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Morning Brew: Rob Ford wins the Toronto mayoralty and other election news
It's no surprise what the big story is this morning, so let me collect some reaction from the majors on Rob Ford's mayoral victory.
On Ford's win
"As for Ford, he is now mayor of all the people, not just those who voted for him in this hotly contested election. That means he has to reach out beyond the narrow confines of his campaign. As a magnanimous Smitherman said in his concession speech, "Toronto is too important" to carry on the divisive battles of the past year. He urged Ford to take steps to heal the divisions." - The Toronto Star
"The size and scope of Mr. Ford's victory - he garnered more votes than David Miller did in 2003 or 2006 - contradicted every recent poll and confirmed that traditionally progressive Toronto is angry enough about taxes and spending to overlook the Etobicoke councillor's history of gaffes and scandals." - The Globe and Mail
One can only imagine the horror in certain quarters. Uncouth, uncultured, suburban, journalist-chasing, drunk driving, marijuana-possessing Air Canada Centre ejectee and lone wolf former city councillor Rob Ford is mayor-elect of Toronto -- and not just by a little. Mayor David Miller congratulated him last night and so should everyone else. It sure won't help not to. - The National Post
Rob Ford has steamed his way from Etobicoke to City Hall, vowing Toronto will never be the same. The brash councillor with the rumpled suits and the simple message of cutting waste chugged his way to victory in the mayor's race, ploughing through the challenge of more polished opponents and seizing the imagination of voters...." - The Toronto Sun
Noteworthy news from council races
Although it was widely reported that Peter Milczyn had lost to Justin Di Ciano in Ward 5, when all the polls had reported, the incumbent and Rob Ford supporter, had in fact narrowly won by 109 votes.
Other incredibly tight races took place in Ward 9 (where Maria Augimeri took victory over Gus Cusimano) and Ward 30 (Where Paula Fletcher just held on toe beat Liz West).
Sandra Bussin was leveled in Ward 32 by Mary-Margaret McMahon, who took over 65% of the vote. Bussin joins Cliff Jenkins, Bill Saundercook and Suzan Hall as incumbents who were voted off the island.
Other races around the GTA
Other notable winners in mayoral races around the GTA included, unsurprisingly, Mississauga's Hazel McCallion, who pulled in about 76 per cent of the vote despite being dogged by scandal for much of the year. It's not up on YouTube yet, but she had a crazy post-victory interview with CP24 last night in which she called out the Star and claimed that print journalists distort the facts while television reporters tell it like it is.
Vaughan, meanwhile, has a new leader in Maurizio Bevilacqua, who trounced the incumbent, Linda Jackson.
For results from Oakvile and Milton, check here.
And for full results from all the council races, check out our Toronto Election 2010 Results post.
Photo by ~EvidencE~ in the blogTO Flickr pool.
Discussion
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your resentment of your fellow Torontonians is quite dumb and misplaced. WE didn't create your so-called gravy train. WE want a better Toronto just as much if not more than you do.
get off the predictable bully pulpit of "na na na na, we stuck it to you!". your man may be the mayor but he can't get anything done without full cooperation.
I'm shocked, but incredibly happy with this result. For a while it didn't look like anyone was stepping up their campaign against Bussin. Then a guy by the name of Bruce Baker started campaigning heavily. A Rob Ford supporter who I've been told lives in <b> North York</b>. Area residents wanted change, but was he the change we needed? I hoped not. Thankfully, despite not a very aggressive campaign, Mary-Margaret McMahon managed to get support from just about everyone, from the Green Party to John Tory and later even Bruce Baker.
- Resident of the area
- Progressive views and a concern for the environment
- Didn't resort to nasty campaigning
So most residents went into the campaign with the hope that 'anyone but Bussin' would be elected in and ended up getting a candidate that was an actual legitimately great candidate for the job completely independent of the fact that Bussin needed to go.
That victory makes it easier for me to swallow the reality that Rob Ford is mayor
Perfect!
That is all.
The city was never broke, just underfunded (ie undertaxed) to support the public works programs that a city of its size really should have and that Miller wanted to implement.
The books were never in danger of not being balanced. It was just a matter of not introducing so many new social programs and services.
Miller's mistake was that he chose this method over just promoting those social programs and using that support to fund them with increased taxes( Granted, that would have been a much tougher sell). So not only did people believe the city was broke, but they also never got the opportunity to realize all the things Miller introduced to the city.
So it didn't really take long before people started coming to the conclusion that the city was broke due to mismanagement. No huge examples of misspent money (relatively speaking) could ever be referenced, so they had to pick on small, insignificant things (such as perks) or things that were impossible to change (such as council size).
Those that campaigned in the realm of reality lost because they couldn't promise the impossible. Those that won took a cue from American politics and realized that you can lie and exaggerate as much as you want and people will forget when the next election comes.
1) You legitimately thought he could make a difference. You knew that his promises were a load of BS, but understood that change was necessary and if he could get a few of his promises to go through then it would be worth it.
2) You believed the BS. Council would be cut in half, we'd have new subways, all taxes would be removed and somehow we'd fund new services with negative money. Not that ignorance is unique to Rob Ford. There are people in this category for the other candidates as well.
3) You didn't want to vote for someone who conflicted with your 'traditional' (ie, biggoted) values.
I'm not really concerned with what kind of damage Rob Ford can do to the city. I'm more concerned with the fact that the population voted him in. I'm concerned that #3 took a more significant role than it had any right to be in 2010. (one vote would have been too many)
I'm not suggesting his negotiations themselves didn't impact his support, just that his constant focus on the broke city of Toronto amplified it.
The non-voters, quite frankly, don't matter since they couldn't be bothered to get off their whining asses to do the simple act of marking a ballot.
Now, do you watch the new episode of South Park or do you go down to the voting booth and make an arrow next to Kevin Clarke's name?
Rob Ford became mayor yesterday with a strong election result and not by just a few hundred votes. Sit back and see how he does by next spring. I think that would be a fair amount of time. It's rare to see a politician with not much ego but to end the spending at city hall. He's looking out for us the taxpayers of this city.
Think of him like a consultant suggesting frivolous spending must stop and pay off the bills. Once done, the city would be in a better position to move forward without the whining there's no money for anything. Money grows with interest, not when a financial system is in the red.
Good luck Rob. Now PROVE YOURSELF.
http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/south-park/season-8/south-park-808-douche-and-turd/
As he has shown himself to play fast and loose with numbers during the campaign, and to be able to bamboozle 50% of the electorate with false economies, I'm not so sure he will be able to deliver what his supporters intended to be delivered. Instead, I fear that his ham-handed, cut-and-slash impulses (assuming he can get them passed) will leave the city worse off as a place to live, and deeper in the financial muck.
I wish him well, as I wish well to us all. My expectations, on the other hand, are as low as they could be.