Because I feel like being important, I will now instruct Toronto voters on how to vote in the upcoming municipal election in certain races.
Mayor:
You ever go to a restaurant and realize there's nothing on the menu that looks good? Well, voters are going to have that feeling tomorrow when they look at the 30+ candidates running for the top job in Toronto. More people vote for the mayor of Toronto than for any other position in the country and yet there's not a candidate out there who deserves your vote. Let's run through the main three:
David Miller: Let's see. Well, he scrapped the island airport bridge at a huge cost to the taxpayer. He hasn't done anything to address Toronto's extraordinarily large garbage problem. Say it with me now: incineration. The budget's a mess. Property taxes are going through the roof. The waterfront revitalization is moving at a snail's pace. The expo bid imploded. He let Howard Moscoe botch the TTC negotiations and didn't try to remove him from his post. He used dirty tactics to get rid of a popular police chief because he disagreed with him. Have I mentioned anything that makes you want to vote for Miller? No? Then don't.
Jane Pitfield: As you can see from above, there's plenty of room to attack Miller. Pitfield has done nothing to advance her position on any of these issues. She seems to be most concerned about homelessness. Homelessness is a major problem, unfortunately Pitfield seems to take her cues from Jim Flaherty i.e. she wants to criminalize it. This is a horrible solution. For taking a golden opportunity and turning it into a joke, I cannot support Jane Pitfield.
Stephen LeDrew: Um... he ran the Liberal Party once, right? Yeah. I think you need a profile to be mayor. He had potential but has been a complete disappointment. No vote for you! Next!
Therefore, who should Toronto voter for? Well, the first name on the ballot is Michael Alexander. I know nothing about him and he doesn't seem to have a website I can locate but if you vote for him it will probably make him happy. So, Michael Alexander for Mayor: He has two first names!
Council:
Who you should vote for:
Ward 29: Case Ootes. The deputy mayor under Lastman is my councilor and deserves another kick at the can. He's strong voice of opposition to Miller and his dipper allies. He's also a good local representative working hard for the ward. The former East York mayor deserves another term on council.
Ward 43: John Laforet. This is an open race and I say give John Laforet a chance. Sure, he's young and has little to no experience but frankly this city could use people on council who haven't spent 30 years fighting battles over potholes. He's smart, he's Liberal, he's been campaigning since before the incumbent dropped out and everyone rushed in. Give him some love.
Ward 20: Adam Vaughan. I think this is a no brainer for most progressive minded people. He's smart. He knows the city inside and out. He's passionate about doing what's right for the city. He's responsible only to himself and his constituents. Send him to city hall.
Who needs to be sent home:
Ward 2: Rob Ford. Can you say Conservative nut-job? I can. I can also say turf him. The Star likes Kevin Mark. I'd take a street light over Ford.
Ward 15: Howard Moscoe. What is it with Eglinton-Lawrence and embarrassing politicians? I think Moscoe might be more embarrassing than Volpe. TTC wildcat strike? Moscoe. Corruption? Moscoe again. Let's get some self respect back for Eglinton- Lawrence and send this guy packing. The Star likes Ron Singer. Why not?
School Board:
Just two endorsements:
First, in my home ward. Elect Gordon Crann in Toronto-Danforth. He's a Liberal and has a strong record in the community. Send him to Yonge and Sheppard.
Second, in the ward where I went to high school, St. Paul's, return Josh Matlow. He's involved in the schools and listens to all the stakeholders including students. He is also a big proponent of the rebuilding of my decrepit old alma mater. Back to the board with the young man.
Oh, and if you live in Mississauga, vote for Hazel McCallion. I know I didn't need to say that, but come on, it's Hazel, who doesn't like Hazel?
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2 comments:
Wow... what an interesting opinion you seem to have. If you got out to vote yesterdya- congrats. I think it's an importna tpart of our civil duty and I am proud to cast my ballot in every election, myself.
As far as your vote for Michael Alexander... Well, it's your vote. Cast it as you will. I really think you should know who/what you've voting for, but that is your choice.
In my opinion, I'm shocked that someone striving for election would try to turn a city such as Toronto into a Church State and declare rent "illegal," but so was Michael's perrogative, and congrats to him for achieving the 4th highest number of votes after the "mainstream" front runners.
Haha, I had no idea about Michael Alexander and fortunately, I didn't vote for him yesterday. It is very difficult to vote in a municipal election when you're living in Sweden for 10 months (They need to work out an absentee ballot system). My point was you may as well vote for someone completely random because none of the candidates were worth your vote.
Yes, McCallion is 85 but if you listen to her talk she is a lot more lucid than any of the candidates who ran for mayor of Toronto.
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