In reflecting today I've really come to pin this on a failure of the left. It goes beyond Toronto, too. In a country that used to be known for its strong left-wing politics and politicians, there are very few bright stars out there today.
^ We also have to admit that Smitherman ran a terrible campaign. There was no focus, he shifted from the centre, to the right, to the left and back to the centre shaking off supporters to both Ford and Pants. It was always a long shot.
I didn't feel real passion for his campaign, only a huge drive to save Toronto from Ford. In the end, that wasn't enough to motivate Toronto to jump on the Smitherman bandwagon.
Then there was e-Health and the Deputy Premier tag. Those were crosses too heavy to bear in this political climate that likely cost him 10-20% support, and was responsible for the reluctant support that he did get.
I have an uneasy feeling that we're going to end up with Ford for 8 years because the people who voted for him last night, will still be here in 4 years. As long as he can show that he's managed to lower expenses and keeps the city clean, no personal scandal is going to convince them to abandon him. It certainly didn't happen in this campaign. The next election will have a lower turn out, with fewer people paying attention to the campaign, only to shrug their shoulders and vote for the incumbent.
The left needs to be highly motivated and has to find a major contrast that people can identify with and rally behind. I saw Adam Vaughan last night and while he may be a visionary and very intelligent, he's just as charismatic as Joe Pantalone. If I had just woken up from a weeklong sleep, I wouldn't have thought that he just won by a landslide. It looked like Vaughan lost. He was so down. Granted, he's the returning councillor with probably the most to lose from Ford being Mayor. Adam Vaughan was his arch-nemesis when they were both councillors.
This election again demonstrated that an outsider will not be able to become Mayor. A popular councillor has a built support for his own ward from day 1. The contrast needs to go beyond ideas and political ideology. A minority or a woman need to run against Ford in 2014. I've got my eyes on Shelley Carroll.