kettal
Banned
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Councillor expensed chipmunk costume... and a Dalmatian and a bear, too.
- Thread starter Eug
- Start date
Congratulations, you succeeded.
adma
Superstar
Simple. The couch in his office has a token-operated "VIBRATE" function
TOareaFan
Superstar
I stayed out of this discussion until I read this.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/782084--giambrone-expensed-cab-ride-for-date?bn=1#article
So, at least one of his $3,000 worth of cab rides was on a Sunday night and he was going on his first date with the mistress. Is that an appropriate use of tax dollars? Does that bring into question his integrity with regards to the other $2,990 worth of cab rides (and other expenses)....he spent time denying this with the Star until he could not refute it and then fell on the old "how am I supposed to remember what I did 15 months ago".....I certainly don't know what I did 15 months ago but that is hardly the point......on the night in question he would have known exatly what he did and what his purpose of going to the Drake was......yet on that night (or very shortly thereafter when he did his expense claim/submission) he could not even bring himself to honesty....to simply pay the $10 out of his own pocket......he saw fit then to assume the taxpayer should be paying for his cab ride to his date on a Sunday night and even ticked the box "ward visit"......shameful.....if he would lie over $10 what would he do for a significant amount of money.
If I were his constituent, or even a voter in any Toronto ward....I would be demanding he resign now......and not just from the TTC either.....how insulting that he thinks he can make it go away by giving the money back...all $10.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/782084--giambrone-expensed-cab-ride-for-date?bn=1#article
So, at least one of his $3,000 worth of cab rides was on a Sunday night and he was going on his first date with the mistress. Is that an appropriate use of tax dollars? Does that bring into question his integrity with regards to the other $2,990 worth of cab rides (and other expenses)....he spent time denying this with the Star until he could not refute it and then fell on the old "how am I supposed to remember what I did 15 months ago".....I certainly don't know what I did 15 months ago but that is hardly the point......on the night in question he would have known exatly what he did and what his purpose of going to the Drake was......yet on that night (or very shortly thereafter when he did his expense claim/submission) he could not even bring himself to honesty....to simply pay the $10 out of his own pocket......he saw fit then to assume the taxpayer should be paying for his cab ride to his date on a Sunday night and even ticked the box "ward visit"......shameful.....if he would lie over $10 what would he do for a significant amount of money.
If I were his constituent, or even a voter in any Toronto ward....I would be demanding he resign now......and not just from the TTC either.....how insulting that he thinks he can make it go away by giving the money back...all $10.
kettal
Banned
Now that's more like it. Why did they even waste our time with the chipmunk nonsense when they had this golden nugget??
GraphicMatt
Looking forward to a FRESH START for Toronto
I'm as disappointed with Giambrone as the next person, but, honestly, who gives a shit? It's $10. There's so many variables here. If he stopped and visited a local business before going out to dinner, does that make it okay? What if he continued on after that dinner to another venue nearby? What if he just forgot his wallet at home and decided to expense it because, hey, it's 10 dollars and who cares?
If anything, this is news because it continues to show how bad he was at having affairs. He's a putz because he didn't think that leaving a publicly-available paper trail when meeting his young extra-girlfriend was maybe a bad idea.
Have we really decided that we're going to judge our politicians based on who can spend the least amount of money? Because that's a shamefully low bar.
The media in Toronto has been absolutely atrocious at covering anything of real value that relates to this mayoral campaign thus far.
If anything, this is news because it continues to show how bad he was at having affairs. He's a putz because he didn't think that leaving a publicly-available paper trail when meeting his young extra-girlfriend was maybe a bad idea.
Have we really decided that we're going to judge our politicians based on who can spend the least amount of money? Because that's a shamefully low bar.
The media in Toronto has been absolutely atrocious at covering anything of real value that relates to this mayoral campaign thus far.
waterloowarrior
Senior Member
Well on the receipt he circled right in the middle of 'office' and 'personal' so maybe he meant to mark it for personal use
But that could be stretching it.
Blovertis
Active Member
It sure doesn't sound like you're that disappointed.
It never fails to surprise me how eager we are to give this guy a pass. I mean, what has he done to earn so much goodwill? It's not like he's doing a great job with the TTC, and he's once again shown us that his personal ethics are... well, not exactly rock-solid.
Politicians in this city must be comforted by the thought that we hold them to such low standards.
Epi
Active Member
Generally this is a non-issue. Every year the papers make a big deal about these things... but really I agree with ROB FORD (LOL?) on this one. We shouldn't be singling out any counselors on this one. If we don't like them spending money to pay for stuff in their wards, we should demand the rules are changed.
As for people spending money on stuff like cab rides, why is this even an issue? Sure maybe one or two of those were inappropriately done, but I'm sure quite a few people who've ever had a job where they were allowed to expense something has expensed stuff 'creatively'. Paying for stuff like cabs for someone who's busy and has a lot of things to do around town makes sense. The TTC is fine for daily commuting or pleasure rides at night, but not so useful for people who have many things to do all the time. This is true in any city, even in places with great transportation systems like Tokyo and Hong Kong which have cabs EVERYWHERE.
As for people spending money on stuff like cab rides, why is this even an issue? Sure maybe one or two of those were inappropriately done, but I'm sure quite a few people who've ever had a job where they were allowed to expense something has expensed stuff 'creatively'. Paying for stuff like cabs for someone who's busy and has a lot of things to do around town makes sense. The TTC is fine for daily commuting or pleasure rides at night, but not so useful for people who have many things to do all the time. This is true in any city, even in places with great transportation systems like Tokyo and Hong Kong which have cabs EVERYWHERE.
kettal
Banned
Epi
Active Member
It's one thing to critize that one ride he had, and another for all the media to critize every councillor every year about spending on things. People were mad about his cab usage before it came out that he used it wrongly that one time. So I think while it was bad that he inappropriated expensed that ride, that is a seperate issue.
waterloowarrior
Senior Member
Probably didn't want to be late for the date... you can't expect him to rely on the 501 if he wants to make a good impression
nfitz
Superstar
Wow, what a pathetic piece of yellow journalism for the Toronto Star!
This was the front page story on the newspaper... that a councillor spent $400 for a children's event.
When did the Toronto Star try and start emulating the Post or Sun?
What's next, will they endorse Harper as well?
This was the front page story on the newspaper... that a councillor spent $400 for a children's event.
When did the Toronto Star try and start emulating the Post or Sun?
What's next, will they endorse Harper as well?
TOareaFan
Superstar
Then he should pay for the cab himself......no?
For those of you taking the "big deal it was only $10" position.......look at it another way....if $10 is enough temptation for him to rip you off and lie repeatedly about it.....can you really trust him with bigger numbers. Why is it so hard to just accept that this once rising star has proven to be untrustworthy and cut him loose.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Well, the fact that he expensed a cab fare to see his mistress changes the game - it sets up a potential pattern of violation against the expense rules and as such he should be reprimanded and demanded restitution to the city, not to mention investigated for further potential abuses.
AoD
AoD
G
gabe
Guest
Why the hell are we paying cab fare for his night out? let alone paying for these councilors trips to make an "important" meeting, they make 97 grand a year they should pay for their own damn fares like the rest of us working folks that make half those wages.