TonyV
Senior Member
I flew out to Halifax to see some relatives on the weekend. Mention you're a Torontonian in a bar there, and they ask you "what's up with that Ford guy?". Really, you can't escape it. It happened about four times in two days.
The most pointed question came from a nice old guy who didn't have so much bias as the rest -- "why would such a successful city elect such a negative type?" or words to that effect. I directed the guy to the Globe and Mail weekend column (Gee) about the urban-suburban divide. I let the guy read the article on my iphone and he understood the issues.
So the stinky Ford thing, as one Haligonian put it, is everywhere you go, but don't feel too bad, fellow Torontonians, we're not the only demographic that has elected a whacko. Out east, they're actually more concerned about how Duffy has disappointed the maritime provinces. True, Duffy wasn't elected, but an elected PM put Duffy into the senate, no?
I digress. Back to the stinky Ford thing. In an ideal world, Toronto would learn something from this:
--For "Outer 416ers" -- negativity has its price. At the end of the day you get nothing for electing a goof like Ford to office.
--For "Inner 416ers" -- outer suburb alienation has its price too, ignore the issue at your own risk -- own the whole city for heaven's sake.
-- For potential mayoral candidates -- you don't run for office because you just might win, but rather because you have specific and cohesive ideas in shaping the future of this city, and because you have ways and means to implement your ideas, and because you understand the value of consensus rather than division.
The most pointed question came from a nice old guy who didn't have so much bias as the rest -- "why would such a successful city elect such a negative type?" or words to that effect. I directed the guy to the Globe and Mail weekend column (Gee) about the urban-suburban divide. I let the guy read the article on my iphone and he understood the issues.
So the stinky Ford thing, as one Haligonian put it, is everywhere you go, but don't feel too bad, fellow Torontonians, we're not the only demographic that has elected a whacko. Out east, they're actually more concerned about how Duffy has disappointed the maritime provinces. True, Duffy wasn't elected, but an elected PM put Duffy into the senate, no?
I digress. Back to the stinky Ford thing. In an ideal world, Toronto would learn something from this:
--For "Outer 416ers" -- negativity has its price. At the end of the day you get nothing for electing a goof like Ford to office.
--For "Inner 416ers" -- outer suburb alienation has its price too, ignore the issue at your own risk -- own the whole city for heaven's sake.
-- For potential mayoral candidates -- you don't run for office because you just might win, but rather because you have specific and cohesive ideas in shaping the future of this city, and because you have ways and means to implement your ideas, and because you understand the value of consensus rather than division.