Tag Archive for Election

Toronto mayoral race loses its only woman

September 28, 2010 News commentary, Politics 3 comments

Sarah Thomson dropped out of the Toronto mayoral race on Tuesday, throwing her support behind George Smitherman in an attempt to stop current front-runner Rob Ford.

Thomson held an early morning news conference at her campaign headquarters where she made the announcement, saying:

(Ford is) going to basically destroy transit, he doesn’t care about the social issues that George Smitherman cares about, there’s so many reasons … these reasons are very important to the long-term future of Toronto.

Some will applaud Thomson’s move, considering she was trailing in the polls and was not likely to win.

Sarah answers the question, Smitherman draws a blank

Sarah Thomson dropped out of the Toronto mayoral race to endorse George Smitherman.

However, there’s no doubt that others will see this as another blow to women in politics — losing the only woman who was considered one of the five front-runners will no doubt cause some people concern.

As a woman, I never really got behind Thomson because she was a woman — it’s not how I vote. This being Thomson’s first attempt at politics, it’s also hard for me to get behind her as a genuine candidate (who can forget the kerfuffle when she used her magazine, the Women’s Post, to announce her candidacy?)

The question really boils down to this: Can a woman really run Canada’s biggest city?

Well, they did before amalgamation, but since 1998, both of Toronto’s mayors have been men (Mel Lastman and David Miller). Has the city grown and changed enough that a woman would be unable to handle the portfolio?

Not necessarily.

Was Thomson that woman?

I don’t think so.

Sarah Thomson is a successful business woman, much like Belinda Stronach and others who have entered politics before. But I think she failed to really get the public’s trust before throwing her hat into a big, political job (much like Stronach when she ran for the leadership of the Conservative party).

In order to get a woman elected as mayor in Toronto, I think that woman has to be a councillor and prove herself to the electorate before trying to become mayor of Toronto.

And while even that does not guarantee anything (just look at former mayor Barbara Hall’s failed bid against David Miller in 2003 and former councillor Jane Pitfield’s failed bid in 2007), I think it’s something that will come with time.

It just wasn’t the right time and Sarah Thomson was not the right woman.

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Thomson’s flickr account. See more of her photos here.)

Inaccessibility costs Toronto a great reporter

September 6, 2010 Media, Politics 4 comments

This post was edited on May 15, 2011 to change wording some considered to be offensive.

Toronto’s lack of accessibility has cost the city one of their greatest young reporters.

CityTV’s Tara Weber will no longer appear on Toronto TV — she’s headed west to a television station in Calgary. Mainly because, she tells the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington, Toronto is one of the most inaccessible cities she has ever experienced:

I hate to leave but it’s just not easy for me to live here. Ever since I came here in 2003 to go to Ryerson, I have found it so difficult to get around and it doesn’t seem to be getting better.

The 29-year-old burst onto CityTV a few years ago. I remember the first time I saw her cover a story clearly: I saw the wheelchair. That was the first and last time I ever noticed Weber’s chair.

She never let her accessibility issues get in the way of covering a story. True to City’s policy of being on the scene, Weber would go out and cover everything — you rarely saw her in a newsroom.

It is downright disgusting that Toronto is losing a good journalist because she can’t live in this city. This is not just about Weber being able to do her job, but also about getting around and living her life.

In order to try and make things better for those who come after her, Weber wrote a letter to Mayor David Miller, and those running for council in next month’s election, expressing her concerns:

I’ve interviewed you all and have enjoyed meeting every one of you. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve left my job and am leaving Toronto to go out west. A big part of my decision to leave is the lack of wheelchair access in this city. I’ve lived in various places throughout Canada and can honestly say Toronto is one of the least accessible.

How in 2010 can a city the size of Toronto, one that prides itself as the greatest city in the world, not serve all of its citizens properly? How can we just ignore one segment of the population and think it doesn’t matter?

This is not about elevators, or ramps, or buttons on doors — it’s about making this city the best city for everyone involved. It shouldn’t matter if you’re in a wheelchair or not, Toronto should cater to everyone equally.

I was saddened when I heard Weber was leaving CityTV — now I’m just angry. Here’s hoping her letter to council members does not land on deaf ears some good and someone starts doing something soon.

And here’s hoping Calgary treats her much better than we did — because she’s a great reporter who will be missed.

All the best, Tara.

Why the Rob Ford lead isn’t suprising after all

August 25, 2010 Politics 4 comments

Rob Ford (Not) for Mayor

In case you have been living under a rock, Toronto is in the middle of a municipal election. Currently Councillor Rob Ford is leading the polls (as he has been for most of the race). It seems every week new allegations surface in order to try and knock him down a few knotches.

In a nutshell, here’s just a sampling of the criticism about Ford:

And he’s still in the lead.

A year ago, I would have wagered that George Smitherman or John Tory (if he had run) would be leading — that this race would have been there’s to lose. Instead, Tory’s still on the radio and Smitherman is a distant second.

People are shocked about this. The Globe’s Christie Blatchford had the city all in a tizzy on Saturday when she wrote a column saying that Rob Ford isn’t all that bad after all. She said in her column that just admitting that fact will cause people’s “heads to explode.”

And they did.

My Twitter feed lit up with people outraged and their heads exploding online in a series of tweets (some expletive-filled). But here’s the rub (as much as it pains me to say it out loud), it’s really not a shock that Ford is leading.

Before your head explodes, here’s why: Ford is a mayor from the boroughs. So while the downtown citizens express outrage about his lead, he’s getting the votes from all those in the boroughs who have been forgotten about (or felt forgotten about) for the last six years under David Miller.

Smitherman is not leading because he’s a downtown man, that’s it. Ford is the guy for those who feel they don’t have a voice anymore.

Can Ford be beat? Perhaps, if enough downtown residents come out and vote Oct. 25. But I wouldn’t be too surprised if he wins.

(Photo courtesy of denmar on Flickr. See more of his photos in his photostream.)

Why Jarvis St. losing a lane is a good thing

July 19, 2010 News commentary, Politics 19 comments

Drivers will never see an X or a green arrow on Jarvis' centre lane again.

Big news out of Toronto.

OK, not really big news per say, but because it affects drivers, it’s become big news.

Jarvis St., which once had five lanes (the middle lane flipped back and forth to a north or south lane depending on the time of day), is now down to four. The middle lane has been closed and by the end of the month, bike lanes will be painted on each side of the road.

You’d think the city decided to remove the street with the reaction the missing lane got on Monday (the first workday without those precious arrows giving traffic a bit of relief). From the Toronto Star:

“Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb,” said a woman in a champagne-coloured Maxima.

“Give us back our middle lane!” called out a man with a moustache in a silver VW as he zoomed south.

Really people, what is the big deal?

Toronto drivers seem to have such a sense of entitlement to them, don’t they? (Full disclosure, I own a car and do drive — to get out of the city to work. I tend to take transit to get around the city).

Take away a roadway of theirs to those dreaded bicyclists and you never hear the end of it, do you?

Yes, driving in Toronto is a pain. Driving in any city with a population of over 2 million people is bound to be one. And yes, Jarvis serves (served?) a great purpose. I used it all the time when I lived at Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton and my boyfriend at Jarvis and Queen.

During the day, Yonge St., Avenue Rd. and other north-south arteries can be clogged with cars, pedestrians and bikes. If you hit Jarvis at the right time, you could get from midtown to downtown in no time.

And that’s what Toronto drivers are angry about.

They’re missing a few key points here though.

The first is that bikes have a right to be on the road. And in Toronto, they often are forgotten about — or ignored all together. Bike riders deserve better than they’ve been getting in this city.

Before the Jarvis St. change, riders there would often be squeezing between parked cars and traffic. I can only imagine how scared bike riders were — as I driver, I was terrified driving alongside a bicyclist on Jarvis.

Bikes have a right to be on the road. And if they want — they can take up a whole lane of traffic. So drivers, it could be a lot worse for you.

By putting in bike lanes, the city is actually doing you a favour. At least this way, everyone gets room.

It's no longer all white lines across Jarvis St. — the centre lane now has two solid yellow lines painted across it to remind drivers they can't use it anymore.

But what really seems to piss off Jarvis drivers more than the installation of the bike lanes is how heavy and congested Jarvis is going to become now that it’s only four lanes instead of five.

Talking to the Toronto Star last week, Toronto mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi said he would take bike lanes off Jarvis if he’s elected: “The math doesn’t work. There are almost 30,000 cars a day that use Jarvis, rain or shine, winter or summer,” he said.

Sure, that’s likely true (just like it’s also likely true Rossi has just lost the bike vote). And no doubt, now with the fifth lane option gone, many of those cars are going to find an alternate route because Jarvis will be too heavy.

And once that happens, we’ll be back to the flow that was Jarvis with the fifth lane.

I haven’t read it yet, but I’m willing to wager that the city will also remove parking from Jarvis during rush hour so both north- and southbound traffic get two lanes to drive in. And that’s typically what driving in the third lane was — since cars were allowed to park on the direction that had the middle lane.

And really, if you’re that peeved about losing your precious fifth lane, there’s another solution: Stop driving in the city. Take transit. Or better yet, ride your bike.

After all, I hear they’re installing a new bike lane over on Jarvis.

(All pictures courtesy of Neal Jennings, AKA Sweet Ones, on Flickr. Check out some more of his great shots on his Flickr stream here).

The void left by Adam Giambrone

April 13, 2010 Politics No comments

Late Monday night, reports began to surface that Toronto Ward 18 councillor Adam Giambrone would not be reseeking his seat come the Oct. 25 municipal vote. Giambrone later confirmed those reports to the Globe and Mail and on his Twitter account.

It hasn’t been an easy 2010 for Giambrone: The TTC, of which he is chair, has been plagued by customer service complaints (as well as other things); his expenses that many considered to be too much; and, of course, his admission of multiple affairs, which ended his mayoral bid.

All of that being said, with Giambrone now officially out of the fold, there is a void in Toronto politics and, likely, on the next Toronto council.

While far from perfect (and really, what politician is nowadays?), Giambrone brought something to the council chambers none of his co-councillors do — his youth.

Only a few years older than me, Giambrone showed young people that getting involved in politics can be done and that you can succeed, even if you are only in your 20s. He is the youngest TTC Chair in the commission’s history and he was aiming to be the youngest mayor in Toronto history.

No doubt that Giambrone’s age was also a detraction. At times he showed his immaturity and inexperience, but his youth gave more positives to this city that negatives.

It’s always said that younger voters are apathetic to politics. People my age don’t care. We don’t think we can make a difference, so we don’t vote. None of it affects us anyway, so why bother. After all, it’s not like there’s anyone on the other side fighting for us.

But Giambrone was on the other side. Giambrone was, often, fighting for us.

His personal life troubles should have no bearing on his political life. He should not be judged as a councillor for the sins he committed as a man (I have no doubts that many people were cheering on Tiger Woods last weekend at the Masters despite his infidelities).

Giambrone said Monday night he is not ruling out a return to politics, someday, telling the Globe:

“[Jean] Chrétien left politics. Look at Bob Rae, right? Those are only the first two that come to my head. I’m sure you could come up with a list of 20 or 30 in the last couple decades that decided either by their own choice or because they lost an election or a leadership, to go off, do something else and then come back.”

He later cleared up his remarks on Twitter, saying:

Just to clarify the Globe story, I’m not looking to run for again for a number of years.

Obviously, Giambrone feels this is the right move for him right now (whether for political reasons or personal ones, we may never know), but there is no doubt that come the fall, Toronto city hall will lose its youth.

And who knows when it will ever come back again.

« Older Entries