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While I'm not really a huge fan of Wente in general, I think her latest column sums it up perfectly.

Plastic bags, the new Puritan cause

The residents of Toronto have every reason to stand proud today. Our elected representatives have no idea how to solve our traffic problems or fix our waterfront. But no one could be more committed to saving the planet. The other day, in a landmark vote, they decided to abolish the evil scourge of plastic bags.

Actually, they didn’t really plan to do this. It was a spontaneous act of revenge against Mayor Rob Ford, who wanted to get rid of the five-cent plastic-bag tax that was imposed three years ago. Lots of city councillors detest the Mayor, and vice-versa. So instead of voting to abolish the plastic-bag tax, they voted to abolish plastic bags instead. It’s really impossible to appreciate the lunacy of Toronto’s politics unless you live here.
 
I'm both surprised and delighted that our Council + Mayor system is working so well. It's impressive to watch City Council taking over and running the city. Some of Toronto's most progressive moves have been made while Ford is Mayor -- in spite of him of course. City Council approval and endorsement of a city wide LRT system -- something that Miller himself never got approved, just accepted. Now one of the biggest environmental threats -- the plastic bag -- has been banned?

At the end of Ford's term, his own supporters are going to see how incompetent he is for letting these measures through. Why would they want him in for another 4 years if he can't what they want done? If another Conservative shows up on the ballot, I can imagine Ford losing a lot of his supporters to them.

Now all we need is a competitor. What are they waiting for? Don't they know that the campaign has already begun for 2014?? :rolleyes:
 
While I'm not really a huge fan of Wente in general, I think her latest column sums it up perfectly.

Plastic bags, the new Puritan cause

The residents of Toronto have every reason to stand proud today. Our elected representatives have no idea how to solve our traffic problems or fix our waterfront. But no one could be more committed to saving the planet. The other day, in a landmark vote, they decided to abolish the evil scourge of plastic bags.

Actually, they didn’t really plan to do this. It was a spontaneous act of revenge against Mayor Rob Ford, who wanted to get rid of the five-cent plastic-bag tax that was imposed three years ago. Lots of city councillors detest the Mayor, and vice-versa. So instead of voting to abolish the plastic-bag tax, they voted to abolish plastic bags instead. It’s really impossible to appreciate the lunacy of Toronto’s politics unless you live here.

I know some people *really* love this "council just does things because they hate the mayor" narrative, but it doesn't hold up at all. David Shiner was the guy who pushed this through and he's on the mayor's team.
 
I know some people *really* love this "council just does things because they hate the mayor" narrative, but it doesn't hold up at all. David Shiner was the guy who pushed this through and he's on the mayor's team.

Agree. Council doesn't do things because they hate the mayor. They do things because it's their job, to collectively come to consensus on issues presented to them. If anything, the mayor isn't doing his job. Part of which is to build support for his ideas on how to make the city a better place for everyone. Could it be, that the reason why hundreds of thousands of taxpayers didn't come down to city hall and scream about the bag ban decision, like he suggested they should, is because most citizens support the ban? Or at least don't think it's an important issue. The mayor is so out of touch, councillors are right to ignore him.
 
What has he accomplished? Vehicle Reregistration Tax cancelled, Transit City cancelled, graffiti program up and running (a failure of epic proportions), Jarvis bike lanes eliminated... I must be missing some other things. Once a few Councillors grew a backbone and began to listen to their constituents instead of "thumbs down" Mammoliti, to a great extent they've pretty much taken control of the agenda. At this point Ford is in campaign mode instead of trying to build bridges which is what he should be doing out of respect for "the taxpayer".
 
People like to credit Ford for his financial policies, but I find that fairly dubious. The city's fiscal policy is still pretty much the same as it was under Miller - Ford has just been more willing to cut service at the TTC.

Overall, it's hard to point to anything he's done that has improved the city's financial position.
 
People like to credit Ford for his financial policies, but I find that fairly dubious. The city's fiscal policy is still pretty much the same as it was under Miller - Ford has just been more willing to cut service at the TTC.

Overall, it's hard to point to anything he's done that has improved the city's financial position.

Ford rolled over to the police union, then put together a pretty tough contract with the city workers. So, 1/2 on the union contracts, but his supporters like the way that split went down, so they give him credit for that. I'd agree with you -- I don't see it as a big change from Miller.
 
Any of Ford's actual accomplishments would be small potatoes for a normal mayor. Because of the Ford Circus, with all the high-contrast sturm-und-drang the two of them are always banging up, the actual accomplisments get lost in the gale.

Just off the top of my head:

-A campaign that unequivocally stated: A free Sheppard Subway, no tax increases and no cutting of city services. Also: that city hall was awash, in waste, gravy and billions of mis-spent dollars.

Then, once elected:

-Ford has Don Cherry rant from the floor of council about 'lefties and kooks', setting the stage for a city to divide against itself. “This is what you’ll be facing, Rob, with these left-wing pinkos — they scrape the bottom of the barrel.”
-Declaring Transit City dead, improperly - but gumming up the works. Causing a year of delay and incurring cancellation fees to the tune of $65 million.
-Threatens to privatize naming of subway stops, and put ads in parks.
-Repealing the Vehicle Registration Tax, raises property taxes.
-Cuts to the library system: the urban affairs library closed. "We're not cutting libraries", Ford says.
-Turns away paid-for public health nurses from the province. Three months later, he accepts nurses.
-He votes against using provincial money to help people be screened for syphilis and HIV.
-Liquidates Citizen's advisory committees
-Snubs Gay Pride celebrations and related events for the first year, and moves to cancel funding. Shows up only for a flag raising his second year.
-Moves for the removal of existing bikes lanes on Jarvis without consultation to the Councillor of that Ward, Kristyn Wong-Tam...projected cost $200,000.
-Hires KPMG to make a report on the city's finances and where cuts might be available to be made. Report deemed unnecessary. Cost: $3 million
-Holds multiple marathon all-nighters to hear citizens opinions: citizens overwhelmingly against his proposed cuts. Although citizens have their allotted time to speak cut almost in half, many are not heard.
-Ford wants to cut $20 million in services, which includes affordable housing, subsidized child care, youth programming in priority centres, keeping arenas open weekdays, pools and homeless shelters, closing the high park and riverdale farms and selling the Toronto Zoo. Most of this is overturned by council. Etobicoke continues to receive mechanical leaf removal, much to the chagrin of areas that lost it.
-TTC routes are reduced.
- 2012: Ford declares a surplus, due to his fiscal management, then declares the city bankrupt the same day.

-Rob Ford publicly calls Waterfront Toronto a 'boondoggle', threatening existing waterfront plans. Hines Developers, with stakes in a mammoth waterfront development already planned, needs reassurances. Waterfront dedicated transit ends up delayed, which future development is contingent on.
-Doug Ford holds secret, behind closed door meetings to have a planner and renderer cook up a scheme for portlands revitalization without council's approval. The renderer is paid, but without record. This is revealed months later to have been going on for some time.
-Doug Ford, with a chair on Build Toronto's board, and Rob announce they want control of the Portlands returned to the city, and that they have developers lined up: mall developer Westfield Group. Their friend, Mario Cortellucci, a developer who holds prime waterfront real estate in the Hearn Generating Station was a contributor to their campaign. Again, it looks like the groundwork for move has been laid since at least election time.
Control of the waterfront is seized by council, but Dough Ford later manages to start an 'acceleration' review for the area.
When a casino is proposed for Toronto, the Fords support it - along with the idea of having it in the Portlands.
-"Woodbine Live" - a glitzy mega-resort and gambling attraction which of which Rob Ford beamed, 'I know how to deal with CEOs of huge corporations - that's how I landed the largest development in Toronto's history.'. Approved in 2007, as of 2012, it was just scrubland and weeds.

-Ford en route to court for accusing a city-approved vendor of having done consultation "behind closed doors". Outcome still pending.
-Ford en route to court in September for having "violated Ontario’s Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, when he spoke about and voted on a matter in which he had a direct financial interest." (Quote from Goldsbie, National Post). Possible punishment includes removal from office and suspension of running again for politics for seven years. Outcome still pending.
-Ford fights an audit of his campaign expenses, primarily over $77,000 in campaign expenses paid by Ford’s family company, Doug Ford Holdings Inc. Provincial law says candidates can only borrow from banks or other lending institutions, and cannot take corporate donations.
A judge says the audit of Ford can proceed.

-The police are called to the Ford house in January, regarding a matter about a break-in and an in-law.
-Ford calls 911 in fear after "Marg Delahuntey" shows up in his driveway. Police later say he did not verbally abuse 911 operators.
-The Ford household calls 911 over a domestic disturbance regarding his wife and children.
-Ford calls 911 after a Star reporter is seen in a public park behind Ford's property. Ford physically threatens him and accuses him of being a peeping tom. Police investigate and clear the reporter. The reporter declines to press charges. Ford begins to threaten other media outlets with being shut out of updates from his office if a) that reporter is present and b) they don't toe the line.


-Ford caught illegally talking on his cellphone while driving. Twice. The first time, he's accused of flipping the finger at giving a woman and his daughter.
-Ford declares a "war" on graffiti, and promptly has a city-sponsored mural erased. Business owners are uneasy about being billed by the city for graffiti they don't care about.

The Fords start a Sunday Radio Show. When a homophobic writer from the Sun makes ghastly jokes about George Smitherman and AIDS, the Fords chuckle in the backround.
Rob uses the show to push for 'Subways, Subways, Subways!'. Although Ford campaigns using actual disinformation he loses....-The entire subway file.
It is revealed as the vote is lost that Ford had suppressed a current, valid report of the situation done by the TTC. Instead of making it public, Ford had it hidden, and doesn't-quite-pay Gordon Chong to prepare a pro-subway report.
On losing the transit file, Ford fires Gary Webster - an esteemed civil servant - without cause. Then he proceeds to announce he will be switching into campaign mode for the next election, on the public dime, and on public time.
-On their weekly on-air talkshow, Rob Ford says Toronto Chief Medical Officer Of Health David McKeown’s $294,302 salary is “just an embarrassment”. Doug Ford calls in from Florida to say, “why does he still have a job?”. A formal complaint is filed. Doug says he won't apologize.
-Ford accuses centrist councillor Josh Colle as being "Two steps left of Stalin" on public talk radio, along with councillors Vaughan, Perks, David and Fletcher.

Ford privatizes garbage collection west of Yonge Street.
Ford negotiates a successful standstill with the City Worker's Unions, although he increases pay to the police union.
The city's debt goes into standstill for the first time since amalgamation. Good news! However, Ford then declares he wants to cut the Land Registration Tax, responsible for not only the year's surplus, but millions of dollars more. Also, he declares he wants to lower corporate tax rates in the core for real estate. Some pros, but the cons have no backup revenue plan.

-Ford shuts out the Toronto Star after he says an article about him coaching football was uncomplimentary.
-Ford ceases to release public information about his schedule as is par for the course for the mayor, a public employee. Information about his schedule can only be gained after the fact through Freedom Of Information requests. They shows his workday is generally cut in half, and he begins work around noon. Councillors decry him as generally not being on the job.

...and the topics du jour for June 2012 (so far):

After a gang-related shooting in the Eaton Centre, Ford votes against paid-for government assistance to gang-related areas in the city.

-Ford declares "war" on the city-mandated fee on plastic bags, which he calls a "tax". Ford's executive committee decides to bring it to council. Council votes on a motion put forth by David Shiner, a member of Ford's executive committee to get rid of the five cent fee - by outlawing plastic bags entirely! A flummoxed Ford memorably says, "It's the people's fault", and says Shiner must be a leftist.

- Ford, having voted against a strong mayor system under Miller, publicly considers furthering and entrenching that system for himself.


Anyone want to add anything?
 
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The whole weight-loss fiasco is probably worth mentioning as well. It exemplifies his mayoralty remarkably: he sets out an ambitious and arguably ridiculous goal, dramatically fails to accomplish it, acts like a sore loser, and asks the press to move on to avoid embarrassment while pretending he hasn't yet failed.
 
CN, you should be writing for a proper media outlet! Well done.
When the real campaigning begins and prior to any debate your post must be remembered and sent to the candidate of your choice after doing an update for the remainder of his term. There's plenty of ammunition there in case any of the candidate's advisers missed anything.
Respectfully, one minor correction, he didn't really attend a Pride event, it was a PFLAG event for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
 
CN, I'm thinking of pinning that to the original post of this thread. That really describes his term so far. Mods, what do you think?
 
Last night on Hockey Night in Canada Don Cherry declared the Metric System is "commie stuff". I wonder if Ford's next agenda item is to get us back to Imperial measurements.

http://www.twitvid.com/9G4WO
 
The whole weight-loss fiasco is probably worth mentioning as well. It exemplifies his mayoralty remarkably: he sets out an ambitious and arguably ridiculous goal, dramatically fails to accomplish it, acts like a sore loser, and asks the press to move on to avoid embarrassment while pretending he hasn't yet failed.

Well, it needn't have been a "ridiculous goal"--after all, Brother Doug was on track t/w hitting it. But when it came to Rob's persona...
 
Toronto Star: Doug Ford apologizes for using 'Polack' to describe Rob Ford’s wife

“There’s always so much action during the Euro Cup in Toronto, because we come from such diverse communities. That’s what makes Toronto,†Doug Ford said.

“They’re so many great teams, I wouldn’t want to pick one over the other. I guess (in the) Euro, you go back to the ancestors — boy, we go back quite a ways, but I’m not too sure — is there any WASPy teams on there? We’re just Canadian,†he said with a laugh. “Anyways — well, you’re married to the Polack, so you gotta cheer for the Polish team.â€

Rob Ford’s wife, Renata, is of Polish descent. The mayor didn’t seem perturbed, saying simply that Renata isn’t a sports fan.
* * *
With a minute left in the show, Doug Ford apologized to Renata, whom he then referred to as Rob Ford’s “Polish little princess,†and his “extended Polish family.â€

“I didn’t realize it was derogatory. But anyways, my sincerest apologies, ’cause I love our Polish friends. I’m sure Renata’s gonna give me a good beatin’, and her parents, when I come over and watch the soccer game.â€

Rob Ford responded: “No, no, no. You love the Polish community. You always have. So folks, he didn’t — the word Polack — it was just a term of affection.â€

Doug Ford said: “You never know. You get the wild ones — you say one thing, and all of a sudden ou get 4,000 letters. So anyways, we’re going over to your place for some Polish sausage, I guess, and we’re all good.â€
 
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