Just because if we're going to have four years of Mayor Ford we might as well brace ourselves for impact.
So what can we expect from Mayor Ford and how do we build an opposition to him after the election (assuming the E-Day opposition falls short)
aka Mycroft are you trying to make me cry?
...............
Just because I'm an optimist, a piece from Facebook about voting for Joe.
Five Reasons I'm Voting for Pants and not strategic voting for Smithermanby David Fernandes on Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 10:15pm
I've been struggling hard with this one but I've finally (re)made up my mind to vote for Joe Pantalone.
I have put this together to help other people considering strategic voting for George Smitherman in order to stop Rob Ford. It is a mixture of my own thoughts and a lot of points I've gleaned from friends I've been debating this with. Thanks to everyone who chose to engage me around this. Group hug. Ok...
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Five Reasons I'm Voting for Pants and not strategic voting for Smitherman.1) I like Joe Pantalone.
As much as I don't like Rob Ford, I can find very little to like about George Smitherman (bully tactics, e-health scandal etc..). Pantalone is sincere, has worked hard for 30 years and is deeply respected by his peers and community. And of all the front-running candidates for mayor, he's been the most inclusive, respectful and least divisive. And his name means 'Pants' in Italian. I just love that...2) Strategic voting is dumb.
As tempted as I am to strategically vote for Smitherman in order to stop Ford, there's no guarantee that my vote will change the course of this election, and it certainly won't be voting for my values, in which case I'm basically voting for someone I don't believe in in order to stop someone else I don't believe in from winning. When you spell it out like that, it sounds incredibly stupid.3) Rob Ford is scary but he's not the Dark Lord.
Rob Ford alone can't do even half of the things he says he will. He can't downsize council (only the province can). He can't privatize anything (only council can). He can't move money from Transit City to build subways... maybe he could if he had The Force on his side, but since he doesn't, he's just a scary dude with no super powers. Joe Pantalone is not scary.4) Smitherman might be worse than Ford.
Smitherman promises to severely cut spending (and magically get more revenue from the province), he supports contracting out public jobs, and does not support Transit City as a whole. He's also very well known for being a bully as he was once known as the Liberals' 'Attack Dog'. Smitherman also has the support of a VERY long list of conservative party members - why is that? Ford may be more divisive and scary, but that could backfire too. Smitherman just might be slick enough to do more damage. Joe Pantalone has no endorsements from prominent conservatives and won't be beholden to them if he wins.5) Pantalone has the best policies.
Most Importantly, Joe Pantalone stands for the issues that I care most about: keeping public services public; keeping Transit City moving ahead; investing in community building programs; supporting the expansion of bike lanes and safe cycling in the city not as a hobby but as a mode of transport equal to cars and transit; promoting and cherishing the richness and diversity of Toronto; and treating people with respect and dignity.More info:
Smitherman on contracting out:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/774232--georg...Smitherman's conservative friends:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/861910--torie...Smitherman's e-Health disaster:
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/ehealth/article/707853Smitherman's similarity to Ford:
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/sueann_levy/2010/09/07/1527...The power of city council in contrast to parliament:
http://meslin.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/representing_the_majority/Voting with your heart:
http://meslin.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/vote_with_your_heart/Smitherman not worthy of strategic voting:
http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/10/smitherman-not-worthy-strategic-voting...
I disagree with the "Ford not a dark lord" reason.
Ford is probably more of a bully than Smitherman, it's just Smitherman was actually in a position of power .. give Ford some real power and then we can make a real comparison, but if Ford can be the bully he is with the linmited power he has, I don't really want to find out how his bullying will "improve" in the Mayor's seat.
Smitherman having conservative friends seems to me to be a case of not looking past your nose ... Smitherman also has some centre friends, maybe eve a couple of slightly progressive friends ... you can't say that about Ford (except for those progressive "friends" who dismiss the same faults in Ford that they see in Smitherman.)
Smitherman contracting out ... Ford would do the same, but would Fords outsourcing be any better than Smithermans? I seriously doubt it.
E-health - something that was a good idea, with a poor implementation, but I don't see how that's a positive reason for placing my vote where it would help Ford. Given the same circumstance, Ford would have invested twice the public money into a private solution that would have been even more ineffective.
The rest of the arguments (strategic voting, voting your heart) are subjective nonsense ... my first inclination is to spoil my ballet as I don't believe for a second that the NDP are representing my political beliefs, I have even at times statemed that I would work against the NDP (Layton's riding) under certain circumstances, and there was no end of people on this board telling me to hold my nose and vote NDP because there are at least the better option of all the realistic choices ... well, this time Smitherman is the better choice of all the realistic options.
Smitherman contracting out ... Ford would do the same, but would Fords outsourcing be any better than Smithermans? I seriously doubt it.
There is a hypothesis that goes against this and again it is only a hypothesis. It goes like this - Ford will quickly become a divisive and polarizing figure as mayor and has ZERO capacity to be diplomatic and work with people and by the time the current CUPE contracts expire in 2012 - the left and the centre will be united against him and will probably be in the habit of voting down any of his ham-handed policies over and over. His attempt to outsource will crash and burn.
In contrast, Smitherman is enough of a bully and a wheeler dealer that he is mayor and he wants to outsource he could probably get a lot of big "L" Liberals like Ken Chan to go along with it - because it was HIS idea - so it would have a much better chance of actually happening.
I'm not saying I think this is what would happen, but i just put it out there as a hypthesis.
Here's another. A bunch of centre councillors decided they want some power. Rob Ford rewards enough of them with committee chair posts. Ford now has the right wing plus just enough power-hungry centrists to implement an agenda. Plus has the power of a public that is looking for serious change to unleash against those that obstruct his agenda. While he may not be smart or skilled enough to do that on his own, he has some smart people around him to do it.
In other words, don't underestimate his ability to implement his agenda. The assumption that he can't is just that, an assumption.
The thing is that union contracts are not up for negotiation for a couple of years - so any possible Ford "honeymoon" will be ancient history by the time this issue can come up.
Whomever he appoints as deputy mayor may be critical--given the possibility/likelihood that Ford'll be forced out of office in some way...
What actually happens if the mayor dies in office or resigns? I seem to recall that when Crombie resigned to run federally in 1978 Toronto City council elected a councillor to serve the remaining few months of his term - but that was back when it was a two year term and so it wasn't such a big deal to have an interim council appointed mayor for a while. But now its a four year term. I know that the position of "Deputy Mayor" is not like being "vice-mayor" and that person is not "next in line if the mayor dies". I assume that if hypothetically Ford was elected a dropped dead six months later - council would elected someone from within its own ranks to serve out the remaining three and a half years of his term (which would lead to some very interesting maneouvring).
Oh for fucks sake! Ford is the mayor of Toronto. There must be enough small minded bigots to make this happen. Totally ASHAMED that this is now Toronto.
What can this bastard do in terms of harm? I'm asking a serious question.
While waiting in line, the people ahead me were going to vote Smitherman, but instead they voted Ford.
There are some good things happening on council at least.
Mike Layton is elected
Mary Fragedakis is elected
Sarah Doucette upsets Saundercook
Krysten Wong Tam is leading!
Holy shite. With 1469 of 1870 polls reporting, Ford has a 50.2% to 33% margin over Smitherman or ~90,000 votes. Looks like the Ford Pinto is driving into the mayoral chair.
Real interesting question.
It depends on what happens to council. Which is also not looking great.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE RECORD DEFICITS!
Jaye Robinson is winning against Jenkins - good
There are some good things happening on council at least.
Mike Layton is elected
Mary Fragedakis is elected
Sarah Doucette upsets Saundercook
Krysten Wong Tam is leading!
No longer, Ken Chan took the lead..
I'm also happy to see Josh Colle winning over Rob Davis
Oh for fucks sake! Ford is the mayor of Toronto. There must be enough small minded bigots to make this happen. Totally ASHAMED that this is now Toronto.
What can this bastard do in terms of harm? I'm asking a serious question.
He can do a lot. He employs an army of bureaucrats with guns called the police. He can take your stuff. All of it if he wants. He can evict you from your house, and he can imprison you if your resist. He can control what you buy and what others can sell you. He can force you to buy stuff only from him. And if you try to work around it he can imprison you or take more of your stuff as a penalty, or both. Oh yes, he can do a lot. And he'll claim its for the public good. Just pray he limits his predator instincts. By the way, it's not just Ford. They all claim absolute power over you.
Krysten is on top again...I'm surprised I didn't think she had much of a chance
What can this bastard do in terms of harm? I'm asking a serious question.
The mayor is just one vote on council.
(That's what I keep telling myself.)
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE RECORD DEFICITS!
Cities can't run deficits. We'll just be broke. Crime will go up as programs disappear for poor kids, and Ford will get more support than ever as he beefs up the # of cops to "get tough on crime."
True, never thought of that. It will be a never ending cycle. What a disaster.
Hmm well his brother won in my ward with 74% of the vote, just like his brother usually did. Everyone votes Ford here *sigh*
double post
Of course I voted for Bacchus for school trustee in my ward 
How could I not?
What I don't understand is how Toronto gets its results in so fast - as in within 10 minutes of polls closing the guy is declared elected. WTF?
At least Gord Perks won in a landslide in my ward despite the well-funded liberal and right-wing machinery working overtime to smear him.
As a leftie and David Miller man, Gord's in the wilderness on city council now.
*sigh*
The lead has gone back and forth between Ken Chan and Krysten Wong-Tam about 10 times!!
Ken Chan is now leading again, come on Kristyn.
Well at least Sandra Bussin's gone
What I don't understand is how Toronto gets its results in so fast - as in within 10 minutes of polls closing the guy is declared elected. WTF?
They use machines to count mark sense ballots.
Anybody know anything about Justin Di Ciano?
Krysten just jumped 350 votes in the lead!!
Are we going to have enough left leaning people in council to stop Ford? This is what I want to know.
What I don't understand is how Toronto gets its results in so fast - as in within 10 minutes of polls closing the guy is declared elected. WTF?
Depends on what kind of voting system they use. In Vancouver and Winnipeg they use voting machines for municipal elections where you mark your choice on a paper ballot which then gets fed into a scanner that automatically counts votes as they are cast. The paper ballots go into a ballot box once they've passed through the scanner so there always a paper backup if there is a problem with the machine. If there is a problem with how the voter has marked the ballot (eg voting for too many candidates) the machine spits it out and the voter is given a fresh ballot and asked to mark it again. Then once the polls have closed, all the DROs have to do is push a button and the machine spits out the vote totals instantly. I think the machines are also designed to upload the totals electronically to a central computer.
If Toronto uses a similar system that would explain the speed of these results. These machines are fast and accurate - I don't know why we faff about with counting paper ballots by hand in federal and provincial elections.
ETA: I see jrootham beat me to it - still I won't pass up the chance to sing the praises of the scannable ballot system!
Toronto uses optical scan machines. When the polls close all you do is press a button and the results for the poll are instantly spit out.
Krysten just jumped 350 votes in the lead!!
Now 39..
Are we going to have enough left leaning people in council to stop Ford? This is what I want to know.
No.
There was never a left majority on council. The right was in disarray after the first Miller win, so support could be acquired from the confused. That's not going to be true now.
Goddamn fucking idiot no paste software
City of Toronto site still has her up 400+ with 83/87 polls reporting.
If Kristyn wins it will all be worth it just to see Sue Anne Levy's face!!
Kristyn is elected!
In ward 10 there are FOUR candidates within 100 votes of each other!
Make that 400 votes..
FWIW, I'm glad that Ford popular vote has dropped to 47% from being over 50% at first. The optics of him winning over half of all the votes would have been BAAAD
Good luck, Toronto.
What I'll never understand: Anyone making under $100,000 voting for Ford?? I guess I'm just a liberal elite.
FML!
What I'll never understand: Anyone making under $100,000 voting for Ford?? I guess I'm just a liberal elite.
It's parallel to the tea bag phenomenon. While it's true that the Tea Party movement is underwritten by big money like the Koch brothers, most of the supporters are folks with little income; folks dependant on government programs like Medicare. ("Keep your government hands off my Medicare" was actual tea party signage).
Disadvantaged people voting against their own best interests is a common widespread phenomenon, and one I can't explain without sounding all elitist.
One of my workmates who voted for Ford today is a widow of an abusive alcoholic *head desk*
Every Pantalone voter could have voted for Smitherman and Ford still would have won. Glad I didn't succumb to the fallacy of strategic voting.
Its super easy to understand why poor people or below middle class people would vote for Ford
Its called jealousy and envy for city workers ttc workers and garbage collectors, its not hard to imagine the bitterness of many who work less than 15 dollar an hour and how they perceive those who have job benefits and a public pension.
It might be a primitive emotion but its understandable.
Anyways I didnt even get to vote because the voting hours do not respect the workers who had to work late into the evening.
