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ganjavih
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Dec. 10, 2003. 01:00 AM
Miller is showing his Giuliani touch
ROYSON JAMES
Until a city mayor is faced with an extraordinarily tragic emergency to rival the Sept. 11 attack on New York City, and handles it with steely steadiness and poise, all mayors will be judged by the stratospheric standards set by Rudolph Giuliani.
When people want to belittle the response of a public official to an emerging crisis, it is now common to dismiss the civic leader with, "He's no Giuliani."
When a mayor performs well, handles the press with aplomb, calms the populace, and appears on site at an emergency, looking well-briefed and in charge, people dare to say: "That was a Giuliani moment."
Of course, the performance doesn't have to approach the tour de force delivered by the New York mayor as he appeared day after day, minute after minute, here and there, with victims and emergency workers, crying with survivors or negotiating with legislators, keeping spirits up with wartime resolve.
In fact, if we are fortunate, we might not face another situation as devastating and horribly awesome as the toppling of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Not in our lifetime, we hope.
We reflect on all that because a week into the job Mayor David Miller is already showing he understands his role as chief magistrate. When Toronto hurts, the city expects the mayor to be there. Whenever the public faces some crisis or emergency, citizens want to see the mayor in the thick of it. The police chief shouldn't be the one filling the role of keeping the peace and keeping the politics.
Slightly more than an hour after Monday's collapse of the Uptown Theatre, killing one student next door, Mayor Miller was at the site, calming fears and offering perspective on the tragedy. While others started pointing the finger of blame, Miller urged caution.
Yesterday, he was back at the Yonge/Bloor site from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Torontonians know there's a new sheriff in town. Not just a new sheriff, but one that's in town — in December, after the last council meeting of the year, and not lazing in the Florida sun.
Since his election and official installation as mayor a week yesterday, Miller has been everywhere. He can't seem to say "no" to anyone. He's on this television program and that, on radio, at staff briefings, public appearances, at the city hall press gallery Christmas party, at former mayor John Sewell's open house, meeting with MPs and MPPs and the mayor of Ottawa and councillors, discussing plans to kill the island airport bridge with his arch enemies at the port authority ... and so on.
The bags under his eyes are already so pronounced they are beginning to sag his head on to his broad shoulders. Can he keep up this pace or is he just setting the template for a new regime, sending out signals that things are different at city hall?
The day Miller took over from Mel Lastman he threw open the doors to his office. The doors are still open. I walked in, unrestrained and unencumbered yesterday afternoon.
At the first council meeting — a session that had all the potential of being a rowdy meeting that could degenerate into chaos, Miller managed to de-claw the combatants, without shedding much blood. He ruled with a stern and fair hand. And he exhibited in one day, more finesse as chair of council than Lastman mustered in two terms.
(An aside: While it's true that Miller showed much dexterity as chair of the contentious council meeting, it is also true that the opposition he faces is anemic at best. Compared with Lastman, Miller doesn't have to face Miller in opposition. Also, Miller doesn't have to face the NDP councillors who constantly opposed Mel. If the airport bridge was something that the NDP councillors opposed, they would have created such a ruckus at council that even Miller wouldn't be able to contain the collateral damage).
As it stands, Miller has appeared as measured and intelligent, energetic, accessible and hands-on where his predecessor grew insular, closeted, distracted and plain absent.
But this is what was expected. We have a young guy replacing an old man; a Harvard-educated lawyer sitting in for a street-smarts operator from the poor neighbourhood of Kensington; a politician giddy with the first flush of power versus a politician woozy from the last days of public battering.
The real tests are in front of David Miller, the challenges many and formidable.
His first week has been good, very good. But the road is long.
Next: Mel. How quickly they forget.
Miller is showing his Giuliani touch
ROYSON JAMES
Until a city mayor is faced with an extraordinarily tragic emergency to rival the Sept. 11 attack on New York City, and handles it with steely steadiness and poise, all mayors will be judged by the stratospheric standards set by Rudolph Giuliani.
When people want to belittle the response of a public official to an emerging crisis, it is now common to dismiss the civic leader with, "He's no Giuliani."
When a mayor performs well, handles the press with aplomb, calms the populace, and appears on site at an emergency, looking well-briefed and in charge, people dare to say: "That was a Giuliani moment."
Of course, the performance doesn't have to approach the tour de force delivered by the New York mayor as he appeared day after day, minute after minute, here and there, with victims and emergency workers, crying with survivors or negotiating with legislators, keeping spirits up with wartime resolve.
In fact, if we are fortunate, we might not face another situation as devastating and horribly awesome as the toppling of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Not in our lifetime, we hope.
We reflect on all that because a week into the job Mayor David Miller is already showing he understands his role as chief magistrate. When Toronto hurts, the city expects the mayor to be there. Whenever the public faces some crisis or emergency, citizens want to see the mayor in the thick of it. The police chief shouldn't be the one filling the role of keeping the peace and keeping the politics.
Slightly more than an hour after Monday's collapse of the Uptown Theatre, killing one student next door, Mayor Miller was at the site, calming fears and offering perspective on the tragedy. While others started pointing the finger of blame, Miller urged caution.
Yesterday, he was back at the Yonge/Bloor site from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Torontonians know there's a new sheriff in town. Not just a new sheriff, but one that's in town — in December, after the last council meeting of the year, and not lazing in the Florida sun.
Since his election and official installation as mayor a week yesterday, Miller has been everywhere. He can't seem to say "no" to anyone. He's on this television program and that, on radio, at staff briefings, public appearances, at the city hall press gallery Christmas party, at former mayor John Sewell's open house, meeting with MPs and MPPs and the mayor of Ottawa and councillors, discussing plans to kill the island airport bridge with his arch enemies at the port authority ... and so on.
The bags under his eyes are already so pronounced they are beginning to sag his head on to his broad shoulders. Can he keep up this pace or is he just setting the template for a new regime, sending out signals that things are different at city hall?
The day Miller took over from Mel Lastman he threw open the doors to his office. The doors are still open. I walked in, unrestrained and unencumbered yesterday afternoon.
At the first council meeting — a session that had all the potential of being a rowdy meeting that could degenerate into chaos, Miller managed to de-claw the combatants, without shedding much blood. He ruled with a stern and fair hand. And he exhibited in one day, more finesse as chair of council than Lastman mustered in two terms.
(An aside: While it's true that Miller showed much dexterity as chair of the contentious council meeting, it is also true that the opposition he faces is anemic at best. Compared with Lastman, Miller doesn't have to face Miller in opposition. Also, Miller doesn't have to face the NDP councillors who constantly opposed Mel. If the airport bridge was something that the NDP councillors opposed, they would have created such a ruckus at council that even Miller wouldn't be able to contain the collateral damage).
As it stands, Miller has appeared as measured and intelligent, energetic, accessible and hands-on where his predecessor grew insular, closeted, distracted and plain absent.
But this is what was expected. We have a young guy replacing an old man; a Harvard-educated lawyer sitting in for a street-smarts operator from the poor neighbourhood of Kensington; a politician giddy with the first flush of power versus a politician woozy from the last days of public battering.
The real tests are in front of David Miller, the challenges many and formidable.
His first week has been good, very good. But the road is long.
Next: Mel. How quickly they forget.
