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Next Mayor of Toronto?

If ranked ballots were available at the provincial level, I'd vote 1) Green 2) NDP 3) Liberal. However, since its first past the vote, I would have to vote Liberal.
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And I would vote 1) Conservative, 2) Conservative, 3) Conservative.
I doubt if many voters would rank the parties as you have or in any other order as if they were choosing a puppy at the pet store, or least I hope not.
 
denfromoakvillemilton said:
Who really supports the Liberals more then Hudak blew it? You always say this, but Hudak should have won and he didn't. He's not a good leader.
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In a way you are correct.

But the same way, Ford supporters could say that Chow has never lead anything, Tory led the PC's to defeat, Stintz led the TTC, which was the most dysfunctional City agency. I will stick to Ford. After all, better the devil that you know than the one you don't (their thinking not mine).
 
When the Progressive Conservatives become progressive conservative again I'll vote for them. These guys don't even have a proper transit funding strategy (unless you consider cutting everything a plan).
 
Hudak scares me. Horwath scares me. Wynne is alright, but some of her lackeys scare me as well.

I won't be voting for them, but I hope the Liberals win the next election. My top priority is transit and what they're trying to do for me in that regard is wonderful.
 
These guys aren't even conservative. Shuffling money around and putting off necessary infrastructure investments so you can say that you've "saved money" isn't the conservative thing to do.
 
Inefficiencies, you mean. Just like investments, you can't make anything out of nothing.


And no, they aren't real conservatives. Real conservatives would shift taxes from income to VATs, instead of trying to get rid of VATs altogether. This obviously applies to the Feds as well.
 
So what would be a good message to put out against the Fords? It looks like their message is: "Let's keep up with the good job," and "We're disappointed in Ford's actions, but he's done a good job (separating his drug use from his politics)."

How can a candidate show that the Fords aren't the only, nor even the best route to fiscal responsibility?
 
One problem is that Ford's appeal comes largely with his personality. There are two elements of Ford here:

- Ford as the man
- Ford as the 'taxpayer's Saviour'

I think that's why people are peeling off the drugs and crime as an aspect of Ford the man, who they clearly understand as being flawed. Ford the 'Saviour' continues to be unblemished, as there hasn't been any widely-published statistical evidence that he's done harm (jobs and crime). I think the Ford the 'Saviour' aspect will come under inspection if his links to organized crime are revealed.

Not that I believe that Ford is a 'Saviour' (I doubt Jesus would ever be like him). It's just the way Ford's devotees/followers see him.

Remember, these are the talking points:

Yep he's a drunk who smoked crack and still found time to do this:

1. Toronto is on track to spend less money this year than it did a year ago, the first time that's happened since the megacity was formed in 1998. While it's only $50 million less on a $9.4 billion operating budget, it's a remarkable achievement.

2. The city successfully negotiated four-year contracts with its unionized workers that will save taxpayers over $150 million, including curtailing "jobs for life". Ford delivered, without a garbage strike, what David Miller and Mel Lastman couldn't, with a garbage strike.

3. Garbage collection west of Yonge has been privatized, saving $80 million over seven years. This is especially impressive given the ongoing reluctance of spendthrift councillors to operate City Hall as a service provider for taxpayers, rather than an employment agency for workers.

4. Ford delivered a 0% property tax increase for 2011 and a 2.5% increase for 2012, for an average hike of 1.25% annually over two years, just over half Toronto's annual inflation rate.

5. Ford recently announced a $292 million surplus for 2011 which he's prudently spending on paying for streetcars the Miller administration bought on credit and replenishing reserves.

6. Ford successfully had the TTC declared essential, significantly reducing the risk of work stoppages.

7. Ford, as promised, eliminated Miller's $60 vehicle registration fee, returning $64 million annually to drivers.

8. Ford cut councillors' office budgets by $900,000 and his own by $700,000, as well as getting councillors to forgo a pay raise last year. These measures were crucial as they gave city negotiators the moral authority to demand concessions from the unions.
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Find a way of refuting these in a way that doesn't say no. People will need to be convinced a little before they come to their senses and understand the context this is all in.
 
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Electrify said:
In the past week I have come across a few Ford supporters that have been somewhat vocal about defending the guy. We can write them off as being ignorant and uninformed, and while this may be the case, the sad reality is that this ideology is what got him elected in the first place. We should be examining what supporters see in the guy, so that any credible opposition knows how to up against him.

Anyways, here are some of the things his supporters see in him:

1. Some old acquaintances on my Facebook who live in north Etobicoke were going on about how much he has done for the community, helping troubled youth in the area. I assume that this referring to his football coaching, but it may also refer to other acts of community service as well.
2. While showing a friend some clips of Ford on The Daily Show, he was going on about who is going to run against him? Note that while not very political for the most part, he is generally right of centre and basically laughed at the idea of Chow or Stintz putting up a credible campaign.
3. While exhibiting some of the same clips in the lunchroom at work, a new girl yelled, "Leave Rob Ford alone!" Apparently at some point he went to her high school (what he was doing in Richmond Hill I have no idea) and that he seems like a pretty nice guy, and that he was human and he makes mistakes like everybody does. Finally when she asked what was so bad about him, besides the LRT fiasco I have to admit I was grasping at straws. She shot down these criticisms anyways, using the blanket statement that all politicians lie.

So what can we gather from such intel? First whoever runs against Ford needs to be visible in local community service. This means more than spending money to help fund initiatives, but needs to be very visible in their efforts. Second they need to have a good platform to run on. This also includes attacking his policy record just as much as his buffoonery, if not more so. And finally they need to have a likable personality and be very honest. Without these natural traits, then Ford could potentially secure another term.
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At this point anyone who supports him is not worth going after by any other candidate; these individuals will stand behind him no matter what. There is no rationality involved.
 
BurlOak said:
In a way you are correct.

But the same way, Ford supporters could say that Chow has never lead anything, Tory led the PC's to defeat, Stintz led the TTC, which was the most dysfunctional City agency. I will stick to Ford. After all, better the devil that you know than the one you don't (their thinking not mine).
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Very true, but you can saw Hudak has made even less progress then Tory did with the PCs. They need a new leader. As for Ford, again you are right. But I don't think Chow is right, she is a bit too far left. We need a pragmatist.
 
MetroMan said:
I've heard it from enough people to say it: John Tory is running for Mayor.
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Back in 2010, rumours swirled for months that a Tory mayoral bid was imminent, and then he got cold feet. Granted, the atmosphere is a bit different this time around - he's probably secretly licking his chops about Ford's troubles, because it allows him to swoop in and grab a big chunk of Ford's voter base as well as centrists and reasonable conservatives. I think he would have a good shot against Olivia Chow if the race comes down to the two of them.
 
I might vote for Tory if he runs. Though, I hugely prefer female politicians....they're more reasonable when not named Nunziata.
 
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