Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

[pbi]

One of those former mayors had a wife who was a kleptomaniac. It took a lot of work to keep that out of the papers. He was the one who never tipped in restaurants.

Ford was such a mess and so terrible at corruption he was like a whiff of honesty despite himself. Ford was such a train wreck I miss him already.

The difference was, in my opinion, that Mad Mel for all his weirdness was much more a true "Mayor of All The People" than Ford is or probably ever could be. Mel was a very experienced and crafty municipal politician who earned his spurs as mayor of the City of North York before he became Mayor of T.O., but he never practiced the sort of divisive politics Ford revels in. RoFo gets his traction by setting one part of the city against another.

And while Mel was probably not a saint, I don't ever recall the endless string of bad behaviours or the extremely questionable associations with the criminal world that we have seen with Ford.

 

[George Wallace]

Nemo....How can you miss the Schoolyard Bully?

 

[Nemo888]

He is a living political satire ridiculing everything that is wrong with politics. If he were a character in a movie he would be too over the top to be believable.

 

[Brad Sallows]

>I don't ever recall the endless string of bad behaviours or the extremely questionable associations with the criminal world that we have seen with Ford.

That's because most of those with character flaws and shady associations manage to conceal it.  I suppose everyone prefers to be hoodwinked by jackass/criminal politicians indefinitely rather than to have it right out in the open where it can be measured and voted for or against.

 

[mariomike]

His endless antics and huge range of bad behaviours would have gotten a lesser city employee sacked ages ago. 

They would tolerate almost anything, unless you became a public disgrace.

 

[DBA]

>I don't ever recall the endless string of bad behaviours or the extremely questionable associations with the criminal world that we have seen with Ford.

That's because most of those with character flaws and shady associations manage to conceal it.  I suppose everyone prefers to be hoodwinked by jackass/criminal politicians indefinitely rather than to have it right out in the open where it can be measured and voted for or against.

The Ford story also seems to resonate more with some than for example the computer leasing scandal. It feels more super market checkout lane fodder than real news which might reveal more about those who can't get enough of it than anything else. The Star did report on the leasing scandal at the time and did a lot of work to reveal it as well, which would be expected of a local paper. Sometimes when I get annoyed with all the Ford coverage I have to remind myself of that.

 

[pbi]

The Ford story also seems to resonate more with some than for example the computer leasing scandal. It feels more super market checkout lane fodder than real news which might reveal more about those who can't get enough of it than anything else. The Star did report on the leasing scandal at the time and did a lot of work to reveal it as well, which would be expected of a local paper. Sometimes when I get annoyed with all the Ford coverage I have to remind myself of that.

If you read the book "Crazy Town" you'll see that the Star did not start out as Ford's enemy. It is also worth noting that Ford's behaviour eventually even turned the Sun (that bastion of populism) against him. That must have taken some doing.

In the end, newspapers and media outlets are there to question, grill and embarass politicians, just as they have been since the first news sheet was cranked off a Gutenberg press. We are foolish and historically blind if we think that media has not been partisan throughout history. Right wing outlets attack the lefty politicians, and vice versa. The Left and the Right are always screaming about the media being controlled by their enemies. Both distrust the "MSM", which suggests to me that the "MSM" is more or less doing its job.

Just as it should be, IMHO.

Ford and his brother decided early on that the way to deal with something or somebody that doesn't agree with them is to demonize it and then hammer on those talking points no matter what. Are they different from other politicians in that way? No, just more obvious and inept. But using the argument "they do it too" is what a five-year old says. The media, the Chief of Police, City Council:  attack what you fear in the hopes of neutralizing it.

The problem for me is that this isn't the kind of leadership that a large, complex city needs. Toronto desperately needs a Mayor of All The People, before its real and impending problems, problems that can't be solved by paroting bumper-sticker ideas but require thoughtful analysis, drag the city down.

I just don't know where this person will come from.

 

[The_Falcon]

The problem for me is that this isn't the kind of leadership that a large, complex city needs. Toronto desperately needs a Mayor of All The People, before its real and impending problems, problems that can't be solved by paroting bumper-sticker ideas but require thoughtful analysis, drag the city down.

I just don't know where this person will come from.

Toronto needs to coalesce into a full city, before a true Mayor for all, can emerge.  Whether it's MSM, politicians, blogs (like blogTO, GridTo), etc, when people refer to "Toronto" They generally mean downtown and sometimes Yonge Street (within Avenue on the West and Mt. Pleasant on the East) up to somewhere roughly between Eglinton and Lawerence.  The indie/free "news papers" you see all over the city (Grid and Now) cater to the downtown/trendy area urban leftist hipsters.  Toronto Life, same geographic area but more upscale in social status.  The North York, York, Etobicoke, Scarborough (East York is the exception), rarely get any love or attention.

A good first step would be if the lifestyle media outlets (like Toronto Life, and the popular blogs) started broadening their scope outside of the highrise jungle South of Bloor.  Of course no one can force them to do this, they would have to take the initiative on that one.  But it would be good first step that, to broach that divide between the "downtown elite" and the "suburban neaderthals''.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Look at this infographic:

Toronto, however it is defined, is an enormous and enormously complex place. Scarborough or North York, alone, have, almost, the population of New Brunswick; combined they are bigger, in population than Saskatchewan. But there is a growing inequality. Look at the flow of income: as the central area remains as a constant the suburbs have become less and less rich, relative to it (less yellow (middle income) and more orange (relatively low income).

Yet, oddly enough, it appears, to me, that the suburbs are growing more and more conservative while the more affluent centre remains left leaning ~ "silk stocking socialists" or "limousine liberals" (think of Jack Layton and Olivia Chow) predominating. Now, I'm not sure the conservatives in the suburbs are automatic Conservatives, but they appear to want less 'active' government.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

In the end, newspapers and media outlets are there to question, grill and embarass politicians, just as they have been since the first news sheet was cranked off a Gutenberg press. We are foolish and historically blind if we think that media has not been partisan throughout history. Right wing outlets attack the lefty politicians, and vice versa. The Left and the Right are always screaming about the media being controlled by their enemies. Both distrust the "MSM", which suggests to me that the "MSM" is more or less doing its job.

Just as it should be, IMHO.

Then they are not 'newspapers', they are 'opinion papers'.

'Newspapers' and media outlets that report what's going on, have morphed, to our detriment.

People used to get the news, bare facts and in depth reporting, then made informed (for the most part) decisions on the facts that they had been presented.

Nowadays, sheeple sit back and eat, but don't digest, the pap and pabulum that the MSM spoon feeds them. They are lazy and the MSM knows it.

The opinion reporting end of the MSMs reflect the wishes and biases of their owners and supporters.

They are not an information outlet. They are multi billion dollar manipulating machines.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Toronto, however it is defined, is an enormous and enormously complex place. Scarborough or North York, alone, have, almost, the population of New Brunswick; combined they are bigger, in population than Saskatchewan. But there is a growing inequality. Look at the flow of income: as the central area remains as a constant the suburbs have become less and less rich, relative to it (less yellow (middle income) and more orange (relatively low income).

Yet, oddly enough, it appears, to me, that the suburbs are growing more and more conservative while the more affluent centre remains left leaning ~ "silk stocking socialists" or "limousine liberals" (think of Jack Layton and Olivia Chow) predominating. Now, I'm not sure the conservatives in the suburbs are automatic Conservatives, but they appear to want less 'active' government.

Perhaps it's time to bring back the old saw. I know we've been over it a few times before, but I believe with the right discussions and buy in it might be a feasible solution.

Very few citizens of Ontario, outside of Toronto, feel any kind of connection to the place. In fact, many of those people hate Toronto.

If the populations are more than some provinces, perhaps it's time for them to become their own City State, somewhat like the Vatican City within Rome and Italy.

Just a thought.

 

[The_Falcon]

Perhaps it's time to bring back the old saw. I know we've been over it a few times before, but I believe with the right discussions and buy in it might be a feasible solution.

Very few citizens of Ontario, outside of Toronto, feel any kind of connection to the place. In fact, many of those people hate Toronto.

If the populations are more than some provinces, perhaps it's time for them to become their own City State, somewhat like the Vatican City within Rome and Italy.

Just a thought.

Mayor Mel was only half joking about that idea.  I wonder if all the provinces would agree to ammend the constitution and let Toronto become an autonomous province.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Mayor Mel was only half joking about that idea.  I wonder if all the provinces would agree to ammend the constitution and let Toronto become an autonomous province.

Unfortunately, I think the vote would come down as it normally does in Ontario. Toronto has their opinion and the rest of the province has another.

Outside of Toronto, I think, most people see TO as nothing more than a place that dictates their lives and a place where their hard earned tax dollars go to die. Toronto is the medieval kingdom, where the emperor lives with his court, advisors and citizens to make his fantasy world a reality. The rest of the province are the peasants scrapping out an existence but having to send their grain and livestock to the king's city to make it function and uphold the appearance of prosperity.

 

[mariomike]

The North York, York, Etobicoke, Scarborough (East York is the exception), rarely get any love or attention.

But, they are, again with the exception of East York, where almost all the mayors come from.

I served under six. One was from Etobicoke, two from North York, one from Scarborough, one from York and one from Toronto.

That's not including Mayor Ford from Etobicoke, who was elected after I retired. 

 

[pbi]

Toronto needs to coalesce into a full city, before a true Mayor for all, can emerge.

True, and it is worth remembering that this is a process that is still going on. And I guess it's also true that all great cities are made up of neighbourhoods, districts, boroughs, etc each with its own history and personality. Winnipeg was very much like that when I lived there: created from 13 cities and municipalities, with over 100 named areas. I lived in Fort Garry: it was different from Wolseley or Silver Heights or The Kildonans. Toronto: even more so.

What I'm saying is that the city needs leadership that understands this and brings it along, instead of  using the politics of division/exclusion. Everybody in the city limits of T.O pays taxes-they all deserve to be considered. In fact, they all demand to be considered. Ford, as much as he disgusts me, realized that a chunk of the city felt "left out", and he went after that. He only scored a minor plurality (about 40% of the 52% of the electorate who actually cast ballots, IIRC), but he knew how to get it.

What Toronto desperately needs is somebody who can get beyond a plurality that equates to less than  half of half of the voting list. Somebody that both the latte-sippers and the backyard BBQ gangs can at least support, if not love all the time. Running huge cities will not cheaper, or easier. Problems will not respond to bumper-sticker thinking: they need people with the wisdom, maturity and intellectual horsepower to solve them, without being dictators or detached egg-heads with no personality.

That person, I hope, is out there. I don't live in the GTA anymore, but I still have a soft spot for that city. People love to hate it, but there's a lot good about it.

 

[palacio]

Mayoral candidates who espouse center-right ideology are considered by the whole Left community together with the Communist Party of Canada as potential threats. They will do whatever in their power to unseat an uncooperative candidate. If it takes to employ Cuban active measures or Cuban dirty tricks campaign to vilify and destroy the reputation of the candidate, these will surely be employed. Mayor David Miller who is an active socialist who coddled tens of thousands of agents of Cuban active measures in TTC and City Hall has never been victimized nor vilified because he toes the socialist line. So what else is new?! Good is good, evil is evil. How can evil be good, how can good be evil? I myself was a victim. Fired from a company riddled with Cuban agents of influence employing active measures. ;D

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Mayoral candidates who espouse center-right ideology are considered by the whole Left community together with the Communist Party of Canada as potential threats. They will do whatever in their power to unseat an uncooperative candidate. If it takes to employ Cuban active measures or Cuban dirty tricks campaign to vilify and destroy the reputation of the candidate, these will surely be employed. Mayor David Miller who is an active socialist who coddled tens of thousands of agents of Cuban active measures in TTC and City Hall has never been victimized nor vilified because he toes the socialist line. So what else is new?! Good is good, evil is evil. How can evil be good, how can good be evil? I myself was a victim. Fired from a company riddled with Cuban agents of influence employing active measures. ;D

Cuban agents?

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Busconductor...

 

[pbi]

Mayoral candidates who espouse center-right ideology are considered by the whole Left community together with the Communist Party of Canada as potential threats. They will do whatever in their power to unseat an uncooperative candidate. If it takes to employ Cuban active measures or Cuban dirty tricks campaign to vilify and destroy the reputation of the candidate, these will surely be employed. Mayor David Miller who is an active socialist who coddled tens of thousands of agents of Cuban active measures in TTC and City Hall has never been victimized nor vilified because he toes the socialist line. So what else is new?! Good is good, evil is evil. How can evil be good, how can good be evil? I myself was a victim. Fired from a company riddled with Cuban agents of influence employing active measures. ;D

Hey palacio!  I am totally with you on this Cuban thing.  I'm a victim of the Cuban socialists in the TTC, too. I get it. 

But, you know, evil can be good. That is called "Good evil". Good can be evil. That is called "evil good". Evil that is really evil is called "evil evil". Good that is really good is called a nice old single-malt "Good good".

I believe Whole Wheat Shreddies were once referred to as "Good good". So that is proof that I'm right.

 

[palacio]

They are 'good' in a way that they (Communist Party of Canada) worry about the poor and 'allegedly exploited' even if they pay their children's nannies 2 dollars an hour. They are 'good' in a way that God divided us between 'rich' and 'poor' and that according to them 'God should be cursed' for allowing people 'to be poor'. So 'evil is good', 'good is evil'. And when they make an issue that "God is dead" it meant that 'they have killed God'. ;D ;D