On the third anniversary of his election as mayor, Rob Ford touted his “endless and endless amounts of achievements” and said he thinks his second term will be much like his first.
“We’re on the right track. I’ve taken the city, which was literally on the cliff, and brought it back, and people are very happy,” Ford told Newstalk 1010 host Jerry Agar on Friday. “The people I talk to are very happy with the way we’re running the city.”
Ford did not explain what he meant by “on the cliff.” Asked what he will campaign on in 2014, four years after he pledged to “stop the gravy train,” he said, “There’s so much gravy still left, you know.”
“We’ve still got to find efficiencies,” he said. “I want to contract out garbage on the other side of Yonge St. We want to get this traffic flowing. We have to take care of the Gardiner. We have to do another union deal, obviously. So it’s going to be almost a re-run of this term, because things happen every four, five years, the contracts come up. And we’re going to work on the subways.”
Ford made at least four false statements over the 13-minute interview.
He said he has imposed tax increases lower than those of any North American city, though other cities have had tax freezes during his tenure; claimed again that he has “saved a billion dollars,” an assertion based on faulty math; said “there hasn’t been one labour disruption,” ignoring the 2012 library strike; and criticized a Bloor bike lane study he said is costing nearly “$500,000,” though the Bloor portion of the study will cost $250,000.
Agar, who has been a Ford supporter, did not ask him any questions about any of the scandals that have made his term one of the most tumultuous in the modern history of North American cities. The interview touched on a wide range of other topics.
TCHC RENOVATIONS: Ford said he is “absolutely livid” about a Toronto Community Housing Corp. proposal to spend $1.6 million on renovations to its head office. Ford, a staunch supporter of TCHC chief executive Gene Jones, said, I hope he’s not losing track of what he’s there for.”
“The money has to go to the tenants,” he said. “It has to go to fixing up Toronto Community Housing.”
PAN AM GAMES: In the wake of revelations about the salaries and expenses of Pan Am Games executives, Ford said he longer a supporter of Toronto’s 2015 Games. He said he “highly” advises Premier Kathleen Wynne to fire Pan Am chief executive Ian Troop and Tourism and Sport Minister Michael Chan.
“I’m not a fan of the Pan Am Games now,” he said.
TRANSIT PRIORITIES: Ford said again that he plans to fight first for a Sheppard subway, then a Finch subway, and then the so-called Downtown Relief Line, which could loop from Pape station on the Bloor-Danforth line down to St. Andrew station on the University line. TTC chief executive Andy Byford and other experts argue that the relief line should be Toronto’s first priority.
“There’s enough subways, subway stations, downtown — there could be more, and that’s what the Downtown Relief Line is going to help out on. But the people, like I said, of Scarborough and North York don’t have any,” Ford said.
LAND TRANSFER TAX: Ford campaigned in 2010 on eliminating the tax on home purchases. He told Agar that this is “not going to happen”; his current goal is to reduce the tax by 10 per cent this year, “if possible,” then impose further reductions in his second term.
SUBWAY TAX: Ford said he is “pretty sure” public-private partnerships can allow him to reduce this year’s tax levy for the Scarborough subway extension, which is currently pegged at 0.5 per cent.
For most of his term, Ford steadfastly rejected the suggestion of using taxes to pay for transit expansion, insisting instead that the private sector and other governments would contribute. Pressed by Agar about the Scarborough levy — a 1.6 per cent increase lasting for more than 30 years — he said, “I’m not going to go out there and say it’s not going to cost anything. Subways are expensive. People know that. But that’s what people want. People don’t want streetcars.”
BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Ford cited: his exaggerated budget savings (“the facts are the facts, and I’ve saved a billion dollars”); his elimination of the car registration tax; his reduction in his own office budget; his landmark collective agreements with the municipal unions; his successful push to make the TTC an essential service, preventing strikes; and his outsourcing of waste collection west of Yonge St.
PUNNY CAMPAIGN: Ford again offered a sneak peek at what appears to be one of his reelection slogans. “We’re on the right path, and it’s only going to get better with time, and I just can’t wait for Oct. 27 to come by, next year, and we’ll get Ford more years, as they would say,” he said.
