Taking stock of Rob Ford’s Toronto, 2011

Rob Ford in a rare press scrum, at David Pecaut Square | Image: West Annex News

By The Maven| As we head into 2012 and are well into the second year of Fordism, we should pause and take note of what has occurred so far.

Thugs like Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti run wild.

Idiots like Josh Matlow feel self-important.

And Ford claims success so far for his mandate. He feels that whatever he wishes to do is ordained directly from ‘the people’. Having been elected, he has stated (following in the footsteps of that other democrat and man of the people, Steven Harper) that election victory means no more consultation for four years. Being Mayor means to Ford that whatever he wants to do is has already been sanctioned and he needs no further approval.

Interestingly, in spite of current and looming layoffs (he promised none would occur during his administration), service cutbacks (he guaranteed they were not going to happen during his mandate) and tax increases (hidden as ‘user fees’, which he insisted would never happen while he was mayor), Rob Ford says he has had a successful year.

As well, although he has found virtually NO gravy at City Hall to cut, he did manage to piss an awful lot of gravy away on his own team of consultants who confirmed that the only gravy around was the stuff Rob was feeding them.

Thank god for Adam Vaughan and Shelly Carroll. I know Gord Perks is a nice guy as well, but if the City is to be saved, it will be Vaughan and Carroll at the head of the battle.

But keep looking for the conservative and butt licking Toronto press to quiet down much of the righteous rage against Ford. They prefer access to the corridors of power (as the Fords only grant press access to those who toady up to them) to exposing the truth about this gang of mental giants.

We’ll survive but it won’t be a pretty sight along the way. But, at least the laughs are great. I mean we couldn’t dream up a better target for derision than the Brothers Ford.

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Read more of The Maven’s blog at www.tomaven.wordpress.com.

For other articles by this author on the West Annex News, visit The Maven archive.

Pumping up the protests in Toronto City Council Chambers

By order of speaker Case Ootes, Toronto Police drag the public from Toronto City Council Chambers, October 11, 2000 during the Adams Mine debate | Screen shot from Brenda Bozlo YouTube video of CityPulse broadcast.

By West Annex News | Last month in one of the nicest tributes I saw to Jack Layton, Dave Meslin posted a link to a YouTube video of one of Jack’s most passionate moments at Toronto City Hall. The video shows then-CityTV reporter Adam Vaughan covering the Adams Mine dump debate at Council  on October 11, 2000. There’s a terrific shot of an outraged Jack pounding  on a pile of documents on his desk, yelling “Mr. Chairman, you are a bloody sham!” at Case Ootes.

That’s followed by several shots of citizens in the council chambers who are, astoundingly, standing, stamping their feet, chanting, jeering, demanding that council listen to them. When they refuse to shut up and Ootes orders them out of the chambers, they refuse to go. Next, we see the Toronto Police hauling people out one by one, still shouting, still protesting.

Wow. The passion, the theatre!

Cut to today’s City Council meetings. It seems that in every meeting something at least as heartbreaking or ill-conceived as the Adams Mine dump is foisted on us by our city-hating millionaire mayor. Transit City is cancelled, free nurses from the province are refused, $200,000 is squandered to remove bike lanes installed for only a year earlier, the mayor’s thugly brother tries to derail the award-winning Portlands development, and democracy is trampled.

Yep, nothing says "outraged citizen" like jazz hands | Image by Toasterb via Wikipedia

And how do we respond? Jazz hands.

Yep, we sit and shake our hands in silent pantomime.

If we’re really mad, we shake our hands really, really hard. Because if we don’t stay utterly silent, speaker Frances Nunziata threatens to throw us out. And heavens knows we can’t have that.

What happened to the time Torontonians were willing to put their bodies on the line for the values we cared about? In a city full of creative, funny, fun people, can’t we come up with anything better to express ourselves–non-violently–in Council Chambers?

Council will be sitting in a special session on Monday, September 26th starting at 9:30AM, to look at core services cuts.  While Ford’s recent swoon in popularity seems to have saved subsidized daycare spaces from cuts and library branches from closing, reduced library hours are still on the mayor’s hit list. He wants to close four of Toronto’s ten museums, and sell the Toronto Zoo and three performing arts facilities, and more.

When Councillor Mammoliti sticks out his thumb, how about making a sign right back to him? | Image credit David G Brault/Wikimedia Commons

And while I’m not saying we have to disrupt the council chambers just like the protesters did during the Adams mine debate, surely we can express our passion for the values we hold dear in a better way than jazz hands.

Non-violent doesn’t have to mean meek and deferential to the threats of a tyrannical speaker.

When the Sycophant-in-chief Georgio Mammoliti sticks out his thumb to tell the lemmings of council how to vote, how about making a hand signal right back to him?  A simple search on Google or Youtube yields many interesting signs derived from American sign language that could fit the bill.

Or how about if we brandish (but do not throw) a shoe, in tribute to reporter Muntadar al-Zaidi’s greeting to George Bush on the occasion of his visit to Iraq in 2008. Perhaps that shoe could be a flip-flop, to symbolize Ford’s broken campaign promise of “no service cuts, guaranteed.”

Might Speaker Frances Nunziata object to these innocuous forms of protest? Might she go all Case Ootes on us and threaten to clear us out? Yes, and yes. But like the Adams mine protesters, we shouldn’t go voluntarily. We should call Nunziata’s bluff. Nothing good can come to Ford from video of  the police dragging Toronto citizens out of their own council chambers.

And if you are physically hauled out of chambers by the police, at least you have a great story to tell your grandchildren–better than the story of how you sat in council chambers and made jazz hands while Rob Ford dismantled the city around you.

How about brandishing (but never throwing) a flip-flop, to symbolize Ford's broken campaign promise about of "no service cuts guaranteed."

Does Mayor Ford even understand his own ideology?

Stop the press: Robdoug isn’t what he appears to be!

1:49PM | And thank god for that. Nope,  our ‘stop the gravy train’, ‘cut councillors spending’, ‘I don’t need my councilor’s salary’ mayor, it has just been revealed (Toronto Star, Globe and Mail) is still doing business for his family firm.

Now, not only does this explain why Rob cannot be reached by the press for interviews (he doesn’t feel the job of mayor is full-time) but also why he can afford to forgo some of the financial benefits of his job (he’s got his own private gravy train).

Yep, great gig if you can get it. Keep riding high, Mr. Mayor. You’re setting a great example for the kids.

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By The Maven | Mayor Robdoug is an ultraconservative right wing politician. That would make him an adherent of the right’s favourite economic theory, trickle-down economics. The theory, simply put, is to lower taxes to allow the rich to keep more of their money. In doing so, the rich will spend more on goods and services which will increase economic activity across the board and thereby trickle down to us all.

Never mind that whether practiced by Ronald Reagan, George Bush I or II, Margaret Thatcher or Brian Mulroney, all left behind massive government debt when they exited office. Low taxes have been shown everywhere to be a disaster. Why do politicians continue to espouse these policies and this discredited economic theory? Well it really has nothing to do with economics. It is all ideological. Conservatives believe in less government. Reducing taxes decreases the government’s capacity to provide services, and therefore reduces the size of government. And not incidentally, with lower taxes the rich get to keep more of their money. Yeah, it’s really a gravy train for the better off.

Well now that Robdoug has begun his destruction of Toronto’s economy with his simple-minded approach, we face a massive debt for 2012 (just like right-wing politicians always leave us). His approach of cutting taxes will lead to layoffs in the civil service and privatization of services. That can only mean large pay cuts for thousands of employees. This can only lead to lower disposable incomes for many Torontonians, and–follow the logic here–less spending and less economic activity.

So it seems to me, if you are really a believer in trickle-down economics you should want more people earning more money so there is more money to stimulate economic activity thereby enriching us all. So what we have here is indeed one of those few hidden agenda unhidden moments. Ford’s agenda isn’t about saving money by making the provision of services more efficient. It’s about reducing services, period.

And that is cool with me. As long as Robdoug admits his agenda, we can have an open debate about the issues. No more gravy train stuff. Let’s have the real debate, about whether we think there is a role for government in society.

And lets see those centrist councillors get off their butts and declare where they stand. Do they support civil society or are they in the camp of simply protecting privilege?

That’s a debate I welcome.

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Is the Media that stupid or is Mayor Robdoug that smart?

The Mayor can't even sit through a City Council meeting. Even on the occasions he wanders into the chamber, he often turns his back the proceedings to chat with his office staff and coterie of advisors

By the Maven | Don’t ask me why; I picked up my Saturday Globe this morning and found myself reading that well-known intellectual columnist Mark Schatzker. What he lacks in political insight he tries to make up with humour, the all-too often refuge of the lightweight thinker.

It his column Downtown elite, have you enjoyed Ford’s first 100 days? he pretends to quote stereotypical elite-types from downtown neighbourhoods, irrationally placing blame on Robdoug’s administration for things like dead birds and bad food.

Ok, cute.

But it is his opening paragraph that pisses me off. He says “Since entering office, Rob Ford has cut taxes, balanced the budget, revived the city’s once dead subway map, and discovered a vat of gravy at TCHC”.

Really? That’s pretty good for 100 days. Too bad Mark got his facts wrong. First, there is no Rob Ford. Ask any reporter who has tried to interview him. Have you seen or heard Rob Ford interviewed? Right. You’ve only seen his brother Doug, whom 12,660 voters supported in Etobicoke North in the last election, or one-half of one percent of the total population of Toronto. Rob isn’t good about thinking things through, so Doug doesn’t let him talk to reporters. Rob can’t even sit through a City Council meeting.

Nope, there is no Rob Ford. There is only Robdoug, a hideous amalgamation of two of the most unattractive politicians this city has ever spawned. As for his accomplishments to date, Robdoug has indeed cut taxes, leaving even his budget chief Mike Del Grande scratching his head and worried about the implications for 2012.

Robdoug cancelled the very worthwhile LRT program (you know, the one that we have already spent millions on–did you know the LRT was a gravy train?) only to substitute it with a much scaled back subway concept that, as yet, has no secure funding.

And the TCHC gravy train? Well the investigation into that wasn’t even initiated by Robdoug.

In the meantime, our proud and free media won’t even pressure Rob to submit to questions, instead letting Doug do all the talking.

The free and proud media is giving Robdoug a free ride because they believe his rhetoric that he is riding a wave of popularity, notwithstanding that he polled less than 50% of votes cast. Now 47% is good, but more people voted against him than for him.

And 100 days into his administration he has a 60% approval rating. That sounds good. However, six months into his first term David Miller’s was over 82%. Did Miller get a free ride from the media to bully every opponent into submission?

No, our media are missing in action. They are not asking the Mayor tough questions, they accept speaking to a local councillor who happens to be the Mayor’s brother as a substitute for the real thing, and they accept the gravy train analogy as given from on high without delving below the surface.

And you know what offends me most about Schtazker? Is it his conservative politics?

No. It’s that he isn’t even funny.

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Rob Ford supports the NDP!

Provincial Conservatives Hudak and Harris: not exactly urban-friendly | Image credit G. Keeming, YouTube screen capture

By The Maven | Mayor Robdoug announced late this week that if Dalton McGuinty doesn’t cough up the over $300 million he has asked from the Ontario government he will work against the Liberals in the next provincial election this October.

Now, never mind that Robdoug shamed the previous City Council for asking Ontario for money (“Toronto has a spending problem, not a revenue problem”) and that he has cut taxes, amounting to about $120 million in lost revenue to the City. And, of course we know that Robdoug is a member of the Conservative Party.

However, here is the thing: the Conservatives, who began the beggaring of Toronto under Mike Harris, are not urban friendly and would be less likely than the Liberals to give money to Toronto.

So, that leaves the NDP, as pro-urban, downtown progressives to support Toronto. Which can only mean that Robdoug is about to announce his support for the Ontario NDP in the fall election.

Who says shit doesn’t stick?

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For other articles by this author, visit The Maven archive.

The weekly wrap for February 25, 2011

Is the Green Room back? David Topping examines how the restaurant–closed down in September 2010 with the worst health inspection record in the city–managed to re-open. [OpenFile]

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The stations of Scott Pilgrim? The National Post staff have suggestions for Toronto’s own film icon statue. [National Post]

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The  malling of downtown. Siri Agrell looks at how the big boxes are shoe-horning themselves into unlikely spaces to chase downtown condo dwellers. [Globe and Mail]

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A 4000 square foot rival for Noah’s at Bathurst and Bloor. Bert Archer profiles Qi Natural Foods’ massive new shop, Herbs and Nutrition, in the former Payless Shoe Store premises at 572 Bloor Street West. [YongeStreet]

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Soon gone, but not forgotten. Derek Flack explores a collaborative effort to collect images of Toronto urban art using Google street view. [blogTO]

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Harbord and Spadina, 1899 and 2010. GBC finds two views of the intersection, taken 111 years apart. [Lost Toronto]

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The City Hall Press Gallery strikes back. Sort of. Jonathan Goldsbie reports on the media’s attempt to prevent our MIA Mayor and brother from continuing to freeze out the Star. [OpenFile]

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It’s not just us. Joel Kotkin laments that the world’s largest cities are failing in their traditional role of giving the poor a leg up into the middle class. [Metropolismag.com]

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Every Friday, the Weekly Wrap collects articles from around the web about or of interest to residents of the West Annex.

For previous weeks’ columns, visit the Weekly Wrap archive.

The weekly wrap for February 18, 2011

What does $1 million in pot look like? Derek Flack examines the marijuana haul taken out of Pizza Gigi on Harbord Street. [blogTO]

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Like the bike union, but for parks. Catherine Porter looks into a new lobby organization devoted to rescuing Toronto’s green space. [thestar.com]

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Confabulation at the Gladstone. Come out and hear our neighbour David Woodhead Thursday, February 24th at 8PM. [Gladstone Hotel]

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Raccoon Nation. Nicole Baute reviews the new documentary on the secret lives of  Toronto’s urban raccoons, airing on the CBC February 24th at 8PM. [thestar.com]

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Is our fear of heights misplaced? Edward Glaeser discovers how skyscrapers can save the city. [The Atlantic]

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Where’s the mayor? John Lorinc enquires with Rob Ford’s press secretary about the mayor’s disappearing act with the press. [spacingtoronto]

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Every Friday, the Weekly Wrap collects articles from around the web about or of interest to residents of the West Annex.

For previous weeks’ columns, visit the Weekly Wrap archive.

Who’s the Mayor?

The Ford Family Compact, Rob fifth from the left, Doug far right | image credit RobFordToronto

By The Maven | In the bad old days, Ontario was ruled by a group of wealthy, conservative, elite families. They were essentially dynasties.  They were called the Family Compact.

Things have changed. Today Toronto is run by a rich family of two brothers, Rob and Doug Ford. Or perhaps that should be Doug and Rob. Both are scions of a long-time Conservative politician. Both inherited wealth and business status. Rob is a career politician.

How come a rookie councillor (Doug) is the spokesperson for everything that is going on a City Hall? Why won’t Rob agree to be interviewed by the press? Why won’t he answer questions? Why can we only hear from his brother Doug?

Just who is running City Hall?

Why is it that before Rob became Mayor he would not shut up about anything, but now we can’t hear from him about anything?

But what really bugs me is the response of the press. Why is our press being such toadies to this First Family of Fords? If Rob will not give an interview or answer questions, why do they agree to speak to his surrogate? Why not simply say on air, “as the Mayor refused an interview and refused to answer our questions, we have sought answers from…” and then proceed with an interview of someone in the opposition at City Hall. Someone like our own councillor Adam Vaughan.

Why allow Robdoug to play these games with impunity? Why isn’t our press up to the job of either getting an interview or calling the mayor to account?

Did this city vote for Rob or Doug Ford?

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For other articles by this author, visit The Maven archive.

The image above is a screen capture from a video posted on RobFordToronto’s YouTube channel.

Don’t do a Ford with your COLA

The millionaire brothers Rob and Doug Ford | photo credits Robyn Kalda/Wikimedia Commons

By the Maven | Interesting happenings at City Hall this week. The right made an assault on the left by forcing them to deny their COLA (cost of living allowance) increases.

Now, on face value what’s so bad about councillors refusing a pay increase?

I have no idea what is appropriate to pay a city councillor or what increases they should get. What I do know is that in the bad old days, councillors and school trustees were not paid. Holding these positions was considered public service.

There were two problems with this. First, these jobs  were considered part time. As a result most elected officials were not capable of making proper public policy because they never gave the time necessary to educate themselves on the issues.

Maybe that was just as well because of the second problem. Only the rich could afford to run for an office that would not pay them. What working person could possibly either quit work or take the time off work necessary to hold public office?

Which brings us to Rob and Doug Ford. They can. Why? Because they are rich.

It’s that simple. While playing the little guys’ friend, these two guys are millionaires.

So, again, I don’t know what a councillor should be paid. But I do know that they should be paid reasonably well for a job that takes a lot of work and responsibility. Otherwise we aren’t going to get good people in the office.

But what really pisses me off is Doug Ford making a public show of donating his entire salary to charity. Of course he can…because he is rich. He doesn’t need the money, unlike some of the working class people who run for office but still need to provide for a family.

You know what would be a REAL gesture? Why doesn’t Dougie try living on his councillor’s salary and donate his CORPORATE salary to charity?

Now that would be something to cheer for.

Oh. And while I’m at it. Let me add one more rant. Isn’t power a seductive asset? Just like the Conservatives in Ottawa, all of whom have agreed to be neutered by Steven Harper just to be in cabinet and in power, the conservative councillors at City Hall have castrated themselves politically just so they can have any appointment in the Ford Administration. Imagine a politician who has been on council for 20 years agreeing to take orders from Dougie who has about 20 minutes experience in urban affairs.

Well, if power is an aphrodisiac all the conservative councillors at City Hall must be stoned!

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Visit Robyn Kalda`s photostream on Flickr.

For other articles by this author, visit The Maven archive.

The Weekly Wrap for January 14, 2011

Koreatown is getting less Korean. Cathy Conway looks at how cheap rents are attracting new business that are changing the face of the Bloor strip west of Bathurst. [Open File Toronto]

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Honest Edwardianisms. The Dominion Modern Gallery puts on a show devoted to the art of Honest Ed’s hand painted signs and sign painters. [Dominion Modern]

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“Look around in an urban Whole Foods, and you will see people who came from the suburbs and will head back eventually to live.” Alex Bozidovic likes Witold Rybczynski’s latest book Makeshift Metropolis. [The Globe and Mail]

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“Enough wicked humour and touching moments to make for a worthwhile evening.” Jon Kaplan reviews Tarragon’s current Mainstage show The Misanthrope. [NOW]

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Ford balances his 2011 budget by deploying the entire Miller surplus of $346 million in a single year. Daniel Dale on the new mayor’s unconservative approach to the budget. [thestar.com]

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Every Friday, the Weekly Wrap collects articles from around the web about or of interest to residents of the West Annex.

For columns from previous weeks, visit the Weekly Wrap archive.