then I think it’s frivolous. To me these people will have a beef with everything regardless just because they are complainers by nature. Now a matter like cancelling a project that will cost the city millions of dollars to help get more votes (looking over at McGuinty) is a trademark of a corrupt politician.
What we need is a tax for out of town people ie from Oakville, Ajax and the likes who come inside the city to work and use our roads, infrastructure and never have to pay for it’s maintenance. This is used in other countries.
jeff316
at 1:24 pm
Ford has done little in two years. There’s no fact that he’s done more than Miller. He’s proven that there’s no gravy, unless it relates to hiring staff to coach football.
His job is to corral council. He failed. Even if he had, we would have no subways under Ford. We have no money. His subway went nowhere, literally.
Whether one supports it or not, Miller put together a transit plan city wide and got another government to foot the whole bill. It’s not my cup of tea but that’s an achievement and a half. What do we have with Ford?
Ford will be lucky to get something of that magnitude done in four terms, let alone two.
One doesn’t have to be a Miller supporter to admit he had an effective two terms and that Ford has little more than contracting out garbage in one quadrant of the city to show for his efforts.
Krupo
at 11:00 am
If Ford had the balls to actually FUND the construction of subways, the entire city would get in line and support it.
Saying “I want subways” but adding “and I want a magic private sector sugar daddy to pay for them so they’ll be free” is not bold leadership, it’s the entire reason people who are paying attention to what’s going on are abandonding Ford if they ever supported him.
spoobnooble
at 9:24 pm
Krupo has the right idea. Saying “we want subways” is meaningless unless there is a mechanism for paying for new subway construction. The federal government isn’t interested, and the Ontario government hasn’t funded municipal transit since 1995. New York City transit has three levels of funding; Toronto has one. And Ford simply does not have the negotiating skills, political clout, or even the foresight required to make this happen. Love or hate David Miller, but at least he got Transit City off the ground.
jeff316
at 1:25 pm
“What we need is a tax for out of town people ie from Oakville, Ajax and the likes who come inside the city to work and use our roads, infrastructure and never have to pay for it’s maintenance. This is used in other countries.”
And under whose administration was that first floated?
Your post is all fancy and no fact. But if that’s what you need to think to keep supporting the mayor, that’s your right.
Anthony
at 4:49 pm
So let me spin this debate around and ask a question to Joe. Since you think that Ford’s in your face way of working is counter productive then what do you think of the Miller’s way of working? He was the polar opposite of Ford. What productivity was he known for? Were you as angry with Miller during his tenure as you are with Ford. Or Miller didn’t ruffle your feathers because like most of the zombies in Toronto, we fell asleep since it didn’t stir the pot. Miller quietly went about business doing very little to improve the city. I saw very little productivity from a man that was a model politician. He let the union run amok and he taxed us to death. If the solution to fix a problem boils down to taxing the citizen, guess what they failed to find a solution. Taxing = failure. Miller introduced the Miller tax otherwise known as the Land transfer tax. He introduced more parking enforcement and longer hours for paid meters. He was the tax king. You were taxed if you stood on the sidewalk after 12am (it was 12AM sidewalk tax). I think he even taxed the plants in his office.
That is my definition of a no solution politician.
Ford has solution which is to privatize certain services to break the union and bring cost down. His ideas are very similar to Thatcherism. Margaret Thatcher fought the union, had tighter control over expenditures, taxed less, believed in privatisation.
Thatcherite ideals as:
Free markets, financial discipline, firm control over public expenditure, tax cuts, nationalism, ‘Victorian values’ (of the Samuel Smiles self-help variety), privatisation and a dash of populism.[2]
Does that sound familiar?
Maragaret Thatcher was also in your face though she was never caught taking on a cellphone and didn’t care for football.
Richard
at 8:27 pm
Regardless of what you think of Ford’s policies, suggesting that he is some sort of Thatcherite champion of private industry is a bit much. Thatcher privatized significant portions of what were previously state-owned enterprises in the UK, including telecommunications, steel, airports, automobile & ship manufacturing, and energy. Contracted out garbage is minor league by comparison.
Incidentally, Thatcher was also basically forced to step down as Conservative Party leader because the people in her own party hated working with her.
Anthony
at 10:35 pm
I never said their accomplishments are on the same plain. Read carefully. I said their ideals were the same. How can you compare you compare a Prime Minister’s power to a Major. Obviously Ford doesn’t have the ability to make changes of a national level.
Richard
at 12:21 am
My point wasn’t that their accomplishments were on the same plane. They’re obviously not – she was PM and he’s Mayor. My point is that the situation is far more nuanced.
It’s easy to say both Ford and Thatcher are both for “lower taxes”, but the reality is much more complicated. Thatcher certainly cut rates on income taxes, but preferred indirect taxation instead – the Thatcher governments increased the VAT (sales tax) significantly and introduced the controversial “Community Charge” (basically a per person head tax).
Joe Q.
at 11:09 pm
I was never a big David Miller fan, especially when it came to his relationship with the unions, but the idea that he did nothing during his time in office is a pretty big stretch (and again, I think you are being blinded by your dislike of the LT and car registration taxes).
To make an claim like that, you have to dismiss a lot of major achievements — like actually putting conflict-of-interest rules in place (after the fiasco with Jakobek), expanding of the Toronto Police Service (for better or worse), securing support for the Transit City project as mentioned by jeff316, and generally boosting the liveability of downtown (would the beach parks and things like Luminato and Nuit Blanche, which presumably you use as selling points in your real-estate practice, have happened under a Ford mayoralty?)
I’ll let others comment on the comparison of Rob Ford with Margaret Thatcher.
David Fleming
at 5:19 pm
This is embarassing and ridiculous:
http://www.cp24.com/news/councillors-apologize-after-dramatic-showdown-1.981300
dave
at 9:39 am
I think the mayor has to bear some responsibility for this. The mayor sets the tone for how council behaves, and the councilors follow suit. Acting like a couple of trash talking high school jocks in a stare down. Embarrassing.
lui
at 10:38 am
I like Minnan Wong to be the next mayor…Hes a smooth talker,a person who has no fear of the unions,fiscal responsible and is willing to compromise….
Council suks
at 3:39 pm
the mayor is one vote, thats all, you know damn well if ford were dictator with no council to deal with, we would have lower taxes and regulation, the only spending would be on roads, cops and a subway or two.
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at 10:09 am
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Oingo
at 3:55 pm
Was Lastman on a trip when he spoke about did you eat?