Rob Ford's Toronto

[eastcoastanddown]

I can already hear the Ford talking points against Chow:
...
- "Lived in subsidized housing in the 80s" (long squashed myth)

I can't see Ford running too far with this one as he knows he needs the low-income votes on his side, and probably won't risk alienating them by making such a big deal out of anything with the words "subsidized housing" in it.

 

[animatronic]

I'm pretty sure she's even going to come out early on and endorse Olivia Chow along with a slew of other right and centre councillors, with the argument that they think they can work with her unlike Rob Ford who's been an obstruction holding back City business.

No chance. Stintz is going to keep her campaign team in place and her mouth shut. If/when Ford implodes she wants to be there to pick up the pieces. If he survives then she will just stick with her council seat and get ready for 2018.

 

[scott pilgrim]

I am skeptical also. Most people know next to nothing about Chow other than the fact that she is Jack Layton's widow for which she gets a lot of sympathy from people of all political stripes. Should she decide to run against Ford next year all of that will change the minute she steps into the arena. She won't be able to milk the sympathy vote anymore (although I'm sure she will try!). Once people get to know Chow a bit better her poll numbers will plummet.

I can't wait for article comments sections to just go completely supernova with the "sympathy for the Layton" narrative next year. Thanks for the sneak peek.

Next up: "those inscrutable Asians will vote for the inscrutable Asian"

 

[MetroMan]

No chance. Stintz is going to keep her campaign team in place and her mouth shut. If/when Ford implodes she wants to be there to pick up the pieces. If he survives then she will just stick with her council seat and get ready for 2018.

And I'll tell you there's a very good chance given what I've seen happen behind the scenes. Would it blow your mind to know that Stintz is already helping Olivia organize?

 

[jje1000]

This week in a Toronto Star poll measuring popularity - almost 50% had a favorable opinion of Rob Ford ! The poll was taken before Ford's huge Subway victory. Another thing to keep in mind about Rob Ford's poll numbers is that they are solid. His support is hard-core as we were reminded last week by the phenomenal turn-out at Ford Fest West. You won't ever see hundreds of people lining up to get their picture taken with Olivia Chow!

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...ity_climbs_to_nearly_half_in_latest_poll.html

Remember that approval ratings do not necessarily translate into votes. In my opinion, 30% of Ford's support is solid- that's the Conservative faction. The additional 20% is looser, and will vote for him if there are no other desirable alternatives.

 

[Ramako]

I'm still betting that the crack video emerges before the election and Ford implodes. If I were Stintz, I'd keep a skeleton campaign in place just in case.

 

[christiesplits]

Would it blow your mind to know that Stintz is already helping Olivia organize?

The fact that she was approached a few years back to run for the PCs in Eglinton-Lawrence and was hobnobbing with Hudak at parties as recent as a year ago, then yes, yes it does.

Politics - municipal politics, in particular - is a strange beast.

 

[DSC]

Not just a female, but an oriental female. They're taking over!

And they 'work like dogs"

 

[Ramako]

Has Toronto ever had an immigrant mayor? Seems like it would be fitting.

 

[christiesplits]

Has Toronto ever had an immigrant mayor? Seems like it would be fitting.

David Miller was born in San Francisco.

 

[innsertnamehere]

many wouldn't consider an american as a "immigrant", though, especially if they are from San Fransisco, which is possibly one of the most similar cities to Toronto in the US.

 

[animatronic]

many wouldn't consider an american as a "immigrant", though, especially if they are from San Fransisco, which is possibly one of the most similar cities to Toronto in the US.

In the 19th century most of the Upper Canadian ruling class would have been born in the UK, so assume that applies to the many of the early mayors. It's always complicated when "immigrant" is really code for "not a WASP".

 

[eastcoastanddown]

I'm still betting that the crack video emerges before the election and Ford implodes. If I were Stintz, I'd keep a skeleton campaign in place just in case.

I'm guessing that Stintz doesn't want to engage in the eventual mudslinging with Chow that would happen if they were opponents on the campaign trail. They would both serve themselves and the city well to remain civil with eachother for the sake of a somewhat more unified city council, since any non-Ford campaign will certainly be centered upon acheiving results for the city, and moving away from procedural grid-lock.

 

[ShonTron]

Has Toronto ever had an immigrant mayor? Seems like it would be fitting.

William Lyon Mackenzie was born in Scotland; Robert Baldwin was born in British-controlled Ireland, in fact many of Toronto's early mayors were from England, Scotland or Protestant Irish. (The first, and I believe only, Catholic mayor of Toronto was Art Eggleton; Toronto had two Jewish mayors - Phillips and Lastman).

 

[JWBF]

I can already hear the Ford talking points against Chow:

- "She has never run a business"
- "She has no executive experience" (how did that work on Obama in 08?)
- "She is a pro-LRT, pro-bike radical"
- "She is staunchly ideological and a non-consensus builder
- "Anti-business with connections to radical anti-development groups" (Porter Airlines)
- "Lived in subsidized housing in the 80s" (long squashed myth)

So she would be more in touch with the "common folk", nice attacking points.