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2023 Toronto Mayoral by-election

Who gets your vote for Mayor of Toronto?

  • Ana Bailao

    Votes: 18 16.4%

  • Brad Bradford

    Votes: 3 2.7%

  • Olivia Chow

    Votes: 58 52.7%

  • Mitzie Hunter

    Votes: 2 1.8%

  • Josh Matlow

    Votes: 20 18.2%

  • Mark Saunders

    Votes: 4 3.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Total voters
    110
  • Poll closed .
Admiral Beez said:
John Tory did okay in his first two terms besides never being a city councilor.
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Says Who?

Homelessness increased 50% during his first two terms as mayor.

The backlog for public housing grew.

He didn't get a single one of his 'Housing Now' projects to break ground.

He deferred expansion of Library hours for 9 years (with a minor exception once)

Parks fell into further disrepair.

He never moved to begin installing platform edge doors.

He never delivered any of a parking tax, a stormwater tax, a restored vehicle registration tax, a meaningful increase in the property tax, or road tolls, leaving the City perpetually short of funds for the basics.

His Mayoralty was, until the end, comparatively free of overt scandal, but full of mediocre and uninspired performance.
 
Admiral Beez said:
John Tory did okay in his first two terms besides never being a city councilor.

He should have walked as promised and passed onto someone else in a planned transition. Had he done that, and not shagged his staffer(s?) he would be remembered more fondly.
Click to expand...

Honestly, he would probably be forgotten quickly, since nothing fundamentally changed in the city, just a continued slow decline. Now he'll be remembered negatively for sure, just like Rob.
 
Northern Light said:
He never moved to begin installing platform edge doors.

He never delivered any of a parking tax, a stormwater tax, a restored vehicle registration tax, a meaningful increase in the property tax, or road tolls, leaving the City perpetually short of funds for the basics.
Click to expand...
I don't think any Toronto pol has brought up the issue of platform doors. Not to mention that would require major investment from upper levels of government.

Tory was the wrong person for any of those tax measures. Maybe his successor.
 
toonderly said:
Apparently his wife is Canadian-born, but no idea if he was ever tempted to pick up the citizenship.
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Wonder if Alison Byford (wife of Andy Byford) has any political ambitions?

Unfortunately, relatives have been known to end up being the opposite of their ancestors. Nero and Caligula are examples.
 
Anti-vax anti-Semetic grifter conspiracy theorist Chris Sky (Saccoccia) announced to people at a rally yesterday that he would be running for Mayor of Toronto.

While the mayoral race always gets its share of nut job candidates, Sky is a prominent name in the Covid-denier community, and is likely to pick up a fair number of votes amongst the Pro-Convoy/Qanon-adjacent crowds.

I suppose on the good side, he’ll probably peel off a chunk of votes from whatever right-leaning candidate comes to the forefront.
 
zang said:
Anti-vax anti-Semetic grifter conspiracy theorist Chris Sky (Saccoccia) announced to people at a rally yesterday that he would be running for Mayor of Toronto.

While the mayoral race always gets its share of nut job candidates, Sky is a prominent name in the Covid-denier community, and is likely to pick up a fair number of votes amongst the Pro-Convoy/Qanon-adjacent crowds.

I suppose on the good side, he’ll probably peel off a chunk of votes from whatever right-leaning candidate comes to the forefront.
Click to expand...
So he'll be the Faith Goldy-figure the 2022 race lacked.

Maybe that's why I saw yesterday, on the subway going eastbound from Bloor, a young lady draped in an upside-down Canadian flag and carrying a megaphone with "slogans"'. (But she was quiet and to herself w/her phone for the duration of the journey, so I and others left her alone. In the end, even on our presently-fraught subway system, civic decorum rules.)
 
I was having a discussion last night with a prominent former NDP candidate who no longer identifies strongly with that party and is enjoying private life.
He made a strong argument why no progressive candidate can claim Toronto anymore and it has nothing to do with Doug Ford or anything other issues.

He says you can field a candidate from the left who is perfect 99%
1. Pro transit
2. Pro affordable housing
3. Pro tenant
4. Pro police and crime reform
5. Pro mental health
Basically everything people on this forum ask for.

Now this is the part people on this forum don’t understand. This perfect candidate let’s say is also a black or Asian woman . Sounds perfect right?

Let’s say a reporter is interviewing her and ask her very benign question like the example he provided do you support trans women in female Sports and she says no I think natural born women and men should be separated.

This candidate is now literally ‘Hitler’ for the left.
 
jusbokeh said:
I was having a discussion last night with a prominent former NDP candidate who no longer identifies strongly with that party and is enjoying private life.
He made a strong argument why no progressive candidate can claim Toronto anymore and it has nothing to do with Doug Ford or anything other issues.

He says you can field a candidate from the left who is perfect 99%
1. Pro transit
2. Pro affordable housing
3. Pro tenant
4. Pro police and crime reform
5. Pro mental health
Basically everything people on this forum ask for.

Now this is the part people on this forum don’t understand. This perfect candidate let’s say is also a black or Asian woman . Sounds perfect right?

Let’s say a reporter is interviewing her and ask her very benign question like the example he provided do you support trans women in female Sports and she says no I think natural born women and men should be separated.

This candidate is now literally ‘Hitler’ for the left.
Click to expand...

That's not a benign question and a smart politician wouldn't answer it. So yes, the idiot wouldn't be elected.
But also yes, the left eats its own regularly on single issues.
 

Toronto’s next mayor must regularly ride the TTC​

Which mayoral candidate is willing to “Ride the Rocket,” not to a Raptors game or in the service of a photo op, but to and from engagements all day?​

From link.

tory_subway.jpg


Speculation about who will be Toronto’s next mayor is endless — kind of like a ride across town on a TTC streetcar; or a morning wait for a delayed bus when you live in Scarborough and work downtown; or a late night commute on a near-empty subway car when that guy over there is looking at you funny. (He’s probably harmless but as recent news headlines include words like “face slashing,” you’re a little sensitive these days).

Many Torontonians want to know who will replace the embattled John Tory now that he’s officially handed in his resignation.

What I want to know is who, if anyone, among the mayoral hopefuls is willing to make a commitment to restore ridership — and a sense of safety — on the TTC?

Who, in other words, is willing to “Ride the Rocket,” not once in a blue moon to a Raptors game or in the service of a photo op, but to and from engagements all day long?

Because it strikes me that the only way public transit will change for the better — not to mention within our lifetimes — is if the city’s power brokers get to know the TTC on an intimate basis.

Let them ponder its problems, not from the back seat of an Uber that is cruising to city hall, but rather, from a standing position on a crammed streetcar that is crawling there. Hopefully the experience of being the patty in a human sandwich for 45 minutes, will inject a sense of urgency into the political mission to save the TTC from reputation ruin.

Unfortunately, that’s where it’s headed. According to a survey from Abacus Data, roughly 40 per cent of TTC users feel the transit system is “pretty unsafe” or “very unsafe.”

Clearly, Tory’s move to increase a police presence on the service did not deter violent crimes from taking place there. This past weekend, a woman was allegedly slashed in the face with a six-inch knife at Spadina station; a man riding the subway in the city’s east end was reportedly stabbed in the face with a broken bottle.

In the end, the transit safety debate boils down to two arguments. Some contend that even more police are what’s needed on the TTC to make a tangible safety impact, while others argue the funds used to pay for the enforcement that already exists would be better spent on social programs.

Whatever the case, is it not logical for Torontonians to demand that their next mayor — the person who will decide which policy track to take — understand the transit system at a basic practical level?

I’m not the first writer to make this point. In 2019, my Star colleague Shawn Micallef wrote in a column on a similar subject, “In an ideal world, TTC board members would also be regular TTC users.”

In a post-pandemic city, it’s even more critical that mayoral candidates be out and proud regular users of the TTC because the fate of the city’s future may very well depend on its success. After all, its reputation dictates so many elements essential to the city’s recovery.

An emptier, more dangerous transit system will mean fewer overall riders; fewer tourists; fewer commuters returning to the office; fewer customers keeping downtown businesses afloat; heightened stigma of the homeless and paranoia in their presence; not to mention a major setback where the city’s climate goals are concerned.

Last year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of city councillors who voted to let the city’s mask mandate expire did so remotely — while working out of the safety of their homes.

Like all politicians, city councillors are often in the position to vote from a distance on issues that don’t impact their daily lives.

A fresh mayoral race is an opportunity to disrupt that convention. I’m rooting for the first mayoral candidate who promises to load their Presto Card and actually use it.
Click to expand...

ALL the TTC Commissioners on the board MUST use the TTC on a regular basis. Not just for commuting, but going around their neighbourhood and around the city. Not just for photo ops.

If there are decisions at city council made concerning the TTC, cycling, or pedestrians walking, the council members must also use the TTC, cycle, and (oh the horror) walk!!! If the council members don't, then abstain.
 
W. K. Lis said:
If there are decisions at city council made concerning the TTC, cycling, or pedestrians walking, the council members must also use the TTC, cycle, and (oh the horror) walk!!! If the council members don't, then abstain.
Click to expand...
So if a decision is made that affects say driving, councilors who drive should participate, right?
 
picard102 said:
So if a decision is made that affects say driving, councilors who drive should participate, right?
Click to expand...
Believe it or not, there's a lot of people (councillors included) who *both* drive *and* take the TTC, according to necessity (and you can throw biking into the equation as well). So, don't rule out the transport-ambidextrous, so to speak.

And besides, Mayor Tory had a good alibi to TTC it: he (presumably still) lives in a condo right at St. George subway station.
 
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