05.31.2012 08:45 AM

There’s one reason why Rob Ford is mayor of Toronto

And it’s because my friend John Tory didn’t run.  That’s it.

Per Alberta, I’m skeptical of all polls, these days.  But there’s a simple reality, here: if John had run – or runs – the Ford Family nightmare comes to an end.

19 Comments

  1. Skinny Dipper says:

    We really needed Mayor Rossi and his worm-holes! Instead, we got Mayor Ford and some ass-holes.

  2. Christian says:

    Vaughan is also in the running apparently. Its a poll and I’m skeeptical too, but I think one thing is certain: there cannot be a threeway race. The opposition will have to gather behind one candidate and that means alot of egos may have to be checked. That will be the tough part.

    • Dude Love says:

      Vaughan is popular in his ward and the “old downtown” Toronto and but not the surrounding suburbs. There are going to be various things that will play into Ford’s hands, namely, the LRT construction that will drag on and can be pointed to as a wrong decision with snarled traffic, ripped up streets, etc.

  3. Dan says:

    Hopefully Tory or Stintz will run and divide the right.

  4. JamesHalifax says:

    On another note……Mayor Ford just proposed the remaming of the ferry in honour of Jack Layton.

    (mean joke)

    He should have proposed renaming some of the auxiliary vessels in his honour as well.

    We could have had the “Rub-and-tug tug boat”

    Ok…that was bad. Sorry.

  5. Tiger says:

    Ford didn’t win on a vote-split last time — he was close enough to the combined Smitherman/Pantalone vote that he’d’ve won any run-off.

    Next time, he may, though.

    And yes, had John Tory run, he’d be mayor. Had he run at the start of the campaign last time, Ford wouldn’t even have run for mayor — he’d said he was backing Tory if he ran.

    Don’t know how a Tory 2014 run would go. He’d need an issue…

    • Massimo Savino says:

      How about ‘I’ll clean up Rob’s mess’ ?

      • Tiger says:

        Not good enough.

        If he ran on “Neither transit plan works, what we actually need is a Downtown Relief Subway Line”, that’d work.

        [And it’s true. Ford’s right on subways, but he’s got his heart set on building the wrong line. Transit City is closer to being right on location, but using the wrong (low-capacity) technology, and still doesn’t get to the nub of the problem.]

        And I’d vote for that, any day of the week.

  6. I doubt that Ford can go for another couple of years without a bushel of two of gaffes cropping up. If he simply shut up and did nothing, there may be a chance that the electorate would sleepwalk into a second Ford term, but I doubt that he will be able to help himself on that score. Long and short is that any discussion about 2014 that anticipates Ford keeping out of trouble in the interim is suspect. I was surprised that Tory did not run last time out. If I had to guess why he didn’t, it would be that he had had one too many trips to the altar, and his last attempt was personally humiliating. Probably he simply had enough of campaigning. There is nothing so exhausting and depressing as contesting a losing election.

    If Ford does continue to seek out banana peels to slip on, then I am betting that we will see two credible progressive challengers, and perhaps (but not likely) a CREDIBLE challenge from the rational right if ford tanks bady enough. The Toronto Star is going to roast him at every turn, and deservedly I might add, and another two years of headlines will have their impact, so why don’t we all bide our time for another year, then we can start lining up behind the most credible alternate.

  7. Tim Sullivan says:

    What makes anyone think John Tory would have been a good mayor, or better than Ford? Tory has a lot of credentials, a great deal of success in most things he has done.

    However, he’s a mess when it comes to politics. He ran Kim Campbell’s campaign and there was one PC returned to the House and one PC who won a new seat for the party. Then, all other PC candidates, including the prime minister, lost their elections.

    Then he destroyed the Ontario PC’s, losing all the local ridings he ran in.

    He has to find something else, or stick to business, philanthropy, whatever. As a Liberal, I like how he destroys out opposition — his team.

    • Pat says:

      John isn’t a politician. It’s that simple.

      That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be a good mayor though. After all, it’s all about governance. I would prefer to have a Mayor that takes the long-view rather than just caring about the 4 year cycle. A Mayor who isn’t just a glad-hander.

      There’s two sides to every politician – the side that can get elected, and the side that can govern well. Tory fails on the first (thought I think he could do it in Toronto), but has the second in spades.

      • Tim Sullivan says:

        He lost his riding in Toronto. If he hand-picked his riding for the provincial election, what make you think he would do any better city-wide?

  8. kenn2 says:

    I happen to like John Tory, but I disagree with Warren that he would have been mayor if he ran. Tory didn’t run cos he knew that he didn’t have the affection and support of the current national right regime and their very well-oiled campaign machine.

    Ford, by himself – unelectable as mayor. Ford, with the right-wing machine in force campaigning for him… elected.

  9. mauser98 says:

    if John Tory had not promised religious school funding in the provincial election we would not have lunatic , nanny state obsessed McSquinty and HST etc.

    • Derek Pearce says:

      John Tory is a Red Tory, so he’d be just as “lunatic and nanny state obsessed” as McGunity. As for the HST, it’s actually SAVING BUSINESSES MONEY on their inputs and of course an Ontario Conservative gov’t would have implemented it alongside their Federal brothers. Get real. Also, any time I hear the words “libtard,” “leftard,” and “McSquinty,” I know the person writing the comment has no real argument to make and is just making their own self feel better by childishly venting.

      • kenn2 says:

        -sigh-

        I remember a distant time when a person could be fiscally prudent AND have a social conscience, and not be smeared as a Red Tory. Of course, once the party was called (and contained) Progressive Conservatives.

      • mauser98 says:

        E-Health Smitherman,Ornge disaster, moving generating stations during election, no tax hikes, health care tax, banning pesticides makes Ontario look like 3rd world hell hole,CALEDONIA !!! international disgrace,farce,crime. assinine Samsung windmills, Kooki Suzuki green idiocy etc. ya McSquintys your leader. Dereck Pearce you are a libtard leftard ….hopeless, oh ya how ’bout your stupid pitbulls ? jerk

    • Tim Sullivan says:

      What on earth makes you think for one second, ONE SECOND, that the PCs would not have implemented the HST? Really, this and the childish demeaning passes in your circles as proper political analysis?

    • Tim Sullivan says:

      I happen to think that John Tory is a real loser who cannot compete in the political realm. He has been spectacularly unsuccessful in politics. His own party and at least 2 ridings did not want him, what makes you think Ontario was going his way, religious schools or HST (whatever) notwithstanding?

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