2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Mayoral Race

[RC8]

I don't think he is.

I think he's precisely what the City of Toronto needs.

Originally I did not want Chow to join the race so that we could all support Tory and give him a landslide win against Ford. My intention was to actively support his candidacy throughout.

Articles like the one I posted, with his 'vision' for Toronto, however, show that he is just a salesman with a very superficial grasp of the issues at hand. He has let me and many others down.

John Tory's strategy is built around the notion that in order to solve the city's problems we need to make the city more competitive. The problem is that Toronto is currently a wildly competitive city. It comes out on top of every other city in the country in terms of inter-city competition and ability to attract talent, and is amongst the best in the world.

Tory's narrative is appealing, but if you look at the issues closely you will find that what Toronto needs is to review and update the way in which we administer the city's success, while enhancing low-cost liveability and strengthening local democracy.

Toronto is at a developmental stage when the focus should not be on attracting investors, but on adequately meeting the needs of its citizens to make social and economic prosperity sustainable in the long-term.

P.S. the outrage factor increases when you see that many of Tory's policies - such as cancelling or altering BIA-led Eglinton Connects - would actually make Toronto less competitive in any case.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Ari Goldkind is my first choice, but he would be lucky to get 1% of the vote. Only Goldkind, Chow and Soknacki are worthy of my consideration so far.

I never heard of Ari Goldkind before you mentioned him. I visited his website and I'm liking what I see. He seems like a very pragmatic guy. Some of what caught my eye:

Ensuring we can fund future growth by:

Lobbying the other levels of government to provide Toronto with new tax generating powers including dedicated sales, income and gas taxes.
Asking the people who can most afford it to support our city by raising the land transfer tax on homes valued at over $1.1 M.
Raising property taxes in a fair and measured way to fund the expansion of the transit system.

Improving transportation in Toronto by:

Using increased revenue to create a dedicated transportation infrastructure fund to build the subway relief line, new LRT lines and innovative bus solutions.
Canceling the Scarborough subway and instead building a Scarborough LRT, which will provide greater access while costing the city nothing.
Tolling the Gardiner Expressway and DVP to pay for and address ongoing maintenance, road congestion and traffic infrastructure improvements throughout the city.

I will make police lapel cameras mandatory: a $500-1200 per officer cost that will result in tens of millions of dollars in long-term savings, a massive reduction in complaints against the police, and a massive reduction in the use of force against the residents of Toronto.

Our city has lost sight of the notion of design and architectural elegance. Property developers have rushed in to build glass towers with little attention paid to neighbourhood-wide design standards, including visual beauty and form, but also taking into consideration light, shadow and wind effects on neighbouring homes and businesses. Architecture in Toronto should not just be about height – it’s about design. A building should not just be in the city, it should also be of the city.

His website is very information dense and I'm still making my way through it. I like how he's put his whole platform out there. He's the only candidate to do that so far. Can you share why you like him? I'm sure many of us have never heard of him before

Anyways, as of right now my support is Soknaki, Chow (close second), Tory (distant third), any UTer, a well trained dog, a pile of rocks, a dead man, Rob Ford (in that order). Goldkind could sneak into that list once I learn more about him.

 

[SunriseChampion]

^ I like your order of preference, but surely Goldkind could already sneak in ahead of, at least, the dead man.

Imagine a Soknacki v Goldkind showdown. Sigh...one can dream.

 

[picard102]

Chow has at least put out a concrete proposal for increasing bus service, for example. Mock it if you like, but she has said more about buses than any other candidate in this race or the sitting mayor in his entire term.

Glad people are getting super excited about plans for the mode of transit they dislike the most.

 

[salsa]

Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow says she would revamp Toronto’s 100 worst intersections for pedestrians, and invite neighbourhoods to apply for reductions to local speed limits, as part of a “Target Zero” campaign to eliminate pedestrian deaths.

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...hbourhoods_to_ask_for_lower_speed_limits.html

 

[GenerationW]

Chow’s news release noted that the spike occurred “under Rob Ford.†It is not at all clear, though, whether the increase was connected to city policy or was simply random. There were 24 pedestrian deaths in 2012.

Clearly a major municipal issue.

 

[RC8]

In most of the world the municipal governments have had the greatest success curving traffic-related deaths.

You can look away and talk about 'accidents' all you want, but Toronto can do so much more to structurally prevent traffic-related deaths. Good for Chow for understanding how this works.

 

[typezed]

Clearly a major municipal issue.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, and I apologize if so, but I sense a dismissive tone. If an industrial facility in a neighbourhood caused 24 deaths wouldn't that become a major municipal issue? Ten minutes delay in a commute (say in the Gardiner teardown or Jarvis debates) become major municipal issues, but 24 deaths is just a trivial distraction? How many life-changing injuries accompany those 24 deaths? How many people regularly sent scurrying out of the way of impatient drivers? How many people whose mobility has been curtailed because they fear crossing intersections? Why must we be so passive about the collateral damage caused by the automobile and street design that favours its dominance? Then, of course, this is in a city that elected a serial drunk driver to signal changes in the way we approach transportation issues.

 

[adma]

Glad people are getting super excited about plans for the mode of transit they dislike the most.

They are. No: really. They are.

 

[StatGeek]

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/comm...dybutchow_now_top_campaign_theme_hepburn.html

Even if RF stays in, but shows zero chance of winning, some of this article may come true.

I have to agree with S&M and Edmund on this one. This article is all kind of badly informed. Not sure how you anybody can compare Ford approval (38%) to Chow (58%). They are not even in the same atmosphere. Here approval is way closer to Tory than Ford. The second last paragraph is off as well, if he's taking Forum research poll as his evidence, that poll has shown Soknacki and Stintz soft voters going to Chow not Tory but in his article he just assumed they were going to be Tory voters?

Can Tory win, yeah if he grabs enough Ford voters, but here's a problem that Tory has the hasn't been mentioned. 61% of his base approves of Chow. I am guessing a good chunk of Tory supporters are (anybody but Ford) people but if Tory start pandering or endorsing Ford to hard to grab his voters. There is a chance that some of his ABF voters currently on Tory would jump ship to their second choice (Chow) Tory really has to do a tigh-rope in grabbing some Ford voters but not seem to be Ford-lite and have people disgusted with Ford jump to his opposition. Believe me as we go on and it becomes clearer that Ford is a non-factor and if Tory comes close to Chow in the polls she will remind how Tory carried Ford water for 3 years on the radio. I have heard a couple of times Tory said "He/Tory guarantee Ford will never be involved in a financial scandal" stupid things like will come back to haunt him (if Chow team can get the audio)

That is the reason I can't find myself voting for Tory. First he's too wishy washy on issues. But secondly for three years he was on the radio giving Ford excuses. Tory had the platform to be critical but never did. Was constantly giving Ford the "benefit of the doubt" and never was fully critical of him and treated Ford with kid gloves. As other (yes left leaning hosts) like John Moore and John Downs on his radio station really told the truth about Ford. Tory like he always did straddled the line so not to rock the boat. My gosh even hard core right-wing hosts like Ryan Doyle and 640's Bill Carroll called for out for his lies, which Tory never did. I specifically remember a day that Rob was caught in another scandal and Doug did the media rounds. Of course he went to Tory show and was able to BS his way through. He was then going to go to Carroll (remember this guy is a loud right-winger) but Carroll refused having Doug on the show because "He lied to me before, why do I want to hear what he says about anything to do with Rob" So this right-wing talk show host who resided in California stood up for him (and his audience) something the wannabe politician couldn't do.

Also not sure if saying the pedestrian accident is not a municipal issue is being sarcastic or not. I think it obviously is an important issue. I've noticed a lot of people view this city as a glorified thruway to get from work to him. There seems not to be a care in the world about the residents who live, shop, walk, on the streets. I need to make "good time" to get home. Some politicians treat their responsibility like their the caretaker of the Daytona speedway than a major city. Who am i kidding, the car racing industry take more precautions and care for the people not in cars than this city has recently.

 

[ShonTron]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, and I apologize if so, but I sense a dismissive tone. If an industrial facility in a neighbourhood caused 24 deaths wouldn't that become a major municipal issue? Ten minutes delay in a commute (say in the Gardiner teardown or Jarvis debates) become major municipal issues, but 24 deaths is just a trivial distraction? How many life-changing injuries accompany those 24 deaths? How many people regularly sent scurrying out of the way of impatient drivers? How many people whose mobility has been curtailed because they fear crossing intersections? Why must we be so passive about the collateral damage caused by the automobile and street design that favours its dominance? Then, of course, this is in a city that elected a serial drunk driver to signal changes in the way we approach transportation issues.

Thank you, very well written.
Was the "Summer of the Gun" (in which fewer people were killed) not a major municipal issue?

 

[Rufus8]

I'm glad there are a few months to the election, right now it is more a case of who I can't vote for. I do hope development and all traffic issues (including driving in the downtown core on a weekday) are taken seriously. I live downtown and every evening I am stunned at the way some people drive, either to get out of the core or get into it. Madness. I am not convinced that any election will lead to better public transit but at least we will have a discussion about it, hopefully not the same sort of 40+ years conversation we have had with the Gardiner.
THERE I SAID IT
THE
GARDINER

 

[Ari Goldkind]

Hello, TheTigerMaster - Yes, I do believe I could do more for the city than a pile of rocks could Mainly because where other career politicians talk, I listen. And I reflect citizen’s concerns in my plan. I am grateful for the presence of forums such as this, since it helps me see that there are many concerned, engaged Torontonians out there. I will be sure to check in here regularly and comment constructively wherever I can. Not as merely a mayoral candidate, but as someone actively interested in the development of this city. - AG

 

[r937]

welcome to UT, ari, nice to have you here

good luck in the campaign, i wish some other candidates would post their policies like you have

and i hope you get involved in some of the upcoming debates

say, when are the upcoming debates? we haven't had one in weeks...

 

[W. K. Lis]

I'm glad there are a few months to the election, right now it is more a case of who I can't vote for. I do hope development and all traffic issues (including driving in the downtown core on a weekday) are taken seriously. I live downtown and every evening I am stunned at the way some people drive, either to get out of the core or get into it. Madness. I am not convinced that any election will lead to better public transit but at least we will have a discussion about it, hopefully not the same sort of 40+ years conversation we have had with the Gardiner.
THERE I SAID IT
THE
GARDINER

The bad news is that it will also depend on the outcome of the provincial election. NDP & Liberals would be pro-transit, while the PC would be "Rob Ford"-lite.