Tory considering mayoral run

[moviefan]

I think his chances have never looked better. And it seems he may be thinking the same thing:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor...ory-leaning-toward-run-for-mayor-s-chair?bn=1

 

[landscaper]

Considering the source of the article, the Star wants anybody who can limit Fords ability to get elected to run , I expect their editorial board is frothing at the mouth everytime a poll comes out showing him in front. Tory's initial reluctance to run is understandable, he has been rejected a number of times and now everybody is crying please come save us. He does not need the agravation of the mayors job nad more to teh point I think his wife does not need the agravation involved.

The Smitherman campaign would also like him to run he is actually an easier target than Ford, with Ford what you get is exactly what you see and he has a lot of support outside of the old city of Toronto which all the suburbs are really likeing, they are of the opinion that Toronto ( the original city) has held the buggy whip long wnough

 

[slowpoke]

I hope he runs. It's about time Toronto caught a break and Tory is long overdue for a win. It will be interesting to see if a moderate conservative like Tory can really make much of an impact on Toronto's finances and overall efficiency. If Tory gets elected, he'll be expected to get the unions under control and eliminate a lot of wasteful spending. That's a very tall order so we shall see if he can pull it off. Most people perceive Miller as an ineffective, NDP spendthrift and union bum buddy. But when Miller took over from Mel Lastman in 2003, I don't recall noticing any difference. Toronto remained a very nice city and our taxes seemed to be lower than lots of other places. For example, Hazel McCallion is considered by many to be the embodiment of mayoral perfection but she's recommending a 7.4% tax hike in Mississauga next year, plus an infrastructure levy of 1 or 2%. Miller just announced that Toronto will balance its books by 2011 and recommended only a 2.9% residential tax increase. Hazel will get away with her much larger hike because of her rep. If Miller had tried that, he'd have been tarred and feathered in Nathan Phillips Square. I'm sure Miller has plenty of faults and I am not trying to defend his record but we do seem to judge him by a different standard than most other municipal leaders. So if Tory takes over from Miller, we will finally get a clear A - B comparison between Miller the utopian dreamer and Tory the hard nosed veteran business exec. My guess is that it won't change anything.

 

[danmand]

Overdue for a win? Has he ever won anything?

 

[slowpoke]

No. That's why he's overdue....

 

[train]

I'm sure Miller has plenty of faults and I am not trying to defend his record but we do seem to judge him by a different standard than most other municipal leaders. So if Tory takes over from Miller, we will finally get a clear A - B comparison between Miller the utopian dreamer and Tory the hard nosed veteran business exec. My guess is that it won't change anything.

Well I agree with you it won't change anything. The unions now run the city and they will not give that up without blood in the streets. No one will be able to wrestle away control of the coffers from them easily and I'm not sure Tory is particularly well equipped for that in any event. As far as I know he doesn't have a rep for being "hard nosed " or are you annointing him with these qualities because that is your perception of anyone who calls himself a conservative ?

As far as the Hazel vs Miller I think you need to compare over the last 5 years and not just one year before you come to some conclusion.

 

[danmand]

No. That's why he's overdue....

I am not sure it works that way. It does not on the slot machines.

 

[slowpoke]

Well I agree with you it won't change anything. The unions now run the city and they will not give that up without blood in the streets. No one will be able to wrestle away control of the coffers from them easily and I'm not sure Tory is particularly well equipped for that in any event. As far as I know he doesn't have a rep for being "hard nosed " or are you annointing him with these qualities because that is your perception of anyone who calls himself a conservative ?

As far as the Hazel vs Miller I think you need to compare over the last 5 years and not just one year before you come to some conclusion.

I don't live in Mississauga but I travel there on a regular basis. When I cross from Etobicoke into Mississauga, nothing suddenly changes. The roads are just as crowded and poorly maintained. The smog is just as bad. The houses look the same. The strip malls are just as ugly and haphazard. There is just as much litter and their transit is a joke compared to TO's. But a $500k house in Mississauga would be taxed higher than a $500K house in Toronto. And McCallion has had a few hefty tax hikes in the last decade or two. I'm not interested in a penny by penny comparison but, if it weren't for all the talk about McCallion the perfect, I would never have suspected that Mississauga was run any better or worse than anywhere else in the GTA. As I said, I don't intend to defend Miller, but Toronto doesn't seem to have suffered so very much considering that it is reportedly being run by an incompetent spendthrift commie who's into same-sex submission sessions with domineering labour bosses. Just sayin......

That 'hard nosed veteran business exec' comment was just a backhanded reference to the "kings of commerce" stereotype. Tory was on the Rogers board of directors and president of Thompson Investments so it's not unfair to characterize him as a veteran business exec who would see the world differently than a soft headed utopian socialist like Miller.

 

[red]

i hope john tory doesn't run. he doesn't need to lose another campaign.

 

[slowpoke]

I am not sure it works that way. It does not on the slot machines.

That's right. If the slot machine is working properly, each and every cycle has the same statistical probability of winning. I was thinking Tory was overdue from a fairness standpoint. Tory's persistence SHOULD eventually pay off with some kind of win.

 

[landscaper]

Toronto has the lowest tax rates in the GTA , comparisons to the "suburbs " happen all the time, I would be interested in seeing a penny to penny comparison just to see what the difference in services is

 

[danmand]

That's right. If the slot machine is working properly, each and every cycle has the same statistical probability of winning. I was thinking Tory was overdue from a fairness standpoint. Tory's persistence SHOULD eventually pay off with some kind of win.

If it is one thing politics is not, it is fair.

 

[slowpoke]

Toronto has the lowest tax rates in the GTA , comparisons to the "suburbs " happen all the time, I would be interested in seeing a penny to penny comparison just to see what the difference in services is

Toronto is like a magnet for the homeless and our transit is so much more extensive than other cities in Ontario that it is hard to make any kind of meaningful comparison. In Mississauga, you'd get a slightly larger house for $500k than you would in Toronto so the higher taxes are probably worth it if you are OK with the suburban lifestyle. But it always amazes me that Torontonians think we are so heavily taxed and poorly managed. Anyone who looks at the services and taxes in other municipalities will see that Toronto is like an oasis of low taxation with more transit, libraries and services than you can shake a stick at.

 

[landscaper]

these would be the libraries that the city is constantly threatening to close alside the swimming pools every buget cycle? granted the transit is much more extensive , but take a look at teh stges of development the gta is at, the transit systems are probably around the same stage of development for the development stage the community is in. The tax diffence is huge 2X at a minimum for a give house size. The issue of governance is also up for grabs, a councilor using his riding budget to throw a going away party for his friends and himself ? At a restaurant outside his riding no less. Personally I am happy being outside Toronto but others may feel different

 

[slowpoke]

these would be the libraries that the city is constantly threatening to close alside the swimming pools every buget cycle? granted the transit is much more extensive , but take a look at teh stges of development the gta is at, the transit systems are probably around the same stage of development for the development stage the community is in. The tax diffence is huge 2X at a minimum for a give house size. The issue of governance is also up for grabs, a councilor using his riding budget to throw a going away party for his friends and himself ? At a restaurant outside his riding no less. Personally I am happy being outside Toronto but others may feel different

The city has often struggled with the swimming pool issue but there has been almost no mention of libraries closing - unless you are talking about those few occasions when library staff were asking for wage increases. The library on Markham Rd near Cedarbrae is undergoing a massive renovation and the S. Walter Stewart branch near Toronto East General also received a major overhaul. I'd been in both those branches before construction started and I was surprised that the city felt such expensive refurbishment was needed. I'd have replaced the carpet and freshened up the paint etc but the city had far more grandiose plans. Toronto is throwing serious money at those libraries so I don't think you'll see them suddenly closing many. Toronto's per-capita library membership is the second highest in the world (Hong Kong is 1st) so there would've been lots of outrage if closures were being threatened. As far as the counsellor who misappropriated riding funds, municipal corruption is not unique to TO. That happens everywhere and often.

 

[Brill]

They have already cut library hours.
Probably saved a few measly dollars.

Look at the city budget and see where taxes go. Is it mostly to libraries, parks, transit, garbage pickup, daycare, roads?
No, about 25% goes directly to the police.
Which mayor candidate would cut the police budget?
The fiscally conservative Rob Ford? Nope, that's the only item he'd increase.

He's the biggest union supporter among them.

 

[oldjones]

Like his time as Tory leader, imposing policies, then retracting, this 'will he, won't he' stuff is not a good sign. People say he was a good leader as a corporate exec, but leadership politics is an entirely different game, and he's shown no talent at all for it.

The guys in the race may be unappealing, but that doesn't make him any better

 

[landscaper]

The city has often struggled with the swimming pool issue but there has been almost no mention of libraries closing - unless you are talking about those few occasions when library staff were asking for wage increases. The library on Markham Rd near Cedarbrae is undergoing a massive renovation and the S. Walter Stewart branch near Toronto East General also received a major overhaul. I'd been in both those branches before construction started and I was surprised that the city felt such expensive refurbishment was needed. I'd have replaced the carpet and freshened up the paint etc but the city had far more grandiose plans. Toronto is throwing serious money at those libraries so I don't think you'll see them suddenly closing many. Toronto's per-capita library membership is the second highest in the world (Hong Kong is 1st) so there would've been lots of outrage if closures were being threatened. As far as the counsellor who misappropriated riding funds, municipal corruption is not unique to TO. That happens everywhere and often.

The corruption is and does happen anywhere the problem in toronto is the constant we are out of money we need to raise taxes /shut pools/ cut services/ ...don't mind the garbage strike, ignore the 12,000 on the going away party stuff. THe media is omnipresent and this stuff is constantly showing up, Giambroni going to Portugal to explain how the TTC is a world leader is another example .

 

[K Douglas]

I don't live in Mississauga but I travel there on a regular basis. When I cross from Etobicoke into Mississauga, nothing suddenly changes. The roads are just as crowded and poorly maintained. The smog is just as bad. The houses look the same. The strip malls are just as ugly and haphazard. There is just as much litter and their transit is a joke compared to TO's. But a $500k house in Mississauga would be taxed higher than a $500K house in Toronto. And McCallion has had a few hefty tax hikes in the last decade or two. I'm not interested in a penny by penny comparison but, if it weren't for all the talk about McCallion the perfect, I would never have suspected that Mississauga was run any better or worse than anywhere else in the GTA. As I said, I don't intend to defend Miller, but Toronto doesn't seem to have suffered so very much considering that it is reportedly being run by an incompetent spendthrift commie who's into same-sex submission sessions with domineering labour bosses. Just sayin......

That 'hard nosed veteran business exec' comment was just a backhanded reference to the "kings of commerce" stereotype. Tory was on the Rogers board of directors and president of Thompson Investments so it's not unfair to characterize him as a veteran business exec who would see the world differently than a soft headed utopian socialist like Miller.

You can't really compare a $500K property in Mississauga with one in Toronto when the avg price of residential property in Mississauga is about $350,000 and the average price in Toronto is $430,000. Yes the tax rate is higher you'd pay about $750 more per year in Mississauga but you also get better services. The roads are in MUCH better condition, they get weekly garbage and recycling pickup, snow removal is much quicker, city run recreational facilities are light years ahead of Toronto's, there are no user fees for garbage removal and it is cleaner. Mississauga does lag in public transit accessibility but that is to be expected in the suburbs where the majority of people drive.

 

[slowpoke]

You can't really compare a $500K property in Mississauga with one in Toronto when the avg price of residential property in Mississauga is about $350,000 and the average price in Toronto is $430,000. Yes the tax rate is higher you'd pay about $750 more per year in Mississauga but you also get better services. The roads are in MUCH better condition, they get weekly garbage and recycling pickup, snow removal is much quicker, city run recreational facilities are light years ahead of Toronto's, there are no user fees for garbage removal and it is cleaner. Mississauga does lag in public transit accessibility but that is to be expected in the suburbs where the majority of people drive.

We seem to have reliable numbers for any comparison between Toronto and Mississauga taxes but nothing to substantiate that the services, recreation facilities, roads, snow removal etc are actually better, faster etc. I get very fast snow removal in the Coxwell & Danforth area. Garbage & recycling are picked up on alternate weeks but the green bin is collected weekly and we have absolutely no problem with that arrangement. I received a small garbage bin at little or no cost and it does the job perfectly because most of our refuse is recycled or composted. Does Mississauga have green bins?

The one difference that should be obvious to anyone familiar with both cities is that Mississauga is a car-oriented place with fewer sidewalks, almost no bike lanes and less transit. All you see are strip malls, cars, condos & concrete. In Toronto, people walk or cycle or take transit to a much greater extent. There are a lot more people moving about and a lot more interesting places worth walking or cycling to. This makes Toronto one of the best recreation facilities anywhere. The subways are fast and efficient so Torontonians can go farther and faster than those with only surface transit. They'd have to raise my taxes into the statosphere before I'd settle for anything less.