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Rob Ford's Toronto

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I'll admit to this being the only positive thing I could think of when Ford was elected. A Mayor like Ford was needed to bust up the unions' death grip on our city's budget. I guess I'm unusual in that I'm pretty left wing in most of my political thinking but I'm anti-union. They're a relic of the past and have become like bullies, at least the ones that deal with the city.

Ford has served his purpose. Now, he can leave city building to a progressive Mayor.
 
I think I just heard Ford being reelected.

People forget the trivial things, but essentially destroying the stranglehold of the union on Toronto will reverberate very well with voters. Careful what you wish for.
 
Filip said:
I think I just heard Ford being reelected.

People forget the trivial things, but essentially destroying the stranglehold of the union on Toronto will reverberate very well with voters. Careful what you wish for.
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Ford declared victory on his waterfront initiative and police budget too! By Wednesday he might be declaring victory on Transit City as well! LOL
 
Yeah, I expect Ford's significant victory over the weekend is about to be eclipsed by a looming showdown over transit. Karen Stintz is now leading the charge. Ford is up against the wall now
 
I won't be surprised is council votes to keep TC - the question is how much further would they go - e.g. whether to "strip" the TTC of Fraud loyalists, etc. Given the modus operandi of the his worship, I have no doubt that he is of the scorched earth type.

AoD
 
Given Ford's intransigence, would a council vote for TC be enough to assure Metrolinx? If I were them, or the province, I'd be tempted to wash my hands entirely of the Toronto transit portfolio until there is proper adult supervision in place.
 
Good for Stintz... really impressive. She will likely be kicked out as TTC chair, but she has just become a major contender in the next mayoral election.

I think the Ford camp will be extra angry that their union deal won't get a prolonged run in the news-cycle. That's a huge blow for the communications people.
 
Electrify said:
Brother posted this on my Facebook. Enjoy:

eSSkx.jpg
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So that's why she's called 'Sewer'-Ann Levy
 
Lenser said:
Yeah, I expect Ford's significant victory over the weekend is about to be eclipsed by a looming showdown over transit. Karen Stintz is now leading the charge. Ford is up against the wall now
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Ford's significant victory over the weekend didn't even make the headline on the Star, Globe, and Sun. The Star and Globe went with the Transit City coup (or was the Globe something else, with Transit City on the front page ... I was half-asleep) ... and the Sun went with the Superbowl.

That's right ... Ford of all people managed to forget that it was Superbowl Sunday, and for many the story was buried.
 
Tulse said:
Given Ford's intransigence, would a council vote for TC be enough to assure Metrolinx? If I were them, or the province, I'd be tempted to wash my hands entirely of the Toronto transit portfolio until there is proper adult supervision in place.
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It's enough because Council and Metrolinx already agreed to Transit City in a MOA in 2009. What Stintz is going to move on Wednesday is to simply reaffirm the city's agreement with that MOA. There's no running around it here. It's the complete revival of Transit City, even if they don't use the name.

I really wonder how Ford can rule anything after this. He's finished as Mayor. If he wasn't a lame duck Mayor after the budget vote, this seals the deal. He won't be able to get anything done in the next 2 and half years.

As for Stintz, while I'm happy that she's grown some balls and knocked some sense back into City Council, it doesn't stop her from having been an ass kisser up until a few days ago when she appeased Ford by going against council's intent to restore funding to bus cuts and throwing all the money at Wheel Trans which the city is trying to get the provincial government to cover as a health service.
 
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MetroMan said:
It's enough because Council and Metrolinx already agreed to Transit City in a MOA in 2009.
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But having the mayor opposed to the plan, and a mayor as intransigent and obstructionist as Ford is, surely has to give Metrolinx and the province pause. Ford could very well declare that he will do all in his power to prevent the plan from being implemented, and even if his power isn't all that much, I doubt that the partners would want to risk billions on the whims of one man. The Metrolinx letter seemed pretty clear that it wanted council and Ford to agree on a single plan, and I don't see Ford being willing to compromise.
 
nfitz said:
Ford's significant victory over the weekend didn't even make the headline on the Star, Globe, and Sun. The Star and Globe went with the Transit City coup (or was the Globe something else, with Transit City on the front page ... I was half-asleep) ... and the Sun went with the Superbowl.
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I should have wrapped "significant victory" in quotes. I think the result of the weekend talks is greyer than either side would like but given Ford's usual interaction with the press, he would doubtless like to spin the result as a significant victory for his side and the for the way he imagines the city ought to be run. Alas, news marches on and he's facing bigger battles this week.
 
The Union situation is slippery, and curiously positive. True, the Ford administration got the Union in a corner, then pulled the rug out from under them, which is being hailed by Ford supporters as some kind of never-before-seen show of tactical intelligence. But, I think it's very smart of the Union not to have pushed back to assure a catastrophic lockout or strike. Public opinion is soothed, Ford's "glorious victory" is not yet inked and signed off on, and there's three more city Unions to deal with in the future. The city's position was so overwrought anyway, and in bad faith, that it would have been low and harmful for the Union to try and match it in vehemence. The Union has avoided looking like the bad guy, and can use that to it's advantage down the line.
What will be interesting now is how things proceed in the longer haul. I have a feeling that this slight burble in the way of things will be drowned out by larger events in the months ahead.

Meanwhile, this is pretty amazing:

From the Globe and Mail, Feb 5, 2012:

"Monday morning, moments before councillors took their seats for a regular council meeting, TTC chair Karen Stintz approached the city clerk and handed her a petition with signatures from 24 councillors requesting a special meeting on transit.
At that meeting, to be held Wednesday, Ms. Stintz said she will present a motion for council to reaffirm its 2009 agreement for light rail lines on Eglinton, Sheppard Ave. East, Finch Ave. West and replace the existing Scarborough Rapid Transit line.

...If the group holds together to vote against the mayor, it will mean a stunning defeat for Mr. Ford on a central plank of his administration."

Wow. Good for Stinz re-affirming council and moving clearly and honestly with this. She's been waffling a lot up until now, but this is strong stuff. In the face of losing her chair, it's practically heroic.
 
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