City
Powerless petition seeks to impeach Rob Ford
An online petition to have Toronto mayor Rob Ford impeached is gaining steam as it spreads across social media networks. Created two days ago, it has currently racked up about 1800 "signatures" with at least half of these coming yesterday evening and overnight. Given the recent vote to scrap the Jarvis bike lanes and the series of cuts suggested in the Core Services Review, the timing of the petition doesn't come as much of surprise.
"His campaign was run on falsehoods, smoke and mirrors but the numbers are in and Rob Ford can't balance a budget without cutting services and significantly raising your taxes," reads the explanatory preamble. "Rob Ford is not my mayor. Now let's make it official."
But here's the thing: regardless of how many signatures it gets, the petition is ultimately impotent. You can't impeach a mayor in Ontario, nor can a legislative body charge a municipal leader with an offence — that's the domain of the criminal courts 'round these parts. So even if the so-called pinkos participate en masse and the document goes completely viral, Ford's staying put.
Back in 2009 a similar petition was formed to oust Mayor David Miller. Still available online, it topped out at 2157 signatures. One suspects that this petition will easily exceed that number (probably by the end of the day), but it doesn't really matter. If anything, stuff like this tends to buoy Ford and his supporters. As much as social media can be used to mobilize political effort, signing a powerless petition just isn't the best way to exercise one's democratic rights.
Photo from Rob Ford's Facebook page
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Our psychological flaws as progressives allowed an utter rube and his brother to ascend to power in this city with a cast of literal clowns like Mammoliti.
Once we get the failstick out of our butts, maybe we can start doing something about it.
And if you're not going to throw your support behind this mayor, then start thinking ahead to how to defeat his simpleton a$$, next time around.
Impeachment efforts are, quite frankly, a waste of energy.
If you've watched council lately you'll know that the brainstorming hasn't stopped, but that the right is completely stonewalling everyone in favour of unspecified and unquantified stakeholders. The question we should be asking is: who is really guiding Mammoliti's thumb?
You will have also heard that bike lanes do not slow traffic, because bicycles are traffic. Delineating road uses clearly only serves to make things simpler and easier for everyone who uses our roads.
You're right about the budget, though.
While the petition has no legal power it can raise awareness. And that, my friends, is better than nothing.
Don't initiate a property tax freeze when you know you are going to be in a deficit situation the next year. Don't blow the previous gov'ts surplus to balance said budget. 2 years of modest proerty tax increases are better than one giant property tax increase.
Reduction of staff is also a good idea, but again you can't cut 3,000 jobs in one go and not have it affect services. A long stead decrease through attrition is a more sensible route.
Contracting out work: there are some things that can be provided by the public sector. Not necessarily any better, but cheaper. However, I doubt Plans Examiner is one of those positions.
Don't nickle and dime the budget, cancelling funding to Pride will not solve you budgtary woes, in fact a 1-3% reduction in the salaries for councilors and the mayor would cover that. What's the saying Penny wise and Pound foolish?
FYI - I'm a Rob Ford supporter.
If your own personal finances are in trouble and your in debt. Do you continue to acquire more debt and keep spending or do you get tough with yourself, cut back and pay down your debts?
Do you continue to throw good money after bad?
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.asp
There's one way to deal with Ford and people will have to wait a few years to exercise it.
Plus, creating an additional $7 million cost (of removing the Jarvis bike lane) at this time is pointless and cost-hungry.
Here's a few points
-if you want Ford out, find someone better first. E-Health Smitherman was not it.
-even if you could impeach him, an online petition is just a waste of time.
-Ford doesn't make decisions on his own, why not try impeaching the councillors you don't agree with?
Ford's a fatass because he's lazy and eats a lot. He could change that very easily if he wanted. Even if he's genetically predisposed to corpulence, he's still choosing to cram his face and sit on his ass.
The following blog talks about targeting the so called "mushy middle" and naming it project 23:
https://afuitbs.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/project-23/
Basically, ignore the hardcore Ford loyalists and focus on those in the middle who have been siding with Ford. Especially those who had narrow election wins and could possibly lose the next election if enough people turn on them. The site mentions the idea is still in it's infancy, but I think that's better area to focus on while waiting for the next election.
But the defence should have been lead by someone other than the bike union, as it makes it solely cars vs. bikes, and as it turned out, that's how the debate went.
I would have liked the defenders to be focusing on pre and post-change accident rates on Jarvis and the safety aspect, make the issue about road infrastructure and how the a 4 lane Jarvis was safer than 5 for cars and pedestrians.
Rob Ford hates healthy active people.
The best thing people can do is call your cauncil member over and over again demamnding that they dont become a yes man/woman for Ford
But...at certain moments e-petitions and their ilk have gotten the attention of our political leaders and altered their support for specific policies or legislation. UBB is the latest example. A sudden, surprisingly vigorous, online ruckus scared the federal government into acting.
And the thing about spontaneous, populist uprisings is, you never really know when they'll happen or what will spark them. Doris/Stockwell Day anyone? So I don't see the harm in taking a swing at sending a message of general discontent over Ford's policies to council members, the general public, or anyone else who will listen.
I'm sure all this can be effectively communicated through an anonymous petition.
I also write letters, vote, go to candidate debates, etc.
What's that saying - "I know that half my marketing budget is wasted. I just don't know which half."
E-petitions are a long shot, but it's a small investment.
Actually, if it weren't so fundamentally, nay, suicidally beyond the pale, a "Kill Rob Ford" movement almost shouldn't be that *un*likely, given the tensions in the air...
IF THERE WAS MONEY 20 YEARS AGO TO KEEP THIS CITY RUNNING WITH 1 MILLION PEOPLE, WHY NOW WITH 10 MILLION THERE IS NO MONEY?
MUCH MORE REVENUE AND SERVICES ARE NOT THAT GREAT.
LIES LIES LIES.
WE PROVIDE CATERING TO THE CITY HALL AND THEY BUY A LOT.
SO THE EXPENSES THAT NEEDS TO BE CUT ARE NOT THE BASIC SERVICES.
I mean.. many asia countries are doing this and it accounts for 2/3 of their profit.. and the fare is only 1/3 of their profit..
Please lets ensure that there is a better candidate that captures our imagnination when Mr Ford's time is at an end!
Why can we not have a non-confidence vote of a Mayor?