2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Mayoral Race

[salsa]

After decades of underinvestment in the cities infrastructure, I can think of no better thing than a mayor that is willing to tax and spend. Taxing and spending is exactly what Toronto needs.

+1

 

[Long Island Mike]

And most everybody who's a permanent resident in Toronto would or should have some qualifying form of ID, so that shouldn't be a problem.
But what LI Mike's referring to is the excessively narrow and specific definition of "acceptable ID" in order to suppress certain voting blocs--especially whose who might be minority/underclass/"lib-leaning". (Though given how much of Ford's remaining base is paradoxically minority and underclass, such shenanigans would be electoral suicide for him.)

Adma: I should have clarified myself further: States that have instituted voter ID laws primarily will only accept a state-issued ID card such as a Driver's License or Non-Driver
ID card and nothing less to allow a voter to cast a ballot - no other ID on its own will more then likely be good enough...

I can understand protecting against vote fraud but since it rarely happens it usually is not a problem...Thankfully New York has chosen not to go down that route...LI MIKE

 

[Long Island Mike]

Indeed - especially when you look at the list of acceptable ID:

• An Ontario driver’s licence
• An Ontario Health Card (photo card)
• An Ontario Photo Card
• An Ontario motor vehicle permit (vehicle portion)
• A cancelled personalized cheque
• A mortgage statement, lease or rental agreement relating to property in Ontario
• An insurance policy or insurance statement
• A loan agreement or other financial agreement with a financial institution
• A document issued or certified by a court in Ontario
• Any other document from the government of Canada, Ontario or a municipality in Ontario or from an agency or such a government
• Any document from a Band Council in Ontario established under the Indian Act (Canada)
• An income tax assessment notice
• A Child Tax Benefit Statement
• A Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid T4E
• A Statement of Old Age Security T4A (OAS)
• A Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits T4A (P)
• A Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions
• A Statement of Direct Deposit for Ontario Works
• A Statement of Direct Deposit for Ontario Disability Support Program
• A Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Statement of Benefits T5007
• A property tax assessment
• A credit card statement, bank account statement, or RRSP, RRIF, RHOSP or T5 statement
• A CNIB Bard or a card from another registered charitable organization that provides services to persons with disabilities
• A hospital card or record
• A document showing campus residence, issued by the office or officials responsible for student residence at a post-secondary institution
• A document showing residence at a long-term care home under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, issued by the Administrator for the home
• A utility bill for hydro, water, gas, telephone or cable TV or a bill from a public utilities commission
• A cheque stub, T4 statement or pay receipt issued by an employer
• A transcript or report card from a post-secondary school

It's hard to think of an example of anyone who wouldn't have one of the above.

Homeless people come to mind, but according to http://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/82/101000040382.html they have special provisions already:

Homeless person
The person has to take an oath stating that he/she is an eligible elector for the particular ward. The elector's qualifying address is determined by the place to which he or she returned most frequently to sleep or eat within the previous 5 weeks to voting day.​

So whose vote is possibly being suppressed? I really doubt this would be a big problem here. Such voter exclusion laws in backwards foreign countries seem to be based in racist bigotry, so would be much less likely here.

NF: Thank You for showing what identification Ontario voters need when they register...New York State uses a "point" system and you need multiple forms of similar ID to get a
NY Driver's License,Learner's Permit or Non-Driver ID card...When I vote here on LI I sign a book which has all the registered voters from my Election District at my designated
Polling Place and since I see the same staffers year after year and they know who I am I never have been asked for ID...

States that have instituted voter ID laws primarily require that state's ID: Driver's License or non-driver ID card to be clear to vote...LI MIKE

 

[torontologist]

After decades of underinvestment in the cities infrastructure, I can think of no better thing than a mayor that is willing to tax and spend. Taxing and spending is exactly what Toronto needs.

Agreed 100%. Further, we need someone who can convince Torontonians that this is what is best for them. Not sure if Chow could pull that off.

 

[evvabeing]

thought this bared repeating here...

Somebody close to the Ford family who I've been talking to occasionally over the past few years said that "If Rob gets arrested, Doug will run for Mayor". Oh boy...

 

[Admiral Beez]

So what you're saying is, you want Rob Ford from 2010.

Was that meant as a question? Certainly you don't know what I want beyond what I have written, so it can't be intended as a statement of fact. Perhaps a supposition?

No, Rob Ford of 2010 had no vision for the city beyond the idea of reigning in assumed rampant spending and mismanagement. We need someone with a real plan and stated priorities, with funding proposals, be it transit, roads and infrastructure, services (sanitation, TPS, etc). For example, let's look at the following:

1) Merging Ambulance and Fire into one service, like other cities - if you've ever called 911 for a health emergency, they both show up anyway.
2) Transit improvement.
- Continuous subway expansion, every year so many km built
- Consider streetcar ROW away from roadspace, such as along rail lines on Lakeshore at Leslie
- Can we get buses that are quieter? Anyone who's sat at a patio while a TTC bus is idling is deafened.
3) Does the city need to be in the housing and shelter business? Push this back up to the Province.
4) How to bring TPS spending under control? Crime is down, but salaries and cost is way up.
5) Roads, plan for the GEW rebuild or replacement. Make a decision on road tolls - not 407 usury, but I see no issue with implementing the US interstate model, with cash and EZ Pass booths.
6) Waterfront. Must we have a wall of condos?
7) The Island airport. Either support it with a ROW streetcar or other dedicated transit and road link, or shut it down.
8) Urban eyesores. Can we bury all these overhead wires? It's the 21st Century, yet we've got wooden poles everywhere with wires.
9) Taxis. Clean up this system, and the cars. Make driving a cab a job, not a last resort for new immigrants. Follow other license systems, like real estate agents, where the license is not transferable.

This is not my entire list, just a few things I'd like a mayoral candidate to consider.

 

[ShonTron]

1) Merging Ambulance and Fire into one service, like other cities - if you've ever called 911 for a health emergency, they both show up anyway.

- Agreed. The EMS workers don't belong in Local 416 but should bargain with the firefighters. It might result in a few staff cuts - especially administrative, but where possible, it makes sense to have ambulances and fire trucks using the same stations, dispatch and facilities. It opens a can of worms though WRT union contracts and such.

2) Transit improvement.
- Continuous subway expansion, every year so many km built
- Consider streetcar ROW away from roadspace, such as along rail lines on Lakeshore at Leslie
- Can we get buses that are quieter? Anyone who's sat at a patio while a TTC bus is idling is deafened.

Ford (I think) had some of the Richview lands sold off, which would have been ideal for such a LRT ROW you describe. Even the Leslie/Eglinton alignment would have been better with a side-of-road alignment where it leaves the tunnel east of Brentcliffe.

As for quieter buses - I find the loudest thing is the woosh-beep-beep-beep-woosh of the kneeling feature to be the loudest thing - you can hear them from far away. Otherwise to get quieter buses, you'd have to get these beauties that Vancouver has:

3) Does the city need to be in the housing and shelter business? Push this back up to the Province.

Fat chance. It's a burden that Toronto is bearing more than the suburbs, this should at least have provincial-level funding.

4) How to bring TPS spending under control? Crime is down, but salaries and cost is way up.

Soknacki is already addressing this.

5) Roads, plan for the GEW rebuild or replacement. Make a decision on road tolls - not 407 usury, but I see no issue with implementing the US interstate model, with cash and EZ Pass booths.

The FGE (proper abbreviation for the Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway) should probably be torn down east of Jarvis with a flyover to the northbound DVP from a rebuilt Lake Shore Blvd. The next mayor will have to drive the decision, no matter which plan is chosen.

6) Waterfront. Must we have a wall of condos?

The condos, unfortunately, aren't going anywhere. At least Waterfront Toronto has been doing some great work with the wave decks and the new parks that have made the harbour more accessible.

7) The Island airport. Either support it with a ROW streetcar or other dedicated transit and road link, or shut it down.

There's a streetcar ROW almost right there, but the walk from it is unpleasant. The taxis remain the main problem with traffic and pollution in the immediate area. Improve the walk to Queen's Quay to start.

8) Urban eyesores. Can we bury all these overhead wires? It's the 21st Century, yet we've got wooden poles everywhere with wires.

It's extremely complicated, and expensive, though I'd like to see the same thing.

9) Taxis. Clean up this system, and the cars. Make driving a cab a job, not a last resort for new immigrants. Follow other license systems, like real estate agents, where the license is not transferable.

Agreed! No one has properly cleaned up the taxi system yet.

 

[salsa]

As for quieter buses - I find the loudest thing is the woosh-beep-beep-beep-woosh of the kneeling feature to be the loudest thing - you can hear them from far away. Otherwise to get quieter buses, you'd have to get these beauties that Vancouver has:

The Viva buses are also very quiet when they kneel. I don't get why the ttc has to sound like a truck backing up.

 

[dforthandbview]

If this article is accurate, Nick Kouvalis is on Team Tory:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...es-with-john-tory/article16816525/?cmpid=rss1

 

[Admiral Beez]

Otherwise to get quieter buses, you'd have to get these beauties that Vancouver has:

We had those here when I was a kid. More overhead wires of course.

 

[innsertnamehere]

buses will probably be capable of being completely electric without the trolleys by the end of the decade anyway.

 

[nfitz]

If this article is accurate, Nick Kouvalis is on Team Tory:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...es-with-john-tory/article16816525/?cmpid=rss1

I hadn't realised that John Tory morally bankrupt enough to that he'd hire a man who is either so unethical, or so incompetent, that he'd support a wife-beating drunken bigoted crackhead for mayor.

That's one less person to consider supporting for mayor.

 

[picard102]

You're hired to get people elected. Not to like them.

 

[Gavin]

If this article is accurate, Nick Kouvalis is on Team Tory:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...es-with-john-tory/article16816525/?cmpid=rss1

Hmm...I've heard otherwise, but I could easily be wrong.

 

[SJD_Toronto]

Hmm...I've heard otherwise, but I could easily be wrong.

What have you heard?