2014 Municipal Election: Toronto Mayoral Race

[newearthling]

Poll today on mayoral candidates. Soknacki in second place! Only 221 votes so far though.

http://votebyip.com/toMayor2014Mar

If the election was held today, who would you vote for the Toronto Mayor? This is the March 2014 poll.

• Rob Ford
5% (11 VOTES)

• Olivia Chow
57% (127 VOTES)

• John Tory
12% (27 VOTES)

• Karen Stintz
2% (4 VOTES)

• David Soknacki
20% (44 VOTES)

• Other
4% (8 VOTES)

TOTAL VOTES: 221

 

[PinkLucy]

I added a vote for Soknacki. As much as I dislike Stintz, I'm sad to see Ford has more votes than she does.

 

[newearthling]

I added a vote for Soknacki. As much as I dislike Stintz, I'm sad to see Ford has more votes than she does.

Agreed, but she has a "big announcement" today, so maybe that will increase her support!

I think Soknacki is in a good place, if this poll's results are transferable to the city at large.
As much as I support Chow's general position, I don't think she has enough charisma to win. I would love to be proven wrong however.
Soknacki has problems with charisma too, but he is just so smart and has some great ideas!
Tory is just all around terrible. Stintz doesn't have the experience nor the aptitude, it seems.. And the criminal RF will soon be in jail, hopefully.

 

[edmundoconnor]

Will the announcement be that she has arrived at her absolutely, positively, definitely final position on something (until tomorrow)?

 

[edmundoconnor]

Interestingly, I think Chow is going to facing more heat in the first debate than Ford. I think she's going to be able to handle herself, though. Anyone who defeated Ianno (no shrinking violet, he) and saw off Innes (twice), as well as extensive experience as a school trustee and councillor is going to be no pushover.

 

[PinkLucy]

I'm quite confident that Chow won't get rattled during the debates; she's a seasoned politician, she knows what to expect (subsidized housing!), and she'll have her answers ready. Ford will repeat "subways, subways, subways" or some such drivel, but I really, truly hope both moderators and other candidates are tough on him and don't let him get away with that. He's very good at parroting two or three key phrases, but he needs to be asked and forced to answer the tough questions.

 

[the lemur]

Agreed, but she has a "big announcement" today, so maybe that will increase her support!

I think Soknacki is in a good place, if this poll's results are transferable to the city at large.
As much as I support Chow's general position, I don't think she has enough charisma to win. I would love to be proven wrong however.
Soknacki has problems with charisma too, but he is just so smart and has some great ideas!
Tory is just all around terrible. Stintz doesn't have the experience nor the aptitude, it seems.. And the criminal RF will soon be in jail, hopefully.

I'm surprised at the number for Soknacki but I guess things could be changing for him, slowly. He's an ideas guy and his personality seems engaging but he needs to go on a charm offensive to get his points across and not seem like a nice-guy compromise candidate.

Stintz has serious problems with credibility and Tory doesn't really seem to care enough.

 

[the lemur]

Interestingly, I think Chow is going to facing more heat in the first debate than Ford. I think she's going to be able to handle herself, though. Anyone who defeated Ianno (no shrinking violet, he) and saw off Innes (twice), as well as extensive experience as a school trustee and councillor is going to be no pushover.

I've never thought of Ianno as a formidable opponent. He had some support in T-S but he really had no presence in the riding, and Innes even less.

 

[edmundoconnor]

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/24/karen-stintz-policy-announcement

So Stintz is just re-iterating what she has said already regarding selling off part of Toronto Hydro.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Unless Stinz has $1/2 billion in city assets to sell off every year, she isn't funding a DRL. And what DRL line is she proposing?

So...a big announcement...about nothing then.

Any DRL, whether it be the stubby $3.2 billion one or the full-on $8.3 billion one, it's going to take a combination of prov/fed funding, additional City taxes and/or revenue tools to build and operate. Zero of that is in place or even under discussion.

So, any DRL talk right now is a non-issue and pure politicking. Looks like Chow is the only one not trying to BS the public on that issue.

 

[VTB]

Unless Stinz has $1/2 billion in city assets to sell off every year, she isn't funding a DRL. And what DRL line is she proposing?

So...a big announcement...about nothing then.

Any DRL, whether it be the stubby $3.2 billion one or the full-on $8.3 billion one, it's going to take a combination of prov/fed funding, additional City taxes and/or revenue tools to build and operate. Zero of that is in place or even under discussion.

So, any DRL talk right now is a non-issue and pure politicking. Looks like Chow is the only one not trying to BS the public on that issue.

+100!!

 

[Roy G Biv]

Chow is using the DRL issue to combat the natural assumption that she is a Dipper that will tax and spend. It's a very interesting strategy that may work. Her risk is that she will lose the DRL voters, but her benefit is that she may gain centrists who think she's too far left, economically. My guess is that her position will "evolve" to one of support, and she'll have demonstrated (intentionally of course) a pragmatic path to said position. The more I think about it, the more I think it could be a brilliant strategy.

 

[Roy G Biv]

Talking up airport expansion and sharpening his "formidable" debate skills for later this week...

CBCToronto 11:16am via Web
What about environmental impact of airport expansion? "Oh come on," says Ford, walking away from reporters.

Seriously? WTF? Is that a personal question now?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Chow on the DRL:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=197177

Me: The one thing that perplexed me from the first couple days of the campaign was the question of the relief line and what your position is and why you're taking it. The other day you said sort of "we'll get around to it eventually."

Chow: No, no, no. I think we need to see how much money we have. I would love to have it built. But … can we fund it? Where's the funding gonna come from? Of course it's needed.

Me: That is something that would be a priority?

Chow: Oh absolutely. But I'm not gonna go promise things that I don't know where the funding comes from. That's not my style. [That’s] the other candidates' style, but certainly not my style, right? If you can't say where the money comes from or how much it is or when you think it can be done — then it's a promise that's empty. It's not meaningful.

I'm not liking Chow's fiscal conservstive stance on everything. This left-of-centre candidate has turned out being the most fiscally conservative candidate in the race. I was hoping she'd be the candidate who would push for more taxes for transit.

 

[VTB]

Chow is using the DRL issue to combat the natural assumption that she is a Dipper that will tax and spend. It's a very interesting strategy that may work. Her risk is that she will lose the DRL voters, but her benefit is that she may gain centrists who think she's too far left, economically. My guess is that her position will "evolve" to one of support, and she'll have demonstrated (intentionally of course) a pragmatic path to said position. The more I think about it, the more I think it could be a brilliant strategy.

But she DOES support it. Her question, and it is a sensible one, is where does the funding come from. She's just not making promises that she can't keep. The onus should be on the DRL builders to come clean on where they're going to find the money. Sooner or later, all will have to admit taxation is necessary. Selling off Toronto Hydro or other assets is NOT going to cut it, not even close. Just on that issue alone, Stintz is off my list of potential contenders for my vote.