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ShonTron said:
If you want to talk about the election - in which Ford is running - please use the other thread.

At this point, the Rob Ford's Toronto thread is to talk about things like Project Traveler and Project Brazen II, stuff at council and the mayor's office (city government is still going on, at least right now). Let's talk Ford here, let's talk the election over there - but some overlap is okay - just try to keep it in mind.
Click to expand...

How about a common-sense ground rule? I would say all of these things are relevant to this thread, especially since Ford has largely abandoned City Hall and is now campaigning full-time:
  • Rob's interactions with other candidates, either in person or through the press
  • The Ford camp's tactics against other candidates
  • Other candidates' tactics against Ford

So simply talking about what the other candidates are up to, without a connection to Ford, is off limits. Fair enough?
 
SFO said:
How about a common-sense ground rule? I would say all of these things are relevant to this thread, especially since Ford has largely abandoned City Hall and is now campaigning full-time:
  • Rob's interactions with other candidates, either in person or through the press
  • The Ford camp's tactics against other candidates
  • Other candidates' tactics against Ford

So simply talking about what the other candidates are up to, without a connection to Ford, is off limits. Fair enough?
Click to expand...

Which I would say the vast majority of comments were already doing. I didn't see any outright election talk at all. And, ironically, these scolding mod forum etiquette rules are themselves veering us off topic.
 
SecretSquirrel said:
A few hopefully on-topic questions:
  • Has there been any word on Brazen II from TPS or OPP since the "oversight" thing?
  • Does anyone think it likely that the outgoing OPP Commissioner's retirement date will affect Brazen II proceedings? (I don't, but I'd be interested to hear the thoughts of others)
  • Assuming Ford is charged with conspiracy to extort, where is the trial likely to be? How would they select a jury which didn't have strong feelings and prior knowledge?
I saw Ford in person the other day at City Hall. He looked terrible (especially standing next to Jerry - the physical contrast is so pronounced), but maybe it was just the dreadful lighting in the rotunda (yeah right). People posed for photos with him, and then he left.
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Matt Galloway interviewed the new commish yesterday morning and they talked about Brazen 2. I didn't hear it all but I did hear him say that the OPP would review the case with the crown and decide if charges are to be laid. The optimist in me hopes this means there are grounds for charges. Podcast may be available.

On another note: I had a friend who worked at a senior's home/polling station. Area incumbents and candidates were always coming in to speak to the residents. Perhaps this is an established strategy? Seems to make sense to me. However, they would do evening "town hall" type events. Ford going door-to-door seems an inefficient use of time IMO.
 
Dubster said:
Which I would say the vast majority of comments were already doing. I didn't see any outright election talk at all. And, ironically, these scolding mod forum etiquette rules are themselves veering us off topic.
Click to expand...

I agree that the complaints so far have seemed a bit unfounded. As I keep suggesting, it's not reasonable to avoid election talk in regard to Ford when HIS sole focus is the election. I think it'd be good if we set up a baseline to nip this in the bud.
 
I'm with ShonTron on this. Some people here may be interested in discussing election strategy, all-candidates meetings, Ford press statements about other candidates, etc., etc. and there is a separate thread for that. The division proposed by ShonTron seems pretty clear and doable. This thread is already huge and -- even before the electioneering began -- prone to going off-thread as others have pointed out. Let's not add topics to it.

The only overlap I personally want to see is Rob Ford's statement that he is withdrawing from the mayoralty race.:cool:
 
DufferinMallrat said:
However, they would do evening "town hall" type events. Ford going door-to-door seems an inefficient use of time IMO.
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How many people show up at town hall type meetings? And those who do are often the "concerned citizen" types with tough questions, and possibly an axe to grind. The candidates are seated and can't run away. He certainly isn't the world's greatest orator.

Also, Rob seems to have a problem with punctuality. If he is late for a town hall meeting it will not go over well. Whereas, handing out fridge magnets he can do when in the mood.

Ford doesn't appear to like to sit and answer tough questions. He seems to prefer to be able to plow through reporters when the going gets tough. At a town hall, he would have to sit there and take it.

I think the building "walk throughs" with the fridge magnets ( or better yet, handing out crisp 20 dollar bills! ) asking about unit and pothole repairs is a safer strategy. It says, "I'm here to help you", while avoiding controversy.

That, and getting the "selfies" with the young "folks" out on social media.

Just my 2 cents. :)
 
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It's been a slow news week for Rob Ford. Any stories of him are relatively minor lately. It feels like the calm before the storm.
Now that every major news organization has withdrawn support for him, do you think they will talk about him less to minimize his propaganda and remaining Ford Nation support? An out of sight - out of mind strategy?

As Ford has become a Kardashian-like figure, articles about the Ford circus tend to monopolize the news to the detriment of any viable successor.
 
DufferinMallrat said:
Matt Galloway interviewed the new commish yesterday morning and they talked about Brazen 2. I didn't hear it all but I did hear him say that the OPP would review the case with the crown and decide if charges are to be laid. The optimist in me hopes this means there are grounds for charges. Podcast may be available.

On another note: I had a friend who worked at a senior's home/polling station. Area incumbents and candidates were always coming in to speak to the residents. Perhaps this is an established strategy? Seems to make sense to me. However, they would do evening "town hall" type events. Ford going door-to-door seems an inefficient use of time IMO.
Click to expand...

I keep hoping that it was passed along to the OPP for charges to be laid, however, a little part of me wonders if the opposite is happening. What if Blair couldn't make a case, and wanted OPP to agree and sign off? OMG, I don't even want to go there.
 
Pickles said:
I'm with ShonTron on this. Some people here may be interested in discussing election strategy, all-candidates meetings, Ford press statements about other candidates, etc., etc. and there is a separate thread for that. The division proposed by ShonTron seems pretty clear and doable. This thread is already huge and -- even before the electioneering began -- prone to going off-thread as others have pointed out. Let's not add topics to it.

The only overlap I personally want to see is Rob Ford's statement that he is withdrawing from the mayoralty race.:cool:
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OK, that's your preference. I suspect a lot of others feel differently.

Look, we're all here because we need to see Ford finally face some sort of comeuppance, right? But look at the reality of the situation, and what ShonTron is proposing we should talk about here: Ford has made himself irrelevant at City Hall, and the workings of city government are largely proceeding without his input (in a lot of ways it's not even right to call this "Mayor Rob Ford's Toronto" anymore); we don't get to know most of what's happening behind the scenes with the police and the Crown, and if Ford does finally face justice in the courts it will be literally YEARS from now (and some of us have lost faith that he will ever be truly nailed in a criminal way); right now, the election is the one place where he might some day soon suffer a clear downfall.

No one is guaranteeing an arrest, prosecution, conviction. Ford just keeps skating and no one has figured out how to push back or take him on. Voting him out is the catharsis we're hoping for, and we shouldn't talk about it?
 
casita said:
How many people show up at town hall type meetings? And those who do are often the "concerned citizen" types with tough questions, and possibly an axe to grind. The candidates are seated and can't run away. He certainly isn't the world's greatest orator.

Ford doesn't appear to like to sit and answer tough questions. He seems to prefer to be able to plow through reporters when the tough questions start coming. At a town hall, he would have to sit there and take it.
Click to expand...

You are probably right that the door-to-door visits play to Ford's comfort level.

Back to brazen 2: the question I often hear asked is, "Why didn't the cops stop Ford and see what was in the packages he was exchanging with Lisi?" Well, is it possible that the cops know what was in the packages and their goal was to witness these exchanges to corroborate some evidence that came to them another way? Perhaps there was payment for extortion (or worse) in the envelopes, which Lisi would filter to the appropriate person(s) using the dry cleaners as a front? What Lisi was giving back to him I assume was Ford's personal supply, but who knows.
 
DufferinMallrat said:
You are probably right that the door-to-door visits play to Ford's comfort level.

Back to brazen 2: the question I often hear asked is, "Why didn't the cops stop Ford and see what was in the packages he was exchanging with Lisi?"
Click to expand...

searches without probable cause are illegal and, in this case, would jeopardize the investigation.
 
DufferinMallrat said:
You are probably right that the door-to-door visits play to Ford's comfort level.

Back to brazen 2: the question I often hear asked is, "Why didn't the cops stop Ford and see what was in the packages he was exchanging with Lisi?" Well, is it possible that the cops know what was in the packages and their goal was to witness these exchanges to corroborate some evidence that came to them another way? Perhaps there was payment for extortion (or worse) in the envelopes, which Lisi would filter to the appropriate person(s) using the dry cleaners as a front? What Lisi was giving back to him I assume was Ford's personal supply, but who knows.
Click to expand...

I've always assumed TPS did manage to intercept one of the packages. IIRC from the ITO, they went into Lisi's vehicle and had cameras installed across from his house, so I can't imagine them not getting into at least one of the envelopes.
 
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