Amid all the cries from liberal minded city-dwellers, some can make out the faint sounds of a hallelujah chorus. Nearly 48% of voters turned out in support of this guy so he must have some merits...right? Well he certainly did have the loudest voice, and maybe these days that's all it takes to entice the voting public. Ford ran on a campaign promise - stop the gravy train - and I find myself wondering if Rob Ford is really the most qualified man to do so. No that's not another attack on Ford's fitness level, but rather an attack on his personal finances. For someone who claims to understand the plight of the working man, Rob Ford has a considerable amount of inherited wealth.
Ford has built a career by being vehemently opposed to everything. Now he finds himself out of the opposition and in charge of the most multicultural metropolis in the world what's the big bully to do? Now he's stuck running a city even though he's failed to demonstrate that he understands how to fix its problems. "Stopping the gravy train" worked as a slogan but how will he put it into practice? Ford has promised to slash almost $3 billion in spending without layoffs or cutting services, something that just doesn't add up. Ford has really only expressed his concern over cutting city hall spending, but has not made any substantial statement regarding any other of Toronto's concerns. Development? Ford has stated that we can no longer afford to improve our neglected waterfront. Environment? He knows to turn out the lights, but no comment on sustainability. TTC? A convoluted plan that scraps Transit City and any of the required provincial government support that came with it.
Plus there's dealing with the council. A mayor depends on his council to enact the policies he campaigned for. In his years as a councillor, Ford has done precious little to make allies. Now he expects to cut their salaries, benefits and size and still get them to vote his way?
So what does Ford say about Toronto? The obvious answer is that Toronto desires change. Or maybe that Torontonians are so concerned with saving a few dollars they'll do so at the expense of city they love. It outlines the distrust Toronto has in their city council to effectively manage finances. Most concerning, as Toronto is making advances on a global stage as it never has before, a Ford victory shows that we aren't concerned with image. City beautification falls low on Ford's prioritization list. Not to mention his lack of charisma. The man representing Toronto is the same guy who was ejected from a Leafs game for getting too drunk and berating fans. So much for Toronto the sophisticated.
Rob Ford's Mugshot
Do you know why Smitherman has the moniker known as "Furious George"? Because whenever he doesn't get what he wants, he goes on a psychotic rage and try to bully others to agree with him.
ReplyDeleteAnd I see that you do not agree with Ford's idea to cut down expenses at the city hall.
During the deepest times of financial crisis, the city hall decided to add plantations around the building and place an ad on the Job Bank, offering two positions at $80,000/year, to take care of these plants. Do you think this is not a problem and it doesn't need to be stopped？
I also remember a scandal involving a city councilor who bought bunny suits on his expense account, which is paid for with my tax dollars. Do you think this is not a problem and it is okay to let them keep doing this?
Are you out of your god damn mind?
@thatLeo
ReplyDeleteWe all know about Smitherman's temper and nickname. But at least you got a sense from him that he understood what it took to run a city of 2.6 million people.
I don't think any of us are happy about frivolous spending at City Hall. Most of us non-Ford supporters wouldn't be upset if Ford cut councilors' expense accounts and outlawed city-funded $12,000 retirement parties.
It's just that for some of us, our choice of candidate took into account much more than our anger over a few small but egregious examples of wasted spending. Sure, Ford pledges to put an end to that stuff. If he does, that's wonderful.
But beyond that, where will he take us? What's his long-term plan for Toronto? Where does he stand on issues other than the mundane nickel-and-dime stuff and day-to-day operations? Where does he see this city in 10 years? How would he promote Toronto to the world? How does he plan to improve our overall quality of living, aside from cutting taxes?
My concern is for the big picture, which Ford never addressed during the campaign. I suspect he's incapable of seeing the forest for the trees and spends all his time getting angry about small things that annoy us, but, in the long run, don't really matter.
we just got rid of zero means zero in ottawa. Have fun with the ttc strike.
ReplyDelete@David Kates
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you, that is precisely my concern
@thatLeo
Nobody is a fan of wasteful spending, but the mayoral job is about more than just cutting down on expense accounts
@8bean
I lived in Ottawa for a few years, hope you guys don't get another 58 day wintertime bus strike :P
@Dorian Gray
ReplyDeleteSure, people may not be a fan of wasteful spending; however, many don't go out their way demanding that it be stopped.