Rob Ford's Toronto

[canmark]

While Rob Ford may want to do away with the 5 cent fee on plastic bags, Los Angeles is doing away with plastic bags completely, and charging 10 cents for paper bags.

Los Angeles became the largest city in the nation Wednesday to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket checkout lines, handing a major victory to clean-water advocates who sought to reduce the amount of trash clogging landfills, the region’s waterways and the ocean.
* * *
Wednesday’s vote kicks off a four-month environmental review of the bag ban, followed by passage of an ordinance putting it into effect. Larger stores would then have six months to phase out plastic bags and smaller markets a 12-month phase-out period. For paper bags, retailers would be required to charge 10 cents per bag starting one year after the plastic bag is enacted.

 

[jje1000]

It does beg the question, what is he doing in his free time?

Mayor Rob Ford has deeply cut his workload, documents show
CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR
Robyn Doolittle
Urban Affairs Reporter

Documents obtained by the Star through a freedom of information request suggest Mayor Rob Ford is doing less than half the official work he was doing this time last year.

The mayor’s official itineraries appear to lend credence to accusations levied by his opponents earlier this week that Ford is an absentee mayor.

Unlike predecessor David Miller, who released his schedule in advance, Ford keeps his itinerary secret. The Star obtains his daily schedules months later under freedom of information legislation.

The most recent batch, released Friday, covers the period from November 2011 until mid-March 2012. It paints a picture of a mayor who has withdrawn from the day-to-day operations of the city.

Compared with the same period last year, Ford has drastically fewer meetings with prominent Torontonians, visiting dignitaries, city bureaucrats and even his own colleagues on council.

In January 2012, Ford averaged 11 meetings a week compared with 33 in January 2011, his first full month as mayor. In February 2012, he had 15 meetings scheduled each week, compared with an average of 34 a year earlier.

The Star counted as a meeting items that included more specific details than simply “briefing†or “meeting,†such as a name, an address or event title. Items entered as “constituent meetings†counted only if they included a description — such as a topic of discussion or redacted name. The same criterion was applied to 2011 as 2012.

The constants in the mayor’s schedule are attendance at all executive and full council meetings.

At the same time his itineraries were being released to the Star, the mayor made a rare announced public appearance, at lunchtime Friday, to talk about the crumbling Gardiner Expressway on the spot at Lake Shore Blvd. W. and Simcoe St. It was his first public appearance this week.

Ford’s office did not respond to a request for comment on this story, as is its usual practice with the Star, but in the past his staff has said he spends much of his time out in the field solving individual taxpayers’ problems.

Earlier this week, Councillor Shelley Carroll publicly stated what Ford’s inner circle has privately been complaining about for months: that the mayor’s absenteeism and refusal to build relationships with colleagues has cost him control of council.

According to sources that include former and current staff, Ford often does not leave his home until noon. His itineraries indicate that daily staff briefings are held at about 9:30 a.m., but on those late days, the sources say, Ford participates by phone or not at all. Some days he never appears in his office. Ford has always spent much of his time outside the walls of city hall, doing his famous one-on-one constituency work, but even that has dropped off drastically.

But it’s not just his role with council that Ford appears to be neglecting.

The mayor routinely doesn’t show up for long-scheduled events and meetings with officials. On Wednesday, Councillor Peter Milczyn had to step in for him at a VIA Rail speaking engagement. He has cancelled five of the last nine weekly weigh-ins — often the only time Ford takes media questions for the week — including one on Tuesday.

On numerous occasions, Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, the mayor’s brother, Doug Ford, or other close allies have been called upon at the last minute to meet foreign dignitaries or visiting officials. Holyday said there have been only “a couple of times†where he’s had less than an hour’s notice and that, as deputy mayor, it’s his job to fill this role.

The mayor was supposed to meet his Calgary counterpart, Naheed Nenshi, at an event held at the Corus building on Sept. 20, but Ford never showed up.

Ford also hasn’t held a formal meeting with many prominent Toronto leaders in more than a year, including United Way Toronto CEO Susan McIsaac, Board of Trade president Carol Wilding, Ryerson University president Sheldon Levy or CivicAction’s CEO, Mitzie Hunter. He has never attended a Federation of Canadian Municipalities event.

Councillor Carroll — who is mulling a mayoral bid in 2014 — said having these conversations with key city builders is part of the job. And while “rubber-chicken meetings†aren’t always fun, they are important when you’re the leader of the city.

“It’s part of your role. You are the figurehead,†she said. “His standoffish behaviour is embarrassing the city.â€

Ford’s own committee chairs don’t regularly meet directly with the mayor to discuss policy. For example, Norm Kelly, who chairs the parks and environment committee, says the mayor is very accessible, although he concedes that the last specific formal meeting he can remember was during Occupy Toronto, which was last November.

“The best leaders delegate. And that’s what he does. There’s nothing wrong with that,†says Kelly, who works regularly with the mayor’s staff. “The mayor and I speak often and I can get a meeting with him anytime I want.â€

When city manager Joe Pennachetti was asked to pinpoint the last time he had a meeting with the mayor, a city spokesperson responded: “He meets regularly, usually twice a week, with the mayor’s chief of staff. Meetings with the mayor are related to specific issues and have occurred as required.â€

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, one of his staunchest supporters, said looking at the mayor’s itinerary alone doesn’t speak for the work he does.

“The reality is he does a lot of spontaneous work. If constituents call, he’s on it. So you won’t see that on his schedule. He calls people back on a regular basis, and I know he does that.â€

Councillor Adam Vaughan, one of Ford’s harshest critics, has no doubt the mayor is often dealing with constituent issues, but says this isn’t his job.

“One day he’s here,†e says. “The next day he’s not. I think he’s a part-time mayor.â€

http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhal...rd-has-deeply-cut-his-workload-documents-show

 

[neubilder]

Rob Ford's stupidity captured in yet another fine quote:

“Oh my god, I never want to hurt a bike. That’s the last thing I want to do, precious little bikes.â€

- Mayor Rob Ford reacting to Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong’s concerns that controlled chipping of the Gardiner Expressway could damage the BIXI bike share station underneath, at Simcoe St.

Ford makes Homer Simpson sound reasonable.

 

[Johnny Au]

Rob Ford's stupidity captured in yet another fine quote:

“Oh my god, I never want to hurt a bike. That’s the last thing I want to do, precious little bikes.”

- Mayor Rob Ford reacting to Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong’s concerns that controlled chipping of the Gardiner Expressway could damage the BIXI bike share station underneath, at Simcoe St.

Ford makes Homer Simpson sound reasonable.

If Homer Simpson were in the running for the job of Toronto's mayor, I would rather see him as mayor with Barney Gumble as his deputy mayor. That duo would be better than the Fords and Holyday when it comes to managing the city, despite Homer being an oaf and Barney being intoxicated.

 

[jje1000]

Rob Ford's stupidity captured in yet another fine quote:

Not so much stupidity, but more ignorance. Same with this fine quote from Doug Ford:

“All these kids were hanging out, all gang-banging and everything that was happening at night time, so I went there and sponsored a league,” said Mr. Ford.

“I told them I know nothing about basketball — I’ve coached soccer for years, and baseball and hockey and football — but I said you’re there to teach me basketball, but I’m here to teach you leadership, how to work with others. There won’t be any swearing, if you do, you’re out. If you criticize any players, you’re out.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/0...sketball-league-in-community-housing-complex/

Not as I say, not as I do? Or is it more a statement of the white man's burden? To balance that view, here's a article from the Sun to get y'all angry.

Ford won. Get over it
First posted: Saturday, May 26, 2012 07:09 PM EDT


The saying it takes two to Tango applies to charges by some city councillors that Mayor Rob Ford has failed to build a political consensus at City Hall.

The latest criticism came last week from Coun. Shelley Carroll, a possible Ford opponent in the 2014 election.

She accused Ford of failing to co-operate with council, not showing up enough at City Hall and electioneering on his weekly radio show, instead of doing his job.

First, there’s nothing wrong with Ford talking about what he plans to do if he wins the 2014 election, including extending privatized garbage collection across the city.

Indeed, we like the fact Ford says what he has to say in Toronto, instead of gallivanting all over the world as the last mayor did.

While we’ve noted Ford needs to stay engaged in the day-to-day work of City Hall, for Carroll to suggest he is solely responsible for failing to develop a consensus on council is absurd.

Some councillors have treated Ford with contempt dating back to before he became mayor. The mayor is under no obligation to reach out to those on council who despise him.

The incredibly arrogant attitude of Ford’s enemies was revealed by outgoing councillors Kyle Rae and Howard Moscoe prior to the last election.

They sneered that Ford’s enemies on council would “choose their own mayor” (Rae) and that Ford wouldn’t “be able to pass gas” without council’s permission (Moscoe.)

Coun. Maria Augimeri dismissed Ford as a “clown” and said, as did many of her left-wing colleagues, that it was “appalling” Ford was leading the race for mayor.

Coun. Adam Vaughan, another possible mayoral candidate in 2014, has become the “Dr. No” of City Hall, a knee-jerk critic of everything Ford does.

The idea Ford is obliged to work with councillors who have no interest in working with him, is absurd.

Practically speaking, Ford does have to find a working coalition of at least 22 councillors on any issue to get his agenda through council.

But he doesn’t have to slap on a happy face to deal with councillors who, if he were to walk on water, would accuse him of being unable to swim.

The left’s most hysterical warning about Ford prior to his becoming mayor was that he would bust the city’s unions and Torontonians would be in for four years of labour chaos. Exactly the opposite occurred.

Unlike David Miller or Mel Lastman before him, Ford successfully curtailed the absurdly expensive “jobs for life” provisions in the city’s labour contracts by negotiating four-year deals with the unions, without a garbage strike.

This alone was a monumental achievement for which his knee-jerk critics on council will never give Ford and his team the credit they deserve.

So spare us the nonsense that all the acrimony at City Hall these days is Ford’s fault.

Co-operation works both ways.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/25/ford-won-get-over-it

Yah, Ford really needs the 22 votes on council to get things done- NO he does not have to work with others to get those votes.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Someone should remind the Sun that the councillors "won" too, and that under our system, the mayor isn't king. Get over THAT instead.

AoD

 

[adma]

And besides, when did "oppose" conflate into "despise"?

 

[canmark]

Toronto Star: Mayor Rob Ford quits diet three weeks early

I wonder if any of the money pledged to charity actually went to any charities?

Mayor Rob Ford has quit his public diet three weeks before the scheduled end of his high-profile weight loss campaign.

On their Sunday radio show, his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, threatened to drag him to their weigh-in on Monday. The mayor, who has cancelled five weigh-ins in nine weeks without explanation, responded: “I don’t care about the weigh-in. I’m not even dieting anymore. It’s gone! It’s water under the bridge. So I gotta — we gotta refocus.”

The weigh-ins were part of the “Cut the Waist Challenge” the mayor himself launched with great fanfare in January. The challenge, which was supposed to end on June 18, has its own logo and website. A banner promoting it (“Join!!! Mayor Ford’s Cut the Waist Challenge!”) hangs on the front window of the mayor’s City Hall office, near the industrial scale Ford had placed in the hallway near the door.

 

[sarnya]

I wonder if any of the money pledged to charity actually went to any charities?

I really doubt any of the money on the Cut the Waist website is going to charity. Remember at the beginning you couldn't choose charities with the words gay, lesbian or bicycle in them?

It was pretty clear from the beginning this was a poorly thought out way of improving the mayor's image. Everyone is sympathetic toward somebody losing weight no matter what your political stripes may be. I think some politicians in other cities had done similar weigh ins? However, Ford clearly lost interest in doing something that actually requires work.

It speaks pretty loudly in regards to his current term as mayor. He's pretty much thrown in the towel on this term in hopes he gets some more agreeable councillors in the next election. He may have better luck building a cloning machine.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Toronto Star: Mayor Rob Ford quits diet three weeks early

I wonder if any of the money pledged to charity actually went to any charities?

Rob Ford quits!!... the weight loss campaign. He was too busy... as soon as we find out... as soon after he releases his complete itinerary.

Forget it, we don't know what he's doing.

 

[jje1000]

Totally symbolizes the Rob Ford term- all the hype, none of the commitment. Ford needs more support, bring out the Batra to take a heck of a potshot at Matlow!

Not-so-great compromiser
Coun. Josh Matlow is well-intentioned, but ultimately vapid

BY ADRIENNE BATRA ,TORONTO SUN
FIRST POSTED: SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2012 07:07 PM EDT

During my time at City Hall, an extremely left-wing councillor half-jokingly suggested that if anyone (aside from Mayor Ford, of course) could unite the left and the right against them, it was Coun. Josh Matlow.

Prescient comments considering what unfolded recently with Matlow’s failed championing of changing city rules on street hockey into a bureaucratic nightmare.

Councillors on all sides lined up to stick handle Matlow into the penalty box.

Some had amusingly descriptive quotes about the fiasco Matlow wanted to create.

Coun. John Parker, particularly talented with turning a phrase, told Sun City Hall bureau chief Don Peat: “Look, I love my colleague Councillor Matlow to bits and I would never suggest that anything he brings forward is for the benefit of gaining public profile and the odd cheap headline.†Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong, chair of the public works committee which will decide the fate of an upcoming staff report on street hockey, suggested Matlow’s “helmet is on a little too tight†and that he “missed the net on this one.†Even Coun. Glen De Baeremaeker, on the wrong side of most issues, expressed sound logic in his opposition to Matlow’s ideas.

As he put it: “To say to a parent, just in case your child decides to play hockey a month from now, you should go and apply for a permit, fill it out in triplicate, maybe e-mail it into us, get a petition from your neighbours and maybe do a traffic study, is just plain silly.â€

Following nearly a week’s worth of media attention, Matlow looked at the score board and, realizing he hadn’t put anything in the net, “benched his support for a new ball hockey bureaucracyâ€, as Peat reported.

Upon reflection, I hope Matlow realizes he didn’t think through this idea enough to recognize the obvious weaknesses in it.

But will he?

The rookie councillor (he happens to be both Sue-Ann Levy’s representative and mine — insert your own joke here) has vexed his colleagues pretty much from day one.

He’s been described as an “annoying little dog nipping at your ankles,†an “empty suit,†that he “never met a TV camera he didn’t like,†that he’s “insufferable,†that he “thinks he’s a player and a statesman,†and that he “never leads the parade, only sidles in when the going is good.†I asked a mushy middle councillor for comment, only to get a response suggesting the old adage, “when you have nothing nice to say ....â€

What is it Matlow’s done, aside from being goofy about street hockey, that warrants such criticism?

One obvious thing is his nauseatingly sanctimonious tweets about what he’s doing seemingly every second of the day.

NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards read a bunch of them on air recently, poking fun at the councillor.

Some examples:

“Making house calls to several Ward 22 residents this morning to assist them with their priorities. Back at city hall this afternoon.†“We can be independent representatives for our respective communities, having respectful disagreements, willing to work together for Toronto.†“It’s time for a truly post-partisan council focused on providing evidence-based results for Toronto. No left, right or middle caucuses.â€

These sound nice and help create the myth Matlow is a great compromiser, but he doesn’t live up to them.

After he was replaced by the Ford brothers on Newstalk 1010, Matlow unleashed a barrage of attacks on the mayor.

From complaints to the integrity commissioner, which he immediately spoke to the media about, to personal attacks on Ford about his lack of subway funding, Matlow showed how much of a team player he isn’t.

There’s even an informal contest going on at City Hall on what to name Matlow’s new palatial office. The two front runners are “Josh Mahal†and “Chateau Matlow.†To be fair, Matlow’s commitment to his Ward 22 residents isn’t in question.

He is constantly holding public consultations and town halls on municipal issues.

His attendance record at council and committee meetings is nearly perfect.

So a gold star for his attempts at civic engagement.

Going forward, let’s hope the passion and homework he puts into organizing community events will be replicated when he speaks at council.

Ultimately, though, Matlow seems the type of person we all knew in school who asked for extra homework and waved his hand in the air yelling, “pick me, pick me†whenever the teacher asked a question.

While vapid, he appears to have nothing but good intentions.

Then again, we all know what the road to hell (and higher taxes) is paved with.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/25/not-so-great-compromiser

 

[adma]

Seems like a leftie like Wong-Tam is better at Matlow-type divide-bridging stuff than Matlow is...

 

[W. K. Lis]

From CFRB and Rob Ford's own talk show, at this link:

Mayor Says He's Stopped Dieting
Posted By: Katie Franzios kfranzios@astral.com · 5/27/2012 3:28:00 PM

Toronto's mayor has revealed his public weight-loss challenge is no more.

"I don't care about the weigh-in, I'm not even dieting anymore," Mayor Rob Ford said on Newstalk 1010's The City on Sunday.

The mayor's "Cut The Waist Challenge" was supposed to last until mid-June. His weekly weigh-ins had been changed to every two weeks after a few of them were cancelled. He had hoped to lose a total of 50 lbs but after some loses and gains, only lost 16 to bring him down to 314 lbs.

Brother and co-host Councillor Doug Ford told the mayor on the air he would drag him to this week's weigh-in if he has to but the mayor called it "water under the bridge."

BTW. The word "diet" is used with the definition that means "food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health", not "diet" used in the definition that means "the legislative body of certain countries" (see this link). Hmmm.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

I'm really getting irritated by all this increased talk of "left", "centrist" and "right" that divides City Hall, look how this has bitterly divided a nation south of the border. I will place an "X" on my ballot for the next Mayoral candidate who vows to support all Torontonians and includes in his or her campaign the willingness to bring Council together on "the issues" that the city needs to focus and work on to make this a better place to live. Why is cycling a "left wing" issue? Why is solid fiscal management a right wing issue? What is the war on the car? They are simply important issues that face all Torontonians.

 

[Automation Gallery]

I'm really getting irritated by all this increased talk of "left", "centrist" and "right" that divides City Hall, look how this has bitterly divided a nation south of the border. I will place an "X" on my ballot for the next Mayoral candidate who vows to support all Torontonians and includes in his or her campaign the willingness to bring Council together on "the issues" that the city needs to focus and work on to make this a better place to live. Why is cycling a "left wing" issue? Why is solid fiscal management a right wing issue? What is the war on the car? They are simply important issues that face all Torontonians.

Well said dt.....way to many people power-tripping on their political beliefs