Though I have endorsed John Tory for mayor in earnest, I have also been frank with some of his own shortcomings. In short, I do not intend to be a worshiper much like Mitch Wolfe is on Rob Ford nor be blinded by my loyalty of Tory as Jamey Heath is to Olivia Chow in this year's municipal election.
This year, there are many good quality candidates to explore. John Tory is one and if there was fairness, David Soknacki should be another one. Sadly, the leading candidates are (for now) Tory, Rob Ford and Olivia Chow.
To begin with, Rob Ford is a formidable candidate but is an incompetent mayor. John Tory is a lousy candidate but will be a great mayor. Chow is a career politician with very little knowledge of the real world besides the NDP route and she will be a very disappointing mayor. There is indeed some truth when Karen Stintz and John Tory paint Chow as the "NDP candidate" and that certainly is not a good complement.
I understand Wolfe loves Rob Ford. Then again, he also loves the obnoxious Don Cherry too. I have read much of his love letters on Ford and I shall never come between those two. However, I would like to focus on Jamey Heath's blog and his defense of Chow.
In his blog, Heath points out how, during the Ford term, there has been "an average property tax increase of 1.8 per cent", much like Chow's term when she served on the City's budget committee more about a decade ago. The fact of the matter is, when Chow served as on the budget committee at City Hall, she was often a fringe voice that called for much higher property tax rate. Heath is wrongly crediting the collective work of the committee to make Chow seem like a moderate voice. That is almost like giving an opposition backbench MP credit for the Canadian economy.
Chow has always been careless when it comes to public money. Is Rob Ford now the benchmark for Chow's campaign to prove their fiscal credentials? So why attack John Tory when he reflects on some of Ford's positive economic agenda?
Heath also reflected on her foreign like trip to Scarborough where, according to him, she announced tax cuts for small businesses. By how much? He wouldn't say. Her brand is to be as vague as possible.
Heath attempts to make Chow a moderate by reflecting how "Ford, not Olivia, who is the taxer". Isn't Jamey Heath the same person who abandoned and left the chairmanship of the Ontario New Democratic Youth in the early 1990's accusing the party of being too moderate? Is he now defending moderation in pursuit of power for his candidate?
Heath makes a patronizing reference of Wolfe's argument about how he (Wolfe's) chat at Wendy's is no confirmation of Chow's support dwindling. Is Heath's reference of Chow having the largest political events -- busloads of NDP staff members from Ottawa and Queens Park -- enough to conclude she has plenty of support?
One thing I know for sure is the fact, we need a new mayor, if I may borrow a phrase from Jamey Heath's Carleton University Student Association Finance Commissionaire run from the 1990's, that will "stop the insanity" of the Rob Ford lost years. I just do not believe that candidate is Olivia Chow.
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