Hey all
I'm mostly just looking for more information, but why do a lot of people (particularly on this site) refer to Ford as though he's the worst possible thing that could happen to Toronto? I know a fair amount about Smitherman and Rossi, but on the surface it just seems like Ford is the right-wing candidate who has shot his mouth off (albeit, stupidly) a few times.
Fiscally speaking, he's the only one who talks about scrapping transit city (which I personally agree with, except Eglinton, since the majority of the lines will save a few minutes max vs the express bus routes, and a dedicated HOV bus lane could probably accomplish the same thing. But I digress...). Admittedly, his statement that people want more subways and saying that the private sector would pay for them with air rights above stations makes no sense, but it seems to me like he's be the candidate most willing to take on the unions which would probably be necessary to free up more cash for transit construction.
Anyway, I don't know much about him, just hoping some of you could shed a little light on this.
You’re not going to get a straightforward, unbiased, objective opinion here on UT (much less from the liberal-skewed MSM); so there’s no point in you even asking. It’s better to listen to what actual Rob Ford supporters have to say about him and why:
[video=youtube;9nTJjNZ_HDM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nTJjNZ_HDM[/video]
[video=youtube;DScAahEoz_0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DScAahEoz_0[/video]
[video=youtube;ziHWOBbLmfY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziHWOBbLmfY[/video]
Looks to me like Mr. Ford appeals to a broad range of races, ages, genders and sexual orientations in spite of his gaffs.
Basically, he’s the antithesis of everything City Hall stands for right now (rampant tax increases, unnecessary garbage strikes, fees for owning a vehicle in Toronto, a crumbling and costly transit system, political favouritism, corruption with Councillors’ spending habits... boondoggles run by the mob. And when they do initiate something, the work will never be completed and the cost will rival the provincial deficit).
Ford's voice, along with Nuziata and a few other decent councillors have been muzzled by the creation of Miller's executive committee (a gift from McGuinty). The agenda was set by the chosen few and many issues did not even make it to the floor for a full council vote. Councillor raises last year is a good example of the muzzle. Full council was not given the chance to turn it down. On the issues that did hit the floor,
robford.ca will give you a flavour of where everyone stood. Also:
http://www.robford.ca/expensedetails.asp