Will Tory face stronger opposition from the Left or a right-wing populist in the next election?

[King of Kensington]

I am not sure Ari Goldkind is as great of a candidate as people think. Doesn't he have a few skeletons in his closet?

I don't get Ari Goldkind. He ran as a "lefty" who was very critical of police power and got like 0.4% of the vote and now his focus is on defending racial profiling. He probably would have gotten more votes running as a pro-cop racist.

I'd rather see Desmond Cole take up the "Tooker Gomberg" mantle.

 

[King of Kensington]

I would much rather the Left try and tip the scales of council by focusing on the dead weight at council level. Jimmy K, Mamo, Palacio, Holyday, etc.

Agree the composition of council is more important than trying to resurrect the Miller coalition yet again.

 

[King of Kensington]

Desmond Cole vs. Ari Goldkind:

 

[Armour]

I don't get Ari Goldkind. He ran as a "lefty" who was very critical of police power and got like 0.4% of the vote and now his focus is on defending racial profiling. He probably would have gotten more votes running as a pro-cop racist.

I'd rather see Desmond Cole take up the "Tooker Gomberg" mantle.

Goldkind didn't run as a lefty. He's more middle of the road, from what I can see.

 

[adma]

I don't get Ari Goldkind. He ran as a "lefty" who was very critical of police power and got like 0.4% of the vote and now his focus is on defending racial profiling. He probably would have gotten more votes running as a pro-cop racist.

I'd rather see Desmond Cole take up the "Tooker Gomberg" mantle.

Or "Naheed Nenshi" mantle, as it were.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Agree the composition of council is more important than trying to resurrect the Miller coalition yet again.

Indeed. I would love it if some of the lost NDP candidates were pushed to run in council.

MMM is declaring herself as a two-term councilor and will be gone. One of the former East York NDPers can replace her.

 

[rbt]

Goldkind didn't run as a lefty. He's more middle of the road, from what I can see.

An unknown should be running for schoolboard trustee, not Mayor. The very fact he ran for Mayor with his political experience makes him unqualified for the job.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

An unknown should be running for schoolboard trustee, not Mayor. The very fact he ran for Mayor with his political experience makes him unqualified for the job.

Honestly I think competent staff can make up for whatever lack of political experience a mayoral candidate has. Politics at the municipal level is fairly trivial. I don't want to shut good candidates with good ideas out of office just because they don't have political history.

It's a different story at the provincial and federal level.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Honestly I think competent staff can make up for whatever lack of political experience a mayoral candidate has. Politics at the municipal level is fairly trivial. I don't want to shut good candidates with good ideas out of office just because they don't have political history.

It's a different story at the provincial and federal level.

I'd certainly vote for a candidate with no experience and good plans to improve our city over a candidate with a ton of experience and few plans. Only the latter dooms our city to mediocrity; we can't implement good ideas if a candidate is not willing to embrace them in the first place.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

You still need to look at a person's background experience. Some people's first political office can be mayor if and when appropriate.

I would back Jennifer Keesmaat's qualifications as mayor, for instance. She has the educated and informed knowledge relating to municipal matters and she has great knowledge and experience working within City Hall already. In many ways, Jennifer Keesmaat would be as (if not more) qualified as John Tory was for mayor. Tory too was an outsider to City Hall and had to learn the ropes early on in his term as well.

Ari Goldkind however? Not so much. Complete unknown, who might have had better luck in a council race if he really was committed to the idea of entering municipal politics.

 

[rbt]

You still need to look at a person's background experience. Some people's first political office can be mayor if and when appropriate.

I would back Jennifer Keesmaat's qualifications as mayor, for instance. She has the educated and informed knowledge relating to municipal matters and she has great knowledge and experience working within City Hall already. In many ways, Jennifer Keesmaat would be as (if not more) qualified as John Tory was for mayor. Tory too was an outsider to City Hall and had to learn the ropes early on in his term as well.

High-ranking civil servants qualify as having political experience. They're fully aware of what the job is and requires to achieve their goals.

 

[rbt]

Honestly I think competent staff can make up for whatever lack of political experience a mayoral candidate has. Politics at the municipal level is fairly trivial. I don't want to shut good candidates with good ideas out of office just because they don't have political history.

I'm not a fan of electing people with good ideas and doesn't have a clue how to actually execute them. It's a waste of time for everyone involved. In fact, he might be better as an advisor feeding his good ideas to someone who can actually achieve a result.

Execution requires knowledge on which battles to fight, when to compromise, and when to expend political capital. That's not a skill you pickup by watching on the side-lines, it's a skill you pickup by failing on the job. I also really doubt that someone who doesn't have that skill is capable of hiring people who do and will work on your behalf.

Adequate ideas implemented are far better than great ideas that struggle to get past the drawing board.

Ari should be staff or advisor to someone in higher office, not someone in higher office, until he learns the game. You're, of course, welcome to a different opinion but he can't count on my vote for mayor.

If he ran for councillor last term and handled himself well, I might have considered him for the next election as mayor.

 

[Towered]

I would strongly consider voting for Keesmaat if she were to run.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Id prefer her to tory, that's for sure

 

[ShonTron]

I wonder if Andrew Cash could finally break through in north Davenport (Ward 17) and unseat Cesar.

Of course, with unknown new ward boundaries, organizing in specific wards to unseat specific councillors is tough. My top targets would be Shiner, Palacio, Holland, Grimes, Moeser, Di Giorgio, Crisanti.

Good luck unseating Pasternak, DMW, Nunziata, Jimmy K or Mammo or whatever Ford runs in Ward 2. I'd also love to be rid of Perruzza and De Baeremaeker.