[Dilla]

The people with the good jobs downtown don't live in Scarborough and North Etobicoke either.

And the commercial buildings pay a hell of a lot more tax than the residental ones, so if the taxes they paid stayed in the neighbourhood, well, we'd have two gold plated subways per block.

 

[GenerationW]

The people with the good jobs downtown don't live in Scarborough and North Etobicoke either.

None of them live in Scarborough? That's a good one.

I bet even a few live in north Etobicoke.

 

[CowboyLogic]

Cowboylogic:



I am not aware that any city councillors were able to demand meetings with city staff to deal with what are basically issues of with direct personal interest. Staff time is also a city resource (putting a side the issue of the ethics of the act for a moment). So on what basis are you making the factual claim that he has a "better track record"? Plus, what of the activity of the mayor's office staff - the budget of which is significantly higher than that of the per year allowance for the councillors.

Ford does have a better track record. His 2013 office budget is $1.9 million, which is down $700,000 from Miller, and he's reduced the number of staff as well. His expenses last year were below that of 25 councilor's: http://app.toronto.ca/tcer_web/Controller?action=1&selectedYear=2012. Not to mention that he has reduced councilor's expense budgets (although I believe they were bumped back up last year).

Really, by almost any measure, Ford has a good track record on city resources. In fact, he's been accused in the past of having too few staff and spending too little, so I'm surprised now he's being accused of the opposite.

The bit about technicality was funny because he basically got off on the basis of one as well. Anyways, you are a new member - I am curious as to when you had a chance to "long maintained" your stance on the forum.

The whole thing was a technicality to begin with. I've been maintaining this in my personal life and conversations elsewhere.

 

[Dilla]

Ford does have a better track record. His 2013 office budget is $1.9 million, which is down $700,000 from Miller, and he's reduced the number of staff as well.

Yeah, but most of Ford's staff were actually football coaches, which mitigates a lot of their usefulness, now matter how few of them there are (were, now that they've all quit).


This still hasn't been addressed. Remember the repairs to Don Bosco's parking lot?

I am not aware that any city councillors were able to demand meetings with city staff to deal with what are basically issues of with direct personal interest. Staff time is also a city resource (putting a side the issue of the ethics of the act for a moment).

 

[typezed]

Support for workable alternatives to the car as transportation? That has nothing to do with supporting diversity and support of cultural institutions, and one of Ford's major talking points is a the subway for Scarborough.

Support for public transportation, walkability and bike lanes are among the urban values that don't seem to appeal to carcentric Ford voters. Like support for diversity, culture and heritage. Ford isn't building any subways to Scarborough. He's just using it as an issue to delay other projects.

It's strange that you say that suburbia doesn't have one monolithic opinion, but then you turn around to try to label the Ford supporters as almost one monolithic type of population. In fact, I think that is where Ford's opponents underestimated him.

Those who are Ford backers share support of a rather extreme political figure. I gave three segments of the population who may disproportionately support him. The only commonality between them that I mentioned was that they support Ford and his agenda. In saying opinion or lifestyle isn't monolithic in the suburbs, I'm saying that not everyone there is responsible for the election of Ford or think in some stereotypical sheltered way simply because they live in the suburbs. But it is worth trying to determine who it is that does support him and their expectations from government. Especially when people continue to support him after he has failed so magnificently in his office and appears to be involved with criminals.

Toronto has a pretty centrist view, with good representation of all colours of the political spectrum. The true lefty NDP type leftists are actually the minority.

I detest Ford and can't understand his appeal to anyone, but I consider myself a centrist. The likes of Perks, Fletcher and Davis probably contribute more to the city than say Kelly, Mammolitti, D. Ford and Crisanti, but I think we could do better without the extremes on both ends. The fondness for the NDP in much of old Toronto probably helped the rise of Ford.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Cowboylogic:

Ford does have a better track record. His 2013 office budget is $1.9 million, which is down $700,000 from Miller, and he's reduced the number of staff as well. His expenses last year were below that of 25 councilor's: http://app.toronto.ca/tcer_web/Contr...ectedYear=2012. Not to mention that he has reduced councilor's expense budgets (although I believe they were bumped back up last year).

Really, by almost any measure, Ford has a good track record on city resources. In fact, he's been accused in the past of having too few staff and spending too little, so I'm surprised now he's being accused of the opposite.

You missed my point - having a lower budget is different from how that money is spent. One can spend less and still spend it on inappropriately. I for one don't recall that Miller's staff were hired by their football connections, much less doing work with/using city resources for work with absolutely no bearing on the official duties of the office. That's bar none a waste (and I haven't even started on the appropriateness of hiring someone on the basis of casual connections vs. merit).

Beyond that, regarding the office expense disclosure - the whole point isn't the reduction of cost but transparency on how it was spent. Would you really have us believe that he spent absolutely nothing on anything as a mayor? And if the expenditure isn't official, how is the city supposed to have a record of what money went to what sources? There are very good reasons why costs associated with city business should be spent with funds that can be traced publically.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

This still hasn't been addressed. Remember the repairs to Don Bosco's parking lot?

Actually the Deco 50 year bash.

AoD

 

[Ex-Montreal Girl]

Really...considering the overwhelming disproportionate amount of revenue the city receives from "downtown", it's beyond insulting to listen to that kind of comment. Downtown is the engine of Toronto's economy. Even more so since the manufacturing jobs of the former boroughs have been evaporating.

If tax dollars were spent where they were collected, every downtown street would have gold-plated subways and the former boroughs would have donkey carts.

Even the TTC ran a profit before they had to accommodate the boroughs.

I'm all for equal services throughout the city, but this animosity towards the very goose that lays the golden eggs from the ingrates is annoying.

Oh how I would LOVE to see road tolls. Some kind of electronic mechanism on your plates that would ping automatically the instant you entered the core bounded by, say, the borders of old Toronto. This would apply to all cars and trucks. Business and taxis could get special chips or tax credits or whatever.

It kills me that my relative in Oakville gets to pollute my city and drive in on roads subsidized by my tax dollars and then return home to his 40 foot lot to BBQ all weekend after shopping for steaks at some environment-destroying power centre where all the revenues are sucked out of the country.

We're subsidizing new infrastructure to these places while downtown Toronto's crumbles.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Ford does have a better track record. His 2013 office budget is $1.9 million, which is down $700,000 from Miller, and he's reduced the number of staff as well. His expenses last year were below that of 25 councilor's: http://app.toronto.ca/tcer_web/Controller?action=1&selectedYear=2012. Not to mention that he has reduced councilor's expense budgets (although I believe they were bumped back up last year).

His budget better be down $700,000 a year. The guy only works 2 hours a day.

 

[JWBF]

His budget better be down $700,000 a year. The guy only works 2 hours a day.

To be fair, we do force his to go to all these dreaded council meetings, thankfully he can still check the sports scores.

 

[canmark]

The Mayor Ford song: http://blogs.canoe.ca/goodgravy/general/the-mayor-rob-ford-song/

 

[Voltz]

Ford does have a better track record. His 2013 office budget is $1.9 million, which is down $700,000 from Miller, and he's reduced the number of staff as well. His expenses last year were below that of 25 councilor's: http://app.toronto.ca/tcer_web/Controller?action=1&selectedYear=2012. Not to mention that he has reduced councilor's expense budgets (although I believe they were bumped back up last year).

Really, by almost any measure, Ford has a good track record on city resources. In fact, he's been accused in the past of having too few staff and spending too little, so I'm surprised now he's being accused of the opposite.





The whole thing was a technicality to begin with. I've been maintaining this in my personal life and conversations elsewhere.

Ford's screwing around with transit alone will end up costing the city many times more than he has actually saved, if his plan hadn't been stopped then he would have blown billions.

and this is from Mr. respect for taxpayers

 

[Palma]

If his budget is down what about the 14% increase in pay fire fighters got. He contracted out garbage yet my taxes did oto go down so how is he saving me the taxpayer money? Plus he himself said not one garbage collector lost their job (got employed elsewhere) so again how has that saved money?

 

[jje1000]

Ford does have a better track record. His 2013 office budget is $1.9 million, which is down $700,000 from Miller, and he's reduced the number of staff as well. His expenses last year were below that of 25 councilor's: http://app.toronto.ca/tcer_web/Controller?action=1&selectedYear=2012. Not to mention that he has reduced councilor's expense budgets (although I believe they were bumped back up last year).

Really, by almost any measure, Ford has a good track record on city resources. In fact, he's been accused in the past of having too few staff and spending too little, so I'm surprised now he's being accused of the opposite.

You see the trees but not the forest. A well-staffed mayor's office is crucial to making sure that the behind-the-scenes working and political scheming goes well and the right message is crafted. Look at Ford's track record and you can see that he lacks the ability to whip votes and craft an effective message (outside his rants) at the moment. And even with his reduced budget he's still wasting money on football coaches.

With the exception of smearing others (most who deserve it in my books) and taking credit where none is due (what's new in politics?), I don't have a problem with any of these.

The only law I'm aware Ford has skirted was the COI case, and I've long maintained that entire case was nonsense and they were nailing him on a technicality. If this forum feels any different, then they're in the minority - most of the Ford haters I know (lets just say I don't live in the suburbs) were with him on that one. City resources for a personal hobby? Please, Ford has a better track record than the majority of councilors when it comes to spending city money and using city resources.

Nice to know where you stand.

 

[Peepers]

The Mayor Ford song: http://blogs.canoe.ca/goodgravy/general/the-mayor-rob-ford-song/

You can listen to it here : http://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/04/ford-fest-heads-east-to-scarborough

It will be performed tomorrow live at Ford Fest.

Here are the lyrics:

Mayor Ford (The World Will Remember)

(c) 2013 Jenny James, Brian Mann, Paul Chalmers, Sonia Watkins

Verse 1
Mayor Ford the tax payer’s Lord
Toronto’s own, our votes he won
He’s big and grand
On wasting people’s money he takes a stand

Verse 2
He’s the money crusader
The excess cost eliminator
A big heart that always cares
A man who’s fair and keeps things square

Chorus
Mayor Ford, cost cowboy and rollback viceroy
Toronto’s defender, economic mender
Blatant attacks won’t make him collapse
Cause Mayor Ford will bounce right back
Mayor Ford, the world will remember

Verse 3
We’ve seen tax and spend heroes before
Their fancy speeches, oh what a bore
They had their thrills and now we’re forced to pay their bills
That’s why we’re sore

Verse 4
All the crazy accusations
Won’t break apart the Ford Nation
He’s the man who perseveres
His political mandate will adhere

Chorus
Mayor Ford, cost cowboy and rollback viceroy
Toronto’s defender, economic mender
Blatant attacks won’t make him collapse
Cause Mayor Ford will bounce right back
Mayor Ford, the world will remember

Guitar Solo…

Ending Chorus
Mayor Ford, cost cowboy and rollback viceroy
Toronto’s defender, economic mender
Blatant attacks won’t make him collapse
Cause Mayor Ford will bounce right back
Mayor Ford, the world will remember