[W. K. Lis]

So what would the next mayor do to help the environment?

Do we want the next mayor to get rid of streetcars and light rail, get rid of bicycles, get rid of pedestrians? Or have a mayor that will help battle climate change by providing alternative means to get around other than the car?

 

[christiesplits]

Additionally, I think it is important to consider that the old Red Tory/Blue Grit machine, which still counts for a lot in Toronto, is completely appalled by Ford. These were the people who, to some extent, delivered Lastman and, in his second election, Miller.

Miller did win almost all of North Toronto, but I suspect most of the moneyed Red Tory crowd did go for Jane Pitfield.

Partisan lines are pretty fuzzy in municipal politics and that crowd will likely back GS in a big way.

There is a lot of antipathy towards George Smitherman out there among the Red Tory crowd, and heck, even among his former caucus and party. Which makes me fear that if he campaigns as the "only candidate" able to beat Rob Ford, his personality and past record will not be attractive enough to the centre-right, or even the left, who also despise Smitherman. I would much rather see Sarah Thomson or Adam Vaughan as the "compromise" anti-Ford candidate.

But as the performance of a notional Miller run in that Post poll demonstrates the progressive bloc in Toronto is very large. We didn't turn into Alabama overnight, and the candidate that finds a way to acknowledge concerns about 'waste' within in the context of a positive, moderate, progressive and urbanist agenda will probably win easily.

Given that recent National Post poll, I would not be surprised if you see Joe Pantalone in his role as deputy mayor tag along to a number of Miller's big victory lap announcements as he tries to cement his legacy. Heck, even 1/3 of Ford supporters supposedly approve the direction city hall is currently taking. I recently heard Sarah Thomson praise Miller for his green record. Maybe Miller isn't political poison after all?

An edditional thought edited in: I have been surprised by the extent to which even high-information voters of my acquaintance don't really know anything about Ford. To city hall-watchers his stunts and flaws are well-known, but the vast majority of people pay very little attention to the ins and outs of the clamshell.

I heard David Crombie speak last week and he made a perfect point. Just how many people are following the race over summer? I think things will start picking up in a few weeks when people have finally caught a debate or two and read the swarm of pamphlets at their door step. Hopefully this shift in interest from name recognition to policy platforms will reflect in next month's polls.

 

[gweed123]

Yes, very unfortunate. Everyone should of course be equal, but we must find a way to make some people more equal than others.

Maybe have a skill-testing question before you can vote? Like an entry into a sweepstakes contest or something, haha. If you aren't educated enough to do a 6th grade math question, you aren't educated enough to make an informed voting decision. Obviously exceptions could be granted, for those with mental disabilities, etc.

 

[spider]

Christopher Hume in the Toronto Star parses the latest poll results.

Interestingly, despite Mayor David Miller’s efforts to make Toronto the greenest city in North America, the environment was a non-starter; no Ford supporters identified it as a major issue, and only 1 percent of Smitherman’s felt otherwise.

Green fades to gray

 

[nfitz]

Generally on any project I've worked on, local residents only start talking about "the environment" when it could be an obstacle to the project they oppose. Any complaints I see tend to be driven by either the impact (real or perceived) on their own real-estate values, or property damage and noise.

 

[GraphicMatt]

The public at large tends to only care about the environment when the economy is doing well. Kind of sad, but I do believe in 10 or 20 years the environmental policies and the work in priority neighbourhoods will be Miller's legacy.

 

[gweed123]

The public at large tends to only care about the environment when the economy is doing well. Kind of sad, but I do believe in 10 or 20 years the environmental policies and the work in priority neighbourhoods will be Miller's legacy.

I think his greatest legacy will be the change in development patterns. It started under Lastman, but it was really under Miller that this irrational fear of tall towers was put to rest. It was not Miller himself who spear-headed this policy, but it was done under him none the less. This idea of "we can build 40+ storeys, and it's ok" would have been unheard of in some places of Toronto even 15-20 years ago.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I think his greatest legacy will be the change in development patterns. It started under Lastman, but it was really under Miller that this irrational fear of tall towers was put to rest. It was not Miller himself who spear-headed this policy, but it was done under him none the less. This idea of "we can build 40+ storeys, and it's ok" would have been unheard of in some places of Toronto even 15-20 years ago.

Finally, some councilors have learned that heavy transit subways requires heavy density around the stations to support them. Some councilors, not all.

 

[allabootmatt]

Warren Kinsella is joining the Rossi campaign, says the Star. So that's two high-profile organisers coming aboard in the last little while. Rocco could certainly use the help, although as always early polls really are meaningless.

What I wonder is which of the two current frontrunners has most to lose from a revived Rossi campaign. It would seem to me that the tone of his efforts so far suggests a play for the disaffected suburban vote coveted by Ford; on the other hand RR's Liberal ties are of course very strong, and he and Smitherman are divvying up Lib strategists. If he gets some traction on the right it might open up space for Smitherman to move left, I suppose--I don't imagine a more obviously progressive-sounding Smitherman would have much trouble displacing Pantalone.

 

[GraphicMatt]

The Ignatieff camp of the Federal Libs are completely bizarre. If anything, backing Rossi so much is going to hurt the party in its Toronto ridings come next Federal election. It also continues to make me wonder what the hell Big-L Liberals stand for, because it sounds like they'll just adopt whatever policies might get them elected at any given time.

 

[Glen]

Finally, some councilors have learned that heavy transit subways requires heavy density around the stations to support them. Some councilors, not all.

High density what? Commercial or residential?

 

[GraphicMatt]

Commercial, of course, and Toronto is set to build lots of it due to an ideal tax structure that promotes new business growth!

Have you heard otherwise?

 

[js97]

Call Miller what you will, but there is nothing 'green' about NDP Miller policies as a whole.

yes you'll implement a few 'green' policies like the 5 cent paper bag tax, etc, but they'll turn around and ship Argonite sand from the carrbiean to build a 'beach' along the water front. What's the carbon footprint on that tanker, or the sand they had to dig up from a natural 'pit'?

Spend 55 million dollars ripping up Bloor street sidewalks so they can cover it with quarried Granite? (How many barrels of Tar Sands Oil did it require to ship all that stuff?

 

[GraphicMatt]

While neither of those things are particularly green, I guess, they don't subvert his enviornmental policies which focused on measured, long-term improvements like waste diversion (and, yes, there's still lots of room for improvement here), LEED standard housing, green roofs, etc, etc.

Besides, the first was a WaterfronToronto project and the second was the work of the Yorkville BIA.

 

[King of Kensington]

It also continues to make me wonder what the hell Big-L Liberals stand for, because it sounds like they'll just adopt whatever policies might get them elected at any given time.

Isn't that their raison d'etre?