[MetroMan]

^ Exactly. Smitherman didn't win because Joe Pantalone kept many of the NDP crowd who just couldn't bare to vote for a Red Tory. Rob Ford on the other hand didn't have anybody in his category chipping away at his support. I think a lot of Ford voters would vote for Stintz instead. A 3 man race could very well come down to 2 strong candidates neither of which is Ford.

Still, I'd rather see a centrist candidate taking Ford head on mano-a-mano. Ford wouldn't stand a chance.

 

[adma]

Still, I'd rather see a centrist candidate taking Ford head on mano-a-mano. Ford wouldn't stand a chance.

And as per my point, Stintz ain't necessarily that "centrist"--or if she is, it's only because Ford's shifted things so far right.

But going the other ideological direction: I'm still of a mind that if she had the gumption (premature as it is--then again, so was Obama in '08), Wong-Tam could well prevail over Ford in almost an inverse version (and more thoughtful, at that) of the 2010 Ford phenomenon...

 

[brockm]

It could also be a coalition government. Could Hudak sell the NDP on a proper coalition government? This is what happened in the UK, where the right-wing Conservatives, formed a coalition with the left wing Liberal Democrats, by-passing the more centrist Labour party.

Dude. The Lib Dems are to the right of the Labour Party on economic policy. They too were campaigning on an austerity platform, albeit with different priorities and different social values and foreign policy from the Conservatives.

That said, the Conservative and Liberal Party's in this country, despite their campaigns and rhetoric, are generally pretty close in terms of economic policy. And differ substantially in social and foreign policy.

One could even argue that the Harper government, is ever so slightly to the economic left of the Chretien-era Liberal government. They've certainly been more protectionist, they taxed income trusts, the only tax cuts they've brought it in, were ones that were basically already planned by the Martin government before them -- they implemented the corporate tax cuts on that schedule.

The accusations that they're neoliberal by some on the far left is pretty hilarious, to say the least. Nationalist, jingoistic at times, and insane on crime policy and such, oh yes.

 

[ShonTron]

^ Exactly. Smitherman didn't win because Joe Pantalone kept many of the NDP crowd who just couldn't bare to vote for a Red Tory. Rob Ford on the other hand didn't have anybody in his category chipping away at his support. I think a lot of Ford voters would vote for Stintz instead. A 3 man race could very well come down to 2 strong candidates neither of which is Ford.

Smitherman was a weak candidate, even without the eHealth and "Angry Man" baggage (and before the ORNGE and Sherway plant stuff hit the fan). Had we had a stronger centrist candidate, it might have been different. It just wasn't clear what Smitherman stood for, or why he was running. Joey Pants was even weaker. Ford had two memorable catchphrases, people (at least thought they) knew what they were voting for. I had to hold my nose when I cast my vote in 2010.

I wouldn't worry too much about a vote split at this point in time. Stintz might be as successful as Jane Pitfield.

 

[ttk77]

It appears that Olivia Chow's reluctance to run for mayor seems to be softening. I'm more of a centrist than a lefty, but I think she'd make a great candidate.

From the Star: Olivia Chow sounding warmer to idea of mayoral run

Begged by Torontonians to run against Mayor Rob Ford, with polls suggesting she would handily win, NDP MP Olivia Chow has softened her opposition to the idea, saying: “We’ll see what happens down the road.â€