POSTED RESPONSES TO A COLUMN BY GARY MASON IN THE TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL
Mr. Mason offers up a steaming plate of political garbage: there is no larger zeitgeist involved in Toronto’s election.
The impetus behind Ford's victory was local: people were tired of years of empty windbag talk, many new taxes, and a city that in terms of what cities are about pretty much went down instead of up.
Fleets of garbage trucks burn diesel fuel down the 401 everyday carrying away Toronto’s garbage - now there's something to be proud of.
Most of Toronto's high-rises have no recycling program - another source of pride.
A windbag mayor who wasted time on pet schemes like killing the island airport - a perfectly good enterprise creating jobs and services and making the waterfront more complex and interesting.
Violence in the streets with people - unprecedented in Toronto - being shot downtown, and a mayor who wonders ineffectually about kids becoming killers. There are genuine born killers and we have some now, dangerous morons carrying loaded guns to school and to parties.
An expensive new garbage collection system that leaves Toronto's thousands of tiny semi-detached homes with sets of stupid-looking wheel-bins permanently on the front porch or in the front yard - a truly ugly and costly solution when there were far more elegant ones. Plus a fleet of costly new trucks so collectors don't even have to lift bags.
An ineffective police chief who has more than once been treated with contempt by his own officers, who then received no proper punishment for doing so. This included their showing up at a city hall rally in uniform, against orders, creating a clear threat to civilian government. It also included out-of-control cops during the G20 who were never corrected or reprimanded. Where was the mayor’s voice on the G20 fiasco?
A mayor full of puff-piece stuff about "vision" who in fact has left dirty streets, potholes everywhere, and many sad episodes of incompetence - all the while taxes raced upward.
There is no meaningful project in the city displaying the fabled vision. Vision-level stuff would include things like taking down the Gardiner, solving the garbage problems, or creating a magnificent waterfront.
The excesses of City Hall, especially in flagrant expenses, have long been criticized by Mr. Ford, and the people have now given him his chance to show what he can do. It’s called democracy.
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While there may be some like your neighbor who rejected Smitherman for his sexual identity, the truth is Smitherman is a rather nasty piece of work just as a human being.
He has an ugly temper.
He is aggressive.
He has no record of achieving anything, other than favored status with Dalton the Magnificent.
He copied Ford right away on costs, showing no originality.
He played at the role of hero for the progressives and the art set, but he has no record of representing such interests.
Smitherman strikes me as a political hypocrite, as I'm sure he does many others.
He wouldn't even reveal his campaign contributors. Some progressive.
He took unwarranted help from Dalton's flaks.
The man was simply a poor candidate.
Nothing to do with being gay.
