Silence&Motion
Senior Member
I haven't been on the Toronto Issues boards since the mayoral election back in the fall, so I have no idea what direction discussions have taken since then. However, in light of the Mayor Tory's successful campaign to spend almost $1billion in public funds to rebuild a 1950s-style freeway in the city's urban core and his continued support of a $3billion+ subway extension through some of the least densely populated neighbourhoods in the city, I feel the need to reassert some of the statements I made during the election.
Far from being the level-headed, rational manager described by his supporters, I argued that Tory's career history has demonstrated him to be an erratic political weather vane who seems to make decisions based not on reasoned judgement but on wherever he thinks the political winds are blowing.
Against all evidence people told me that Tory was actually very smart and reasonable - that all of the terrible policy promises he made during the campaign were just necessary political moves to secure victory and that he would find a way to backtrack once he was put in a position of actually managing the city. The amount of political capital he expended on getting the Gardiner rebuilt demonstrates that not only does he share many basic policy and ideological views in common with Mayor Ford, he also shares Ford's stubborn insistence to stand by his ill-thought-out plans, no matter how much contrary evidence mounts up against them.
Congratulations to all of you who voted for Tory in order to keep Ford out of office. You now have someone who is even more effective in accomplishing Ford's agenda. And to all of those so-called "social liberals/fiscal conservatives" who felt some good will to Olivia Chow but didn't trust a "tax-and-spend socialist" to manage the city. I hope you enjoy spending all of the extra $billions on brand new highways downtown and subways in the suburbs.
Far from being the level-headed, rational manager described by his supporters, I argued that Tory's career history has demonstrated him to be an erratic political weather vane who seems to make decisions based not on reasoned judgement but on wherever he thinks the political winds are blowing.
Against all evidence people told me that Tory was actually very smart and reasonable - that all of the terrible policy promises he made during the campaign were just necessary political moves to secure victory and that he would find a way to backtrack once he was put in a position of actually managing the city. The amount of political capital he expended on getting the Gardiner rebuilt demonstrates that not only does he share many basic policy and ideological views in common with Mayor Ford, he also shares Ford's stubborn insistence to stand by his ill-thought-out plans, no matter how much contrary evidence mounts up against them.
Congratulations to all of you who voted for Tory in order to keep Ford out of office. You now have someone who is even more effective in accomplishing Ford's agenda. And to all of those so-called "social liberals/fiscal conservatives" who felt some good will to Olivia Chow but didn't trust a "tax-and-spend socialist" to manage the city. I hope you enjoy spending all of the extra $billions on brand new highways downtown and subways in the suburbs.
