allabootmatt
Senior Member
The current debate on what's arguably Rob Ford's signature initiative, his transit plan, in the context of his recent budget defeat makes me wonder about the scenarios for his mayoralty going forward.
If he hasn't already, Ford will soon effectively lose the confidence of Council, in that he will be unable to implement even proposals he considers core to his mandate.
Council is not a parliamentary system, and this reality doesn't result in anything automatic or concrete. But it is unprecedented is post-amalgamation Toronto, and I'm not sure when, if ever, such a situation existed in the pre-1998 municipalities.
I don't think it's at all unrealistic that if the present course continues the Mayor will come under immense pressure to resign, and not just from his nemeses on the left.
Aside from the true believers like Doug Holyday and Sue-Ann Levy, the right--to say nothing of the centre--has to be watching the proceedings very nervously right now. A Ford flameout any more spectacular than what we are already experiencing could discredit small and large-c conservative municipal governance for a long time.
At what point will the centrist and centre-right power brokers who still hold considerable sway in the city decide they've seen enough? At what point will Ford's 'good buddy' Jim Flaherty and others like him quietly suggest the mayor step aside?
I know the Fords see themselves as insurgents with an independent power base, the mythical 'Ford Nation.' Leaving aside the question of whether that base ever existed, I'm just not convinced by the narrative that holds that the Fords owe nothing to any political machine.
Of course, Rob is nothing if not stubborn. Yet even he will surely buckle if enough pressure is applied by people he trusts.
I confess to not actually knowing what happens when a Toronto mayor resigns; does the deputy mayor take over? Is there a new election? Obviously whatever the next step is will inform consideration of the options.
On the whole, this seems to be a discussion worth having.
If he hasn't already, Ford will soon effectively lose the confidence of Council, in that he will be unable to implement even proposals he considers core to his mandate.
Council is not a parliamentary system, and this reality doesn't result in anything automatic or concrete. But it is unprecedented is post-amalgamation Toronto, and I'm not sure when, if ever, such a situation existed in the pre-1998 municipalities.
I don't think it's at all unrealistic that if the present course continues the Mayor will come under immense pressure to resign, and not just from his nemeses on the left.
Aside from the true believers like Doug Holyday and Sue-Ann Levy, the right--to say nothing of the centre--has to be watching the proceedings very nervously right now. A Ford flameout any more spectacular than what we are already experiencing could discredit small and large-c conservative municipal governance for a long time.
At what point will the centrist and centre-right power brokers who still hold considerable sway in the city decide they've seen enough? At what point will Ford's 'good buddy' Jim Flaherty and others like him quietly suggest the mayor step aside?
I know the Fords see themselves as insurgents with an independent power base, the mythical 'Ford Nation.' Leaving aside the question of whether that base ever existed, I'm just not convinced by the narrative that holds that the Fords owe nothing to any political machine.
Of course, Rob is nothing if not stubborn. Yet even he will surely buckle if enough pressure is applied by people he trusts.
I confess to not actually knowing what happens when a Toronto mayor resigns; does the deputy mayor take over? Is there a new election? Obviously whatever the next step is will inform consideration of the options.
On the whole, this seems to be a discussion worth having.