picard102
Senior Member
Saw Chow at Dundas West Fest on Sunday, and then came home to her flyers at everyone's door, and on everyone's car.
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I have no doubt that Olivia, as a cyclist herself, understands the value of cycling infrastructure, and I'm glad that she has tweeted in support of Vision Zero and infrastructure improvements. I get that she's a frontrunner who's not trying to ruffle any feathers or give centrists any excuses not to vote for her, but I can't help comparing her public statements on traffic safety to Matlow's commitments, which come with specifics and real dollar amounts. Supporting Vision Zero is good, but Tory also claimed to support it and look where that got us. Honestly I'm not thrilled about any of the candidates and I'm still not sure who to vote for.Her first tweet lists "We can improve cycling infrastructure" as a way of reducing congestion
You don't want to end up like Paul in Bradford's basement.I had to laugh last week. A call came in, indentified as "Likely Fraud". I didn't answer. Later checked my voice mail and it was a robo-call from Brad Bradford. Likely Fraud, indeed.
If you compare the bike infrastructure we had when Rob Ford was mayor and at the end of Tory's nine years (2014-2023) as mayor the improvements are remarkable. Tory was a big biz, car-scentric, fiscal conservative, so yes it could have been much better, but we have a good foundation now that Chow can build upon.Supporting Vision Zero is good, but Tory also claimed to support it and look where that got us.
It seems rather outrageous to me that she is cruising for coronation without laying out much of a detailed vision for the city.Has Olivia Chow said anything about road safety or Vision Zero during her campaign? I just had a look through her platform and I can't find anything. That seems like a pretty big omission. I see some stuff about transit, but nothing about safe cycling infrastructure, nothing about redesigning dangerous streets and intersections, and nothing about fixing traffic enforcement. I was planning to vote for her, but now I'm wondering whether I should.
And that is politics! That won’t change, ever.It seems rather outrageous to me that she is cruising for coronation without laying out much of a detailed vision for the city.
I can only hope she does build upon that foundation, and boldly, if she's elected.If you compare the bike infrastructure we had when Rob Ford was mayor and at the end of Tory's nine years (2014-2023) as mayor the improvements are remarkable. Tory was a big biz, car-scentric, fiscal conservative, so yes it could have been much better, but we have a good foundation now that Chow can build upon.
I thought the strong mayor powers only apply in specific areas the province has identified as a priority (such as building housing). In effect, I think it is just Ford putting his thumb on the scale and giving himself influence over council in an indirect way.And that is politics! That won’t change, ever.
That aside, with the strong mayor system I expect the political game in Toronto to change after this by election, to a small or large extent. I’ll watch with interest.
Any candidate can claim that they’d not use strong powers, but any of them would. And will. That’s politics.
That's politics in Canada now. Everyone saw that Doug and the OPC could run without proper plans or policy and now everyone is going to sink to that level.It seems rather outrageous to me that she is cruising for coronation without laying out much of a detailed vision for the city.
I thought so as well, but again low information voters are the goal here so everyone is acting like the Mayor can do whatever they like, but promises they won't, despite knowing they can't.I thought the strong mayor powers only apply in specific areas the province has identified as a priority (such as building housing).
I expect Ford will rescind/alter those strong mayor powers in order to dilute Chow. Those powers were intended for Tory to be able to do Ford's bidding, not so that Chow can now thwart him.That aside, with the strong mayor system I expect the political game in Toronto to change after this by election, to a small or large extent.
I am sure he might WANT TO but the powers came through a Bill in the Legislature so can, I assume, only be changed by another one and they just adjourned until Sept 25. Passing a Bill, even if you have a large majority, also takes time.I expect Ford will rescind/alter those strong mayor powers in order to dilute Chow. Those powers were intended for Tory to be able to do Ford's bidding, not so that Chow can now thwart him.
Nice! It's not the first time Ford has put himself in a corner, like almost causing a war with every union in the province/country over school support staff wages and the Notwithstanding Clause, or seemingly twigging your developer buddies on what greenbelt land to buy. What a dummy.I am sure he might WANT TO but the powers came through a Bill in the Legislature so can, I assume, only be changed by another one and they just adjourned until Sept 25. Passing a Bill, even if you have a large majority, also takes time.
My partner is cautious about the possibility of Olivia Chow poking the petulant Ford bear. As for myself, I hope that Chow does exactly that — not to stick it to Ford but rather to send a strong political message in Queens Park’s direction. How Doug would/will react is a good question. Regardless of that, the message must be clear.I thought the strong mayor powers only apply in specific areas the province has identified as a priority (such as building housing). In effect, I think it is just Ford putting his thumb on the scale and giving himself influence over council in an indirect way.