[maudlin]

Why not transfer that money to the DRL which is needed more and go back to LRT for Scarborough?

The transfer, if the feds and province agree, would probably bring in about as much at Stintz's "plan" to sell or lease Hydro -- something over a billion, or about 10% of conservative estimates. So it would be useful but nowhere near enough.

I can wait a while to see if Chow offers stronger support with a realistic funding plan. We do badly need a DRL, but Tory and Stintz aren't making me think they can actually deliver.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

I have a feeling that Chow's support for the LRT is to appeal to the centrist vote. The whole politicization of the Scarborough Transit debate and its media coverage has left a mark on many Torontonians, as evident by the support of the LRT on the Toronto subreddit page.


Anyway, David Soknacki wants to remove tight regulation on food carts and have city-wide regulations take precedent over those set by BIAs when it comes to food.

 

[JasonParis]

The lack of enthusiasm for the DRL really put her down a notch on my list. Still keeping an open mind, as said above she has a 'radical vision' for the city and it shows.

Me too, but...

It's my home at least that Chow's strategy is (relatively) quick, realistic, somewhat cheap fixes for the suburbs as the DRL will always be seen as a "downtown project" to electors (even though it actually helps the suburbs more). And then post-election, propose something more solid for the DRL. And really, lukewarm support for the DRL is really no better than supporting it without coming-up with funding. It's sad though that these games must be played and that we can't have candidates simply propose the city we want/need and vote on that.

Compared to Ford's plan (and sort of Stintz and Tory's too) of "subways everywhere, but money nowhere," this is much more realistic.

 

[the lemur]

That doesn't mean the Layton-Chow's were in a co-op for slippery reasons. I'm sure they believe they were supporting a better path. Maybe Chow could redirect the conversation about her past arrangement to the housing disconnect in Toronto today, where massive amounts of new units are being constructed but housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable, even for people with good jobs. Maybe frame the conversation not in terms of homeless in the streets but grown children who can't afford to move out of the house and get on with their lives, while the market produces a surplus of penthouses begging for multi-millionaire overseas investors.

There's a few ways she could spin that, in my view. One is the 'trying to be part of the solution' approach you mention. Another could be about wanting to be among the people whose interests need to be represented, as opposed to people whose interested are almost always looked out for.

The key to it is that these criticisms of her and Layton for being in some kind of housing that is facilitated for people with (much) lower incomes, while earning salaries as elected officials, boil down to: 'That's not where they should be living' and/or 'They should be paying more'. None of them ever really outline what would have been appropriate accommodation for them or an appropriate level of expenditure.

However, it's not as difficult to defend wanting to be among the citizens you represent as it is to claim that you represent them while living in circumstances that are very dissimilar to theirs and probably unattainable for them.

That's where Stintz' assertion that she was 'like you' fell down: through the immediacy of social media, people quickly reminded her that she was very likely not like them at all ... that they didn't actually have a car and/or a mortgage and/or kids and even if they did, their priorities weren't necessarily the same. (I'm not sure what soccer games had to do with anything, but I'm pretty sure you can find a diversity of political views among soccer parents, so not really a good hook for political sympathies).

I don't know where John Tory lives but I imagine it's not a familiar environment to most Torontonians aside from those inclined to vote for him nonetheless. He didn't go the 'I am like you' route because he probably realizes that he isn't and that people don't want to hear that from him. If Chow lived in that kind of area, she'd be considered out of touch.

 

[the lemur]

To be expected...

goldsbie 11:43am via Twitter for Android
Sun News asks if Chow will do anything about the "illegal massage parlours that are involved in human trafficking."

Well, you can't really go wrong by being opposed to human trafficking, right? That's a start. She could suggest that it's a problem that needs to be dealt with, but leave out - for now - any suggestion whether that would mean legalizing/regulating the massage parlours or eradicating them.

 

[maudlin]

She did answer the question, according to Twitter, although I can't find the quote right now.

 

[Torontovibe]

I really don't like how this campaign has started out. By hiring Kouvalis, Tory shows he's willing to endorse the same slimeball tactics that Ford used in the last election. That makes him a slimeball in my books, just one that doesn't smoke crack. By lying about Chow's former living arrangements Stintz is showing she's no more honest than Ford. Just happens that this liar doesn't smoke crack. I hope that Chow and Soknaki can climb above the steaming pile of crap and offer up something worth voting for, otherwise this is going to be a very depressing 7-8 months.

Yep, that's exactly how I feel too. Once I heard that Tory hired Kouvalis, knowing what a sleaze-bag he is, I lost respect for Tory. This is just another bad decision by a man who has a history of making bad decisions. Tory is not a leader, that's for sure.

 

[BurlOak]

Compared to Ford's plan (and sort of Stintz and Tory's too) of "subways everywhere, but money nowhere," this is much more realistic.

The one thing we have learned in the past 3 to 6 years is that Toronto's transit troubles have little to do with money. Look at how much money is on the table now.

If planned properly, we could have had an Eglinton/SRT Metro from Malvern to Mount Dennis, plus a DRL from Spadina to Thorncliffe, or perhaps the Sheppard subway from Downsview to STC.
If planned properly, we would not have wasted all that money on LRT plans when the Provincial Government would just switch to a subway extension and cause all the time, money and effort to be wasted.

 

[Ramako]

If Chow's apparently lukewarm support of the DRL is merely to avoid being labelled as a tax and spender, I don't think that's any better. I want someone to raise taxes to pay for public goods like the DRL, and if she's willing to but doesn't want to admit it for political expediency, then she's just as much as liar as any of the other candidates. As I voter, I hate being patronized.

 

[VTB]

Why not transfer that money to the DRL which is needed more and go back to LRT for Scarborough?

Exactly!

 

[hper]

I really don't like how this campaign has started out. By hiring Kouvalis, Tory shows he's willing to endorse the same slimeball tactics that Ford used in the last election. That makes him a slimeball in my books, just one that doesn't smoke crack.

Absolutely agree. Any one who would attach themselves to Kouvalis becomes party to a civic axis of evil. One wonders when '@Queen'sQuayKevin' or '@LeasideLeslie' or some such will begin to pollute the twitter. That initial attack site is a mere soupçon of what is surely gonna be a feast of snakes. Too bad most voters aren't aware of NK, because his mere presence should be enough to hammer Tory with.

 

[Tulse]

If planned properly, we would not have wasted all that money on LRT plans when the Provincial Government would just switch to a subway extension and cause all the time, money and effort to be wasted.

Um, the what now? It wasn't the province that stalled and hemmed and hawed and flip-flopped back and forth -- it was the city.

Whatever the mess is regarding Scarborough transit, it's not the Province's fault.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The province may have funding for the DRL by october anyway.

She is the only one to be discussing TTC policy beyond DRL, DRL, DRL, which may very well be a moot point by the time October comes.

 

[jml]

Olivia Chow's full page describes LRTs and subways as "underground" and "overground". Smart messaging.

http://www.oliviachow.ca/transit_full

 

[King of Kensington]

Judging by the complete tone-deafness of her social media presence so far, I don't know at what point she'll actually realize she has no chance. Alternatively, she may just be running to get her name out there before she tries something else, like running as a provincial Liberal maybe.

I'm pretty sure Karen Stintz is a card-carrying PC.