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2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Mayoral Race

salsa said:
But according to kEiThZ, the smart track is the only reason why Tory is gaining ground. kEiThZ likes it so much that he will vote for Tory, therefore the same must be true for everybody else.
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Like I said above, my impression of KeithZ is that he's a naturally right-leaning voter. IIRC, he's a major City airport booster due to Bombardier ties, so Tory rather than Chow would be right up his alley on that front as well.

Which begs the question: Where does an anti-Ford, anti-jets person park their ballot? Still with Chow, you'd expect, but her numbers have taken a bit of a dive, haven't they.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Why would anyone want to be endorsed by a high-profile loser
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I don't see Tory as a high profile loser. IMO, a loser would be someone who gives up (especially after the 1993 federal election, in Tory's case), not someone who keeps trying to climb the mountain. Everyone knows there's no glamour, much money or power in being the mayor, so the only reason you'd do it was a sense of public service. If Tory doesn't win I expect him to continue trying to do good public work, such as his attempt with Ontario Place.
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...ard_lrts_are_election_hot_potatoes_again.html

Here's the link to Dale's story about the denial/clarification tempest-in-a-teapot. Essentially, Tory makes the case those are already planned and funded by the province and he's not going to meddle. The other candidates try to paint that negatively, but to me it's a fairly simple acknowledgement by Tory that he doesn't need to throw his political weight behind the project, so he won't bother and will let the province get on with it.

I agree that Tory's comments on Eglinton Connects were just dumb and pandering. However, unlike Ford, I don't think he's stupid enough to use up political capital to re-visit a plan that is approved and makes sense. It might not be what he would have preferred, but, again, it's baked into the plans for Eglinton and re-opening it would be off-the-charts Fordian-level stupid.

Battling to put through the tax hikes for the Scar subway and probably cutting services elsewhere to keep tax hikes low is going to cost him plenty of goodwill. He won't need any more hostility.
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Yes, he has applied the "we shouldn't re-open transit debates" mantra to both the Scarborough subway and Finch/Sheppard LRTs.

In general the idea of sticking to decisions long enough for something to be built and not changing plans all the time is something that I think many would agree with.
 
Admiral Beez said:
I don't see Tory as a high profile loser. IMO, a loser would be someone who gives up (especially after the 1993 federal election, in Tory's case), not someone who keeps trying to climb the mountain. Everyone knows there's no glamour, much money or power in being the mayor, so the only reason you'd do it was a sense of public service. If Tory doesn't win I expect him to continue trying to do good public work, such as his attempt with Ontario Place.
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I meant Doug Holyday - per the original post by Greg Banks. My opinions of Tory is muted (generally speaking - an inoffensive, moneyed Red Tory)

AoD
 
Riverdale Rink Rat said:
Which begs the question: Where does an anti-Ford, anti-jets person park their ballot? Still with Chow, you'd expect, but her numbers have taken a bit of a dive, haven't they.
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You can probably still safely park them with Tory. Since his son works for Deluce in some fashion, he won't be able to campaign too actively for the airport without it being a conflict of interest.
 
jml said:
You can probably still safely park them with Tory. Since his son works for Deluce in some fashion, he won't be able to campaign too actively for the airport without it being a conflict of interest.
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Close ties to Deluce never stopped Ford...
 
I'd say I'm a centrist. To centre-right. Which in these parts gets someone labeled a Tea Party activist.

But I don't get how supporting the Island airport makes me right leaning. I want that infrastructure there because it supports good working class jobs. I'd be willing to see it get turned into a public park if we had proper alternatives (high speed rail). I don't fully trust our politicians not to hand over the whole space to developers though. And that's something I really don't support. So where does that view lie on the political spectrum?

I like SmartTrack because I believe regional rail is a priority that needs to be addressed before more subway or LRT expansion. And I believe that because I think that will really make a difference to the commute times of working class parents from the burbs. That doesn't however mean that I'm opposed to more LRT in the long run. Heck, I won't complain if the Feds and Queen's Park want to build LRTs at no cost to taxpayers in Toronto.

That said, on this election, I like that John Tory proposed something that can actually be commenced in his term. Olivia Chow isn't going to get shovels in the ground for the DRL. I'm not happy with John Tory's financing ideas. But I'd gladly pay higher taxes to get SmartTrack, DRL, Yonge North, Eglinton, Finch and Sheppard built. So if Tory is forced into that position, I won't be complaining at all.

In short, I want a mayor who makes mobility (by all modes) in this gridlocked hell a priority. I believe this is the greatest threat to our quality of life and our productivity.

I was willing to consider Olivia Chow had she stuck to her pledge of focusing on transit and fiscally sound management. This recent campaign promise confirmed my suspicion that she is incapable of doing that.

Now if Chow had said the tax raise was entirely for transit expansion.....
 
I wish Chow would have done something bold like promise $10/day daycare or something like that. Unfortunately you can't make many bold spending promises at the municipal level. Still, she could have announced that she'd fight for provincial and federal money for such an initiative.

The fact that 30% of children in this city are living in poverty, and we're being forced to choose between centre-right corporate suit and a hard-right populist makes me sick to my stomach.
 
Silence&Motion said:
I wish Chow would have done something bold like promise $10/day daycare or something like that. Unfortunately you can't make many bold spending promises at the municipal level.
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Thank goodness for that. At the municipal level gov't should be essentially transactional, i.e. we pay our taxes for certain services.

City+of+Toronto+Expenditures+Operating+budget+2013.jpg
 
Sounds pretty reasonable overall. A couple of critiques:

kEiThZ said:
But I don't get how supporting the Island airport makes me right leaning. I want that infrastructure there because it supports good working class jobs. I'd be willing to see it get turned into a public park if we had proper alternatives (high speed rail). I don't fully trust our politicians not to hand over the whole space to developers though. And that's something I really don't support. So where does that view lie on the political spectrum?
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I'm ok with the island airport but I'm concerned that expanding it will have negative implications on the waterfront and the environment. Considering that Pearson will soon be only a short train ride away, I'd say that's already a decent if not "proper" alternative to the island airport. One day I believe we will have high speed rail as well. As for the political spectrum, it doesn't mean you are right leaning but it happens to be that right wing politicians tend to support the island airport. And you say that you support the island airport because of the jobs, which is something that I hear conservatives talk about all the time when it comes to infrastructure (job creation, economic development, etc) while the left tends to worry more about environmental impact among other things. I think that's why someone concluded that you are right leaning.


I like SmartTrack because I believe regional rail is a priority that needs to be addressed before more subway or LRT expansion. And I believe that because I think that will really make a difference to the commute times of working class parents from the burbs. That doesn't however mean that I'm opposed to more LRT in the long run. Heck, I won't complain if the Feds and Queen's Park want to build LRTs at no cost to taxpayers in Toronto.
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I agree that it will make a big difference, but right now the biggest crisis we have is overcrowding on the Yonge Line. Like it or not, this is the most pressing issue to be addressed, and the DRL is the number one priority of the TTC and Metrolinx. I don't agree with Tory that the Scarborough subway should be #1 priority, Smart Track #2, and DRL #3, unless all of it can be built simultaneously.


That said, on this election, I like that John Tory proposed something that can actually be commenced in his term. Olivia Chow isn't going to get shovels in the ground for the DRL. I'm not happy with John Tory's financing ideas. But I'd gladly pay higher taxes to get SmartTrack, DRL, Yonge North, Eglinton, Finch and Sheppard built. So if Tory is forced into that position, I won't be complaining at all.
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It will take more than one term to get shovels in the ground, but someone has to get the ball rolling on the DRL right now before we ever get to that point.


In short, I want a mayor who makes mobility (by all modes) in this gridlocked hell a priority. I believe this is the greatest threat to our quality of life and our productivity.
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I totally agree, but Tory is not making all modes a priority. Nothing for cyclists. Doesn't support improved bus service. Not interested in LRT. Just saying :).
 
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