Now now. The downtowners had their turn to ruin the burbs. It's only fair to get paid in kind.
It's precisely this kind of mentality that's caused outer 416 residents to feel alienated and is now propelling Ford skyward. Smugly suggesting that Scarborough residents are morons who don't know any better for suggesting that subways shouldn't end at random intersections (Kennedy/Eglinton) is a perfect example of this kind of attitude. Transit City's planners pretty much handed Ford Scarborough on a silver platter with the decision not to extend the subway to STC, something that's been a concern of Scarborough residents for years. Their smugness in rejecting the concerns of Scarborough residents pretty much confirmed the parochial attitude that downtowners have towards subarbnites (expressed so well in your post here).
And that's just one example.
You want to stop Ford? How about acknowledging for once that there's at least some legitimacy to the complaints that suburbanites have, instead of expressing panic that the same residents that downtowners have been dumping on for years will now have their turn at helm.
ps. I'm no Rob Ford fan. But I understand where his popularity is coming from. And I warned about it early on. I'd like to see somebody better in the big chair. But that'll only happen if candidates emerge who genuinely care about the concerns of voters, and are not insistent on playing the us vs. them, downtown vs. suburbs game.
Downtowners have tried to ruin the burbs? Mind explaining to me how exactly? Through the Tower Renewal project, to make sensible use of vast amounts of wasted space? The revitalization of neighbourhoods with large concetrations of public housing (like Lawrence Heights, which is in the burbs)? The "avenues" plan, designed to densify, diversify, and beautify the under-used major arterial roads across the inner burbs? The first realistic large scale transit plan designed to concentrate affordable rapid transit expansion almost entirely in the burbs, in order to finally make them less dependent on automobile travel? By encouraging massive development projects like Woodbine Live in the furthest reaches of Rexdale in order to infuse that dreary, long neglected part of the city with hundreds of millions of much needed investment? Oh yeah, sure sounds like Miller and his so-called downtown elite sure gave the burbs a big eff you, doesn't it? Besides, how can someone even attempt to ruin something that was already broken, or at least deeply flawed, right from the beginning?
As for you accusing me of displaying the "smug, parochial attitude of a downtowner towards the suburbs", I'll have you know that I live in Etobicoke. Have for many years. In a detached house in quiet area. And guess what - I even drive a car! Fancy that. By every definition I am a classic suburbanite. But it's precisely because of this experience that I can see just how deeply flawed the suburbs are and just how necessary it is for them to be transformed. Thankfully this change has been occuring consistently, despite the whining and cries of NIMBY's praying that their saviour Rob Ford will take them back to the "good 'ol days", when things were easier and simpler to understand than the increasingly complex world we live in.
And that's what this election really is about, isn't it? It's about change, a fundamental, historical change for Toronto, not about taxes and what-not, which it appears to be on the surface. Toronto is now at an age where it is on the cusp of a major new phase in its evolution. Miller, for all his flaws, recognized this, embraced it, and tried to get us there. Judging by the backlash we are now seeing in the rise of Rob Ford, evidently many people are not ready for this transition, and feel threatened by it.
Ford represents a pathetic culture of fear, paranoia, and selfishness. His "vision" for the city is entirely negative, the product of a delusional, backward-thinking mentality.
And even as someone who has historically been right of centre on many issues, I find his mentality deplorable. Ford is an un-cultured, immature simpleton who sees everything in black and white. He is an embarrassment to conservatism, and should be the last kind of person given the privilege of running a cosmopolitan city of millions. I even feel somewhat ashamed that so many seemingly intelligent people, including many that I know personally, are incapable of, or unwilling to, see beyond his transparent schtick.
Thankfully I can rest somewhat assured that change will continue to flow no matter how hard he tries to stop it, and his shortsighted agenda will be largely hamstrung by the saner, thoughtful heads on council.
Ultimately, Ford and those who will vote for him are lying to themselves about a future they cannot stop.
