[Greg Banks]

100 years ago perhaps. Who in the 1990s would join a white-only social club in the first place?

It speaks tons about character. As does supporting the likes of Rob Ford and Randy Hillier. You just walk away.

Do you suggest same of George Cohon and Bernie Shouldice?

When was Tory ever on the same page as Hillier? I would suggest never....

Stop with the dead horse routine re Ford...who else would Tory have contributed to or are you suggesting he not have contributed at all to anyone in 2010?

 

[PinkLucy]

Just heard Doug saying he shops at WalMart. I guess that's where Karla's Prada purse came from.

 

[pattycakes]

Just heard Doug saying he shops at WalMart. I guess that's where Karla's Prada purse came from.

 

[typezed]

but really ... who'd join a white-only club in the first place?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/teeing-up-for-snob-appeal/article772172/?page=all

Rosedale Golf Club

The players: Retired TD Bank CEOs Charlie Baillie and Dick Thomson, Royal Bank CEO Gord Nixon, former McDonald's CEO George Cohon, hernia doctor Bernie Shouldice. Former CTV head Doug Bassett has a clubhouse membership for entertaining.

The ticket: The initiation fee is $60,000, with annual dues (in 2002) of $3,500. And don't forget the GST.

The cliché: You are a mining baron, you run a bank.

The cachet: Puts a new spin on the term "waiting list." From the day you get a member to vouch for you to the day you become a senior member, count on a 12-year wait. A moment's drive from your Rosedale mansion, which is nice. A beautiful, green oasis in the heart of the city, blends into the neighbourhood seamlessly. How old-school is it? Women members (they call them ladies) have restricted tee times; men get first dibs. Holes don't have tee markers. If you have to ask where the next hole is, you don't belong.

You're repeating Doug Ford's dirty politics.

 

[Greg Banks]

Just heard Doug saying he shops at WalMart. I guess that's where Karla's Prada purse came from.

I was under the impression it came from Dr Flea....gotta keep the purchasing local donchano....

 

[sno man]

100 years ago perhaps. Who in the 1990s would join a white-only social club in the first place?

It speaks tons about character. As does supporting the likes of Rob Ford and Randy Hillier. You just walk away.

100 years ago they would have not allowed Catholics (to even work there) either. Pretty much the top end of each religion had their own club. (see Oakdale, eg)
The rarer the air the slower social change is. Rosedale would be *the* (mostly) WASP club to join to be in the same room with the (mostly) Wasp Business elite in Toronto. (which is still a very large chunk of the business elite in Toronto. Bay St. is still pretty monochromatic.) And being in the same room at the club is handy in the boardroom the next day.
Rosedale is not a club you get to join by having coin, all the clubs would start with that as a given. There is a long process from being first nominated by an existing member (I'm pretty sure his father and grandfather were both members as well) then a thorough vetting taking many years through to full membership even for Legacies. That is not how change happens quickly. It is what it is, I'm not apologizing for it, merely trying give some background to explain why one would not "just walk away".

 

[VTB]

It would be nice to crack 100,000 posts before we shut this down.

At the rate the posts are coming along, that's a given.

 

[casita]

Rob will still be mayor after election day. It's not over until his chain of office goes to John Tory (or whatever's supposed to happen in Nov).

If FoFam does not get back in, will they depart City hall with quiet dignity?

If FoFam does get back in, I am certain Doug will make Rob his Deputy.

I was thinking of this scene from "Reservoir Dogs". About how those who did not vote for Doug may feel the day after:

"Let me tell you a joke: Five guys sitting in a bull pen, San Quentin. Wondering how the f*ck they got there. What'd we do wrong? What should we've done? What didn't we do? It's your fault, my fault, his fault. All that bullsh!t."

 

[nfitz]

Do you suggest same of George Cohon and Bernie Shouldice?

Well, I confess ignorance to who Shouldice is actually. Though if a banned minority tries to join the organization banning them ... hmm ... presumably their membership postdates the exclusion of such groups - though has Rosedale yet admitted anyone who is non-white? I certainly don't have any information that they have.

What truly shocked me, is that Cohen was initially denied membership BECAUSE he was Jewish, and the club was 100% white and non-Jewish at the time. I'm completely shocked that such racism still existed in Toronto in the late 1990s, and that John Tory would have joined such a club in the first place (doesn't John Tory's decision to join this club pre-date the decision to let Jews into the club by 2 decades?)

When was Tory ever on the same page as Hillier? I would suggest never....

He wasn't on the same page, but Tory had his opportunity and either remove Hillier as a Conservative candidate, or denounce him. And yet he did neither and stayed in the system and put up with him. I don't suggest for a second that Tory was on the same page ... however if he had concerns about Hillier, he didn't publicly state them.

...who else would Tory have contributed to or are you suggesting he not have contributed at all to anyone in 2010?

If he was as centrist as everyone claimed, he could have instead contributed to Rossi - a very right-wing Liberal. That he would have considered Ford acceptable despite all the issues we knew about him in 2010, simply because he was a Conservative - instead of considering a Liberal, is evidence of what I've been pointing out ... Tory is not the centrist that many here are painting him.

You're repeating Doug Ford's dirty politics.

Not sure how. Simply because Ford is what he is ... doesn't mean what he's saying about Tory is factually wrong.

I know that John Tory's history is troubling to those who like to see John Tory as a centrist ... and while he's an infinite improvement ... he's still a right-wing politician with a troubling past. Fortunately he seems to be of shallow convictions about policy, and does genuinely seem to want to do the right thing, and I expect he mostly do what City staff tell him is the right thing to do. But I really question his leadership skills.

 

[typezed]

Yeah---he's a prick and an outrageous liar, but he's okay, really.

Didn't say he's okay. Said it is probably overboard to say he's someone who has been unable to cope as a functioning adult. None of us know him personally. Early on the story was that Gord Perks was good for hanging in the smoking area with him.

As for how he would have turned out without the family money, how would any of us had turned out without the particular circumstances in which we were raised or the people who took us under their wing along the way? Doug's siblings grew up with family money, and they more clearly have difficulties finding a stable life for themselves.

 

[Videodrome]

Sue-Ann Levy @SueAnnLevy
@BautistaBomb @joe_warmington I was running for charity this morning. And you? I know I know. 4 u charity begins at home.

SAL replied to me on Twitter! Of course, she totally deflected from what I said.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

OK, but w/o reading his platform but assuming it pushes right of centre solutions that housing advocates also espouse, his solutions would lose him NIMBY right wing votes (properly license rooming houses on my street? Never!) and all left wing votes not already lost (dismantle the horrible bureaucracy of TCHC and sell off the buildings piecemeal to properly vetted private landlords? Never!)

A housing debate does not win Tory one single, solitary vote, and might lose him thousands.

People, respectfully, don't "assume" - *read* the platforms of the three leading candidates! Don't go by headlines, bluster, news snippets or attack ads - know what each of the candidate's platforms are and if you know more - like some of the *real* history of the candidates (most of us here do), that's all the better. Wiki is helpful there. It takes all of ten minutes for the Mayoral candidates, Google each one and read. Well, skip Dug. Know your Councillors and Trustees too, be informed voters. I don't mean to sound so harsh or in attack mode here, but we're only 8 days out and this is the information age!

 

[riffraff]

So do I... and to be kind, he would be fighting for a fair wage to survive like a lot of people.

To be realistic, they would be the Bassos.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

She's no Warmington but SAL is pretty terrible too. What a puff piece! She spends the first half talking about how much people love Doug and dispenses crucial factoids like that he is down a few pounds. Is there anything the Fords love to talk about more than being down a few pounds?

I don't even know what this paragraph means:
But at our lunch, what he said or didn’t say doesn’t seem to matter to the more than a dozen people who come up to our table to wish him well. I even hear a week later that his appearance at United Bakery has made the rounds of the Jewish community.

So....several days after her lunch she heard that Jews who weren't even there heard that he had been there. And so what? That's proof people weren't offended? Is this her argument? I'm Jewish, I didn't hear about it from "the community" and I was offended, for whatever that's worth.

More than a dozen people! More than a DOZEN! Wowie. The people love Doug. All 13-15 of them.
And I know it's a casual lunch but who lets this slide unopposed:

As for whether there would be co-mayors, if both he and Rob are elected and Rob is healthy, Doug says his brother has his expertise, “customer service excellence” while he would focus on the “financial side” of things.

And SAL, ever the journalist, can't let him leave without one last crucial question, which might as well be paraphrased as, "Doug, could you please repeat your campaign slogan for our readers so I can write that you said it?" I'm surprised she didn't ask, "If you had one question for Mr. Tory, would it be, perhaps, what's the story?"

(Oh, and if I wanna be really picky I'll point out there is no such place as the "United Bakery" she refers to. It's United Bakers or even "UB," if you're part of "the Jewish community.")

 

[Jude]

"How old-school is it? Women members (they call them ladies) have restricted tee times; men get first dibs."

Of course women-as-second-class-citizens continues at the Rosedale Golf Club, which is entirely reasonable, it seems.

Good to know. Excellent rebuttal to the concerns about racism.