Rob Ford's Toronto

[euler]

Serious, totally non-snarky question to those who know how the municipal gov't of Toronto operates: With a weak mayor system, how likely it that an unethical and crafty mayor could make some serious cash for self and others, related to (2) and (3) in Les's list?

RoFo couldn't much anymore, since no one will talk to him and he has no decision making capability.

In general though the mayor (this one excepted) does hold a lot of sway over council and can make things go his way. If he is getting paid for certain things going 'his way', well...

I think that's a bit elaborate for a simple man like Rob though. He's not that crafty. I'm 99% sure it was all drugs for personal use.

Doug, though... Doug, I don't know. Doug seems like the type.

 

[kbdid]

It's antimicrobial. Good thing to use for piercings (to stop skin infections). Smells kinda nasty at first but it grows on you....

I wouldn't say correlation is causation though, I went through the public school system and never got lice and never knew anyone who did! And they used to check us at school too, do they still do that?

Yup, they check. So far my 4 y/o's been lucky (two instances of outbreaks in her class this year). Re tea tree oil - we were using a tea tree oil shampoo when my sons got it, so, well....I do still add some of the actual oil to my regular shampoo now and again.

Re those other pests that won't go away (Fords), I really do hope TPS has their ducks in order and this move to the OPP is just optics ahead of action.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

I know for a fact that my apartment would be unaffordable without rent control. Area demand has exploded in my longish time here. The apartment below me was once the same price. Over a few tenants coming and going and some renovations it's now 60% more expensive than mine (after my own annual regulated increases) with the same sq. footage.

Your argument that rent control is bad just doesn't wash with me.

So, your rebuttal to my comment, 'rent control does not work for a broad society', is to say that 'rent control works for me but increases my neighbours' rents by a lot, to pay for my lower rent'. Well then. Case closed.

I'm betting no new rental buildings have gone up nearby in a longish time, either, right?

Rent control is non-home buyers version of all the rentier crap homeowners insert into the tax code.

Meh. Back to Ford.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

Murder. Toronto would be in the international news cycle for a while.

Yep. For all the wrong reasons. Welcome to crazy town, Mayor Rob Ford's Toronto.

 

[CalgarianExOntarian]

RoFo couldn't much anymore, since no one will talk to him and he has no decision making capability.

In general though the mayor (this one excepted) does hold a lot of sway over council and can make things go his way. If he is getting paid for certain things going 'his way', well...

I think that's a bit elaborate for a simple man like Rob though. He's not that crafty. I'm 99% sure it was all drugs for personal use.

Doug, though... Doug, I don't know. Doug seems like the type.

Thanks!

I agree about RoFo's current level of influence, but what chance is there at any time since 2010 that he could have got a big amount of money to go the wrong way? On the one hand, garbage contracts, but on the other hand, it seems (I could be mistaken here) that he's lost a lot of council votes around 40-3, and not just in the last few months ...

 

[facepalming_brooklynite]

Serious, totally non-snarky question to those who know how the municipal gov't of Toronto operates: With a weak mayor system, how likely it that an unethical and crafty mayor could make some serious cash for self and others, related to (2) and (3) in Les's list?

Serious, but admittedly snarky question, with preamble ... RoFo and his BigBroDo are unethical as f*ck, to adopt the diction of my twitter fave 80s Doug, but really, they're both in their own ways the opposite of crafty. How likely is it that if there were deep corruption regarding big contracts, the public would not have heard boo after all this time?

I don't know if they were able to make cash for themselves and others, but it's also a crime if they tried without being successful. (And given how stupid they are, they probably didn't really know that there was a weak mayor system)

If you think about the main policy agendas: "subways", casinos, and garbage collection, you've got to wonder who benefits/would benefit from this. Construction, gambling, sanitation ... sounds like the Sopranos to me.

 

[euler]

Thanks!

I agree about RoFo's current level of influence, but what chance is there at any time since 2010 that he could have got a big amount of money to go the wrong way? On the one hand, garbage contracts, but on the other hand, it seems (I could be mistaken here) that he's lost a lot of council votes around 40-3, and not just in the last few months ...

The Fords have always voted against council on most things and then yelled about how council is a bunch of "tax and spend" yada yada you know the drill.

The one thing that councillors have noted is that since Ford became mayor, there has been a change of tone with respect to spending - not that they don't want to do it, they just argue about it a lot more. So he has influenced the tone in that way, which has resulted in service cuts and increased user fees.

Realistically I don't think there were too many things he could directly and overwhelmingly influence that would have resulted in kickbacks that were meaningful to a millionaire. I suppose the garbage thing is the main one to look at, but I don't know as much about that as other posters here.

 

[Cooper]

Serious, totally non-snarky question to those who know how the municipal gov't of Toronto operates: With a weak mayor system, how likely it that an unethical and crafty mayor could make some serious cash for self and others, related to (2) and (3) in Les's list?

Serious, but admittedly snarky question, with preamble ... RoFo and his BigBroDo are unethical as f*ck, to adopt the diction of my twitter fave 80s Doug, but really, they're both in their own ways the opposite of crafty. How likely is it that if there were deep corruption regarding big contracts, the public would not have heard boo after all this time? ...

I agree. I don't hold with the more elaborate flights of speculation here, (but that's OK. It's the Internet). IMO, if charges come, they will be in relation to Lisi's extortion case. I can't see Rob involved in *anything* as sophisticated as dealer networks, money laundering etc. He's just not that bright. He also has big spotlight following him around all the time and a habit of running his mouth. Those aren't great attributes for an organized criminal. Besides, even people on the right side of the law don't want to work with him. Why would gangsters? They have even more to lose. Rob has little real power, so he doesn't bring much to the table. The risks aren't worth it. My two cents, anyway.

 

[kbdid]

I agree. I don't hold with the more elaborate flights of speculation here, (but that's OK. It's the Internet). IMO, if charges come, they will be in relation to Lisi's extortion case. I can't see Rob involved in *anything* as sophisticated as dealer networks, money laundering etc. He's just not that bright. He also has big spotlight following him around all the time and a habit of running his mouth. Those aren't great attributes for an organized criminal. Besides, even people on the right side of the law don't want to work with him. Why would gangsters? They have even more to lose. Rob has little real power, so he doesn't bring much to the table. The risks aren't worth it. My two cents, anyway.

This. I don't see Rob Ford as being able to handle the intricacies of organized crime, and I doubt that those who can would want to wade into this/his mess.

 

[euler]

Hah, I said this hundreds of pages back, but I'm telling you there is no way the Fords are involved with actual serious organized crime. They wouldn't touch them with a 10-metre pole.

All of their "friends" are low-level nobodies with more ties to correctional officers at Maplehurst than any real players.

I see a man-child in over his head, not some sort of mastermind who has us all fooled.

 

[CalgarianExOntarian]

So, your rebuttal to my comment, 'rent control does not work for a broad society', is to say that 'rent control works for me but increases my neighbours' rents by a lot, to pay for my lower rent'. Well then. Case closed.

I'm betting no new rental buildings have gone up nearby in a longish time, either, right?

Rent control is non-home buyers version of all the rentier crap homeowners insert into the tax code.

Meh. Back to Ford.

Sorry to feed the digression, but I cannot resist. Rat is right that legislation making some renters essentially immune to market forces year after year is terrible--those renters benefit, and everybody else looking for housing has to pay.

But there has to be a serious degree of regulation, too. IMO, there wasn't enough regulation a few years back in Calgary (2007 or so) when the vacancy rate got very close to zero. Rents going from $1000/month to $2000 on short notice is greedy and destructive--it's really bad for hard-working parents to have to freak out about finding a new place, worry about kids changing schools, etc., and there are totally different but equally severe problems for seniors.

Back to the main thread: This is one of many reasons why big-city municipal politicians need to be non-idiots!

 

[kbdid]

Hah, I said this hundreds of pages back, but I'm telling you there is no way the Fords are involved with actual serious organized crime. They wouldn't touch them with a 10-metre pole.

All of their "friends" are low-level nobodies with more ties to correctional officers at Maplehurst than any real players.

I see a man-child in over his head, not some sort of mastermind who has us all fooled.

Brings us back to the spot where someone pointed out that MacIntyre was thrown in jail and Lisi appeared...their suppliers are low level guys.

 

[Pickles]

I don't hold with the more elaborate flights of speculation here, (but that's OK. It's the Internet). IMO, if charges come, they will be in relation to Lisi's extortion case. I can't see Rob involved in *anything* as sophisticated as dealer networks, money laundering etc. He's just not that bright....

No one has ever said Project Brazen's investigation was limited to Lisi and Rob Ford. Plus, there could be other investigations going on at the same time, say -- for example -- Project Moosehead or Project Wannabe.

 

[Angelunatic]

I think it is fishy that there are more lobbyists in Toronto under Ford, the garbage thing is pretty iffy too. Why would so many higher profile people (and less too) donate to his 2010 election? They knew he was an idiot, but he was their idiot who could do things for him, like the Porter air, getting votes for Harper...

 

[Kat_YYZ]

Serious, totally non-snarky question to those who know how the municipal gov't of Toronto operates: With a weak mayor system, how likely it that an unethical and crafty mayor could make some serious cash for self and others, related to (2) and (3) in Les's list?
...

I think it was Doug who said that in the bad old days of "gravy," the mayor gets councillors to support his projects by promising to give his support for their pet projects in their ward, which will help them get re-elected. While I loathe to give the Fords any credit, no one can deny that this does go on. I think they call it pork barrel politics in the U.S.

Now the Fords may have insisted that they don't do such backroom deals, and we know they don't really "play well with others" but who knows?? Maybe the falling-outs they had with some councillors who previously supported them (DMW, Ainslie, Mammo at times) have to do with promises made but not kept.