[GraphicMatt]

The problem with being a realistic candidate who says he must raise property taxes is that there will always be an opponent who tells you that the city doesn't need to raise taxes and can just get by through finding efficiencies. And a lot of people will believe that opponent.

 

[PinkLucy]

And a lot of people won't vote for someone who says they are going to raise taxes. They prefer to vote for people who say they won't raise taxes and then get ticked off when that person is elected and discovers that they do indeed need to raise taxes!

 

[W. K. Lis]

I hope Giambrone is not somewhere south playing golf. Too many available weapons for his colleague/friend/girl friend/partner/wife.

 

[js97]

To address just the most glaring issue with your post, the city spends about $70 million on shelters and services for the homeless. According to the CBC "estimates of the number of homeless in Toronto range from 60,000 to 70,000. But advocates for the homeless say those numbers are low because they are based on shelter use and don't take into account those who live in parks or encampments, such as Tent City."

your article is from 2004?
perhaps a review of city finances might be in order.
http://www.toronto.ca/budget2009

That being said, 60k is a little high no? 2 % of the population?


Unfortunately, realism doesn't get people elected. Platitudes and soundbytes do!

example:

Rossi says he'll review some of the Transit city lines to see feasability and funding - resulted in bad PR
Giambrone says Transit city stays - Good PR

I for one am for having a subway network as comprehensive as New york or Paris, but at what cost are people willing to pay for that network?

What is the percentage of 'middle class' in NYC and Paris vs the affluent and those in public housing?

both great cities to visit... but not affordable for the average joe?

 

[SimonP]

your article is from 2004?
perhaps a review of city finances might be in order.
http://www.toronto.ca/budget2009

That being said, 60k is a little high no? 2 % of the population?


Unfortunately, realism doesn't get people elected. Platitudes and soundbytes do!

You just said the city has 3,000 homeless, and you are now criticizing people for lack of realism? Getting the exact number of homeless is very hard. The concrete minimum is the 35,000 or so different people who sign in at city shelters each year. There is also a large group who will not use shelters and are hard to count.

Also please check the budget. The $300 million you are quoting covers the entire city housing budget, of which shelters and services to the homeless is only a small part.

 

[nfitz]

I'm still trying to understand how the word 'progressive' became synomomous with poor fiscal planning and incompetence in project managing?

I'm sure there are issues, but I can't imagine anyone here would argue that any other mayor or TTC Chair has done a better job in the last few years.

Let's put some perspective on this.

 

[MetroMan]

At risk of turning this thread into a mini TMZ...

I've been told that Adam and Sarah are leaving to Paris right now. I'm not entirely surprised that she's sticking by Adam, although by no means are their troubles worked out.

 

[GraphicMatt]

I bet a romantic Valentine's Day long weekend in Paris sounded like an awesome idea at the time. Probably will be awkward now, though.

 

[PinkLucy]

On the plus side, he won't be bothered by all those pesky text messages from his campaign manager.

 

[nfitz]

Giambrone is a Church/Wellesley regular, so the "bi" rumours make sense.

How does this comment have anything to do with this thread. Perhaps we should be discussing the candidates and potential candidates, rather than discussing the alleged sexuality of a former candidate.

It's not like it would have been an election issue in itself; such issues haven't hurt other politicians in the race.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

js:

And yes, there was some downloading of services, but people forget that the city uploaded some services too - Education being one of them.

Education was not a service paid out of the City of Toronto budget. In fact, city residents pay out more to the province for the education portion of the property tax than they get back in funding for school boards.

re: AG in Paris - I hope he remembers he got a TTC Meeting next week and brought his work along. If he think it is too much to handle in light of his relationship troubles, it's time for him to resign as chair.

AoD

 

[Blovertis]

It's not like it would have been an election issue in itself; such issues haven't hurt other politicians in the race.

It might have become an issue if there were indications that his "live-in" relationship with Ms. McQuarrie was a sham designed to disguise his queer inclinations. His logic might have been that Smitherman already had the gay vote (if such a thing exists) sewn up, so he was better off identifying as purely straight.

 

[MetroMan]

The Star is asking a very valid question: With Giambrone's campaign over and his election machine out of a job, who do the Miller supporters and campaign managers get behind?

These people aren't running to support Pantalone so who will they choose?

Will Miller enter the race after all? Will Jack Layton drop out of federal politics to run his city? I don't see anybody currently on City council that can step up and become the new torch bearer...

 

[PinkLucy]

I think Layton needs to deal with his health issues before declaring candidacy.

 

[toqanda]

Hello, this is my first post here, and I've been following this thread for a while now. Additionally I have been reading the thread "If you could change one thing...".

I am currently considering running for Mayor, and the reading here has been very informative.

I'd have to say that regardless of what happens with Adam now, we need to look forward at the candidates available, and continue on reviewing the platforms that have been presented thus far. It's easy to get sidetracked when such a derailment occurs, but I assure everyone here right now is being "heard", and I looking forward to every post.