People
Toronto Through the Eyes of Adam Giambrone
A quick Google search of Adam Giambrone turns up hundreds of hits about his political career: he was elected to council when he was just 26; he's a former president of the federal New Democratic Party; he's the chair of the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC); he speaks several languages; and he's toured the world as an archaeologist. All that and the guy's in his early thirties.
With a municipal election on the horizon and some city residents tweeting about Giambrone as their dream mayoral candidate, we decided to take a few moments to catch up with the busy city councillor to talk about growing up in Toronto, why he loves the TTC and whether he's really considering a run for David Miller's chair.
What was it like growing up in Toronto?
I was a city kid. I grew up in the Dufferin and Bloor neighbourhood and attended Dewson and Lord Lansdowne Public Schools before attending Harbord. I was lucky to grow up across the street from a large group of kids with local parks nearby where we could play hockey, baseball or cricket.
At school I enjoyed being in classes where letters were sent home to parents in 15 to 20 languages. I remember travelling with my friends on the subway and then the old Spadina 77 bus to attend Lord Lansdowne which was an excellent school.
Later, as a teen and university student, I spent the summers working in the education department of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
After studying anthropology and working around the world as an archaeologist, you transitioned into local politics. Why?
I've lived in Montreal for school and worked in North Africa and the Middle East as an archaeologist with the ROM, University of Manitoba and the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. While I have lived and worked in many places, Toronto has always been my home and my neighbourhood has always been very important to me.
I've always been interested in participating in my community and municipal politics is a good way to do that. Many of the services we rely on every day are delivered by the city and so it seemed like a good way to accomplish things that were important to me and the residents of my community.
If you could tell City Hall to do one thing right now, what would it be?
In a word, "focus". We still have a year left in this term of council and it's crucial that we focus on the good work we agree must be done, particularly in the context of budgetary challenges we know we'll be facing. Of course, as Chair of the TTC, I would have to point out that we have to continue our progress on Transit City and the ridership growth initiatives that have already been so successful. The upcoming municipal election campaign will be where we renew and broaden our collective vision, but for now, we must work together to really deliver.
Is there any truth to the twitter rumour that you're considering a run for mayor?
Yes, I've been giving it some thought. I've been talking to my supporters and I've been encouraged by what I've heard from many of them. Running for Mayor, if you're serious, is not something you enter into lightly and not something you can do without lots of help and support from the community and its leaders.
Being the Chair of the TTC, is it safe to assume you take transit to get around the city?
The TTC was always my main way of getting around and still is. I'm on the TTC several times a day. Sometimes, I may need to rent a car for trips out of town or use a taxi to get groceries home, but those are the exceptions. I'll often take a long walk to get some exercise and clear my mind. I also cycle, although maybe not as much as I used to; it can be a challenge to get from downtown to Scarborough to Etobicoke, sometimes all in the same day. But I still enjoy it and bike when it's practical.
Describe an ideal afternoon in the city.
I enjoy exploring neighbourhoods across the city and spending time with friends and family. The best way to answer this is probably to recount a Sunday afternoon I spent just over a month ago. We (my partner and I) started by taking the Queen streetcar to Mimico, had lunch and explored Mimico and the historic former Lakeshore Lunatic Asylum (which is being converted by Humber College into a new campus). It is a beautiful series of brick buildings built in the late 19th century. We ended the day with dinner in Bloor West Village. That was a great day.
Do you have any favourite places to eat or hangout in the city?
You'll find me out all over the city, but I love my neighbourhood because I have so many neighbours and friends there, many of whom I grew up with.
If someone's new to the city, what's the one place you'd suggest they check out?
I'd probably tell them to check out the ROM, but perhaps I'm a little biased.
When you think of Toronto, what three words come to mind?
Collaborative. Confident. Connected.
Discussion
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non-committal, ambiguous, politician
Har har.
I think Giambrone is highlighting a big problem with city hall, how can someone who's background be in archaelogy be voted into leadership for the running of a city, and then put on the chair of Canada's largest public transportation system?
I wonder if he would be where he is now, if not for being a past leader in the NDP? Nah, it probably had nothing to do with it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farebox_recovery_ratio
That is quite an achievement, although the TTC was doing this long before Adam G came along.
Reliability can be a bit subjective, but there are 467 million rides a year on the TTC, and I myself rely on it most of the time.
Price for transit is a bit of a paradox: you can only lower fares if user-ship goes way up, but user-ship will not go up until you expand service which costs money. That is why we need a sustained, decades long investment in public transit so that people can rely on the TTC and make it more cost-efficient due to high ridership.
I think the 3 levels of government have to commit more money to the TTC so that riders don't have to pay ever higher fares, even if it means our fare-box revenue is reduced from 63% to 40% or 50% for 10 years.
http://www3.ttc.ca/Contact_Us/Complaints_Compliments_Suggestions/index.jsp
"501 QUEEN / 301 QUEEN
Temporary Monday-Friday routing change - five week trial
Service on the 501 QUEEN and 301 QUEEN all-night will be temporarily changed, as part of a test to determine if shortening the route will improve service reliability. The route will be split into eastern and western portions.
This trial change will be in effect from Monday to Friday only, on the 501 QUEEN and 301 QUEEN routes, from October 19 to November 20, 2009.
On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, there will be no change to service, and streetcars will continue to operate from Neville Park Loop to Humber Loop/Long Branch Loop."
Taipei, no subway systems in 80's, now, incredible subway..and they are all very inexpensive..
even bangkok is going to have subway from airport to downtown
Toronto, last 19 years.. we have extended a few stops on a useless sheppard subway line that takes us nowhere.. our token is more expensive that NYC!.. 19 years! we 've got nothing.. it's a real embarrassment.. out of town friends want to visit markham and scarboro... i told them NO, 'cause I don't want them to experience how terrible our transit is
I don't understand where the tax money goes, esp more condos are being built, more people are paying property tax, more home owners, more people paying property tax.. more immigrants, more people pay property tax.. gas price going up, more tax..
and what did Adam Giambrone do? does anyone have any clue? other that looking pretty in front of the camera when there's a problem..was he not the one approved the dumbest transferrable metro pass idea that led to revenue loss... hello, don't we have U of T ph d's who can do some profit and loss assessment before implementing this??? isn't this basic maths?? this was a lame reason for revenue loss.. coz i am sure there are other reasons they were hiding..
In general you are characterizing Toronto as a city that's falling behind in terms of transit, and I agree; however, this observation is of little value without any theory as to why this is the case other than the assumption that the people in charge (since 1990?) are to blame.
I'm reserving judgement on his mayoral bid until he releases some sort of platform.
Having been active in whatever community I live in from day 1 I can say that even if you had the greatest councilor in office there will always be people who complain. Within weeks of the West End Railpath opening I heard a person say at a public meeting that the city never does anything for our hood. At the time I could think of 5 or 6 other area improvements underway by the City. I think because local government is the closest to people, it takes a lot of anger that people have for politics and life in general.
here you go.. go to T & T.. their steamed chicken with rice is $3.50.. add veggie for another 50 cents...tea is free... that's healthier than your frigging Big Mac meal deal.. or go with their 2 items, with shit loads of meat and veggie, still under $6
re: complaint too much
well, isn't that lovely... oh I get it.. that's because Canadians just accept and don't complain...
so I suppose you are very happy with the TTC and all the problems i mentioned was out of my imagination, lol.. well, then good for you
" private corporation skimming off the profits from a public service".. honestly if a private corporation can provide a better service and more efficient.. we should let them skim off the profits(if there is any to be had to begin with.. according to ttc, there is any)
The problems with the TTC are soley financial. The Tories cut provincial funding and the Liberals have not restored it, they have simply offered stop-gap money to cover shortfalls. In all the transit system that I have been on around the world including those in Asia, the systems are properly funded by the government. And for your ridiculous claim that we should privatize the TTC and let corporations skim the profits, before the TTC all transit in this city was privately run. Those companies proved wholely inadequate and constantly failed which is why we have the TTC.
Privatization of core services like the TTC would be a mistake. But what about turning it into a Crown corporation? It would remove some of the political meddling and running it like a private firm (while retaining public ownership) might force it to be more efficient.
I don't mean to imply that those operating it now are free-spending dimwits, but you can do a lot of ugly but necessary things (cuts, curtailed service) when you aren't constrained by the political spotlight.
for your information..the hk government had only 23% share of the subway system until June 2000, that 23% was sold to private investors and the subway corporation is traded and listed on the stock exchange, our equivalent of TSE!
I wish people would get a reality grip when talking about Toronto and it's 'problems.' Our problems are self-induced, plain and simple. New York, Paris, London, HK, Taipei - these cities should not even be used in the same paragraph as Toronto!
We simply do not have the density or the money, not with our governments spending it like drunken sailors on furlow. I've lived in and around Toronto for 40+ years and the decline is palpable. I'm not a huge fan of Gambrione, but the TTC's decline is not entirely his fault.
The city and province used to spend a lot of money on infrastructure, but now it all goes to debt servicing, touchy-feely programs and STUDIES. Study this, study that - but don't actually do anything! Then, with the NIMBY clowns, lo and behold - nothing gets done.
This city used to work. It's politicians used to have respect. Things got done. Now it's all about 'feelings' and 'empowerment.' Let's shuffle it off to a committe or commission because Gawd Forbid we make a decision!
No infrastructure has been built in this city since the early '80s, except the Sheppard subway (dont' get me started on that!!). Highways, subways, rapid transit - they should all have been expanded 20 years ago. With nearly 30 cents on the dollar going to the debt, don't hold your breath - and now the Province is in trouble so that cash cow has been beaten to death.
even if you take an area similar to the size of hk, are you saying the TTC is offering great service? don't think so.. try going from Yonge and Eglinton to the CNE using TTC, and you will see how painful it is... or just travelling dt that is not serviced by the subway...
lastly, the fact that we have a TV show(at least one) dedicated to giving people update on TTC(and GO train, plus other public transits) every morning is already a joke.. public transit should be hassle free, ease to use..
judging by these comments, seems like alot of people are VERY happy with the TTC(or they work for the TTC).. then you know what.. don't change,and keep it this way guys.. happy TTC ride.. as I have already given up taking TTC to work and moved only 2 blocks away from my office..it really doesn't matter to me..as I drive
BC Transit is fully privatized and it'll cost you more than a meal to take a round trip from zone 1 to zone 3
Take NYC for example. People always like to point out that they run their subway 24 hours and that the TTC should be able to do the same. Even ignoring the population density differences, New York is able to do this because their subways were originally built with more than two tracks parallel to one another allowing maintenance to be done on one track without shutting down the others.
Other cities mentioned have problems with over crowding and others have ancient construction with inadequate upgrades (I've heard some platforms in London referred to as the seventh layer of hell due to the poor ventilation and extreme heat. Others have almost non-existant support for people with disabilities.
My point is that every city has its own needs and challenges and trying to compare one city's solution to another is like comparing apples and oranges. Picking the best aspects from several other cities then complaining that Toronto doesn't have all of them is just asinine.
Nobody has a perfect subway system, let alone any city with the funding and density of a city like Toronto.
And as for Giambrone's ability as councilor: I had an issue some time ago and emailed my constituant, the consituant in the adjacent area where the issue arose and Giambrone, because it was related to the TTC.
I never received any response back from the Councilor in the region where the problem occurred. It took my own local Councilor's office a month to respond back with an unhelpful non answer. But Giambrone's office responded back within 2 or 3 days and had the issue addressed after one follow up email. They took the concern seriously and responded in a very timely manner and instructed me to contact them again if any further issues arose.
So how would privatizing help that?
http://www.bctransit.com/corporate/?p=1.txt
I meant to say: Translink. Which is essentially BC's transit service.
Anyhow, even with a private/public split AND a better funded (governmental) transit system, it's still more expensive than the TCC and isn't more or less efficient as far as I could tell when I visit there 2 or 3 times a year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Mountain_Bus_Company
Thanks, bye.
Miller, as decent as he was, refused to make those cuts and made no apologies about that in his farewell speech (and I appreciated his candor). I don't know that Giambrone would be any more willing to start slashing service or raising user fees.
Next you are going to tell us that old cunard that the Tories are the most fiscally responsible party. We aren't living beyond our means, we are simply being forced as City taxpayers to carry too much of the burden. We generate more tax revenues than any region in the province or the country, but pay out more than we get back.
1. The current push to slash the budget was prompted by the city manager, a bureaucrat, in light of the law against running a deficit. It isn't an initiative by Miller or any other political actor. In Miller's time in office he has expanded services and increased spending despite the reality that the money just isn't there. To quote the Globe article linked in today's Daily Papers post, Miller even ramped up spending in the depths of the recession:
"The proposed retrenchment is in stark contrast to 2009, when the city hired more than 1,000 new employees to deliver significantly expanded transit and other city services."
That makes little fiscal sense and it's an example of Miller's primary failing as Mayor: he didn't address the city's terrible balance sheet and it's to our long-term detriment.
2. I do think it's a canard to say that any political party is inherently good at managing the economy. I think Harris cut costs but did it in a reckless and irresponsible way. Bob Rae, as an NDP premier, tried to responsibly cut costs but was abandoned by his base for even thinking about fiscal sanity. Liberals have a mixed record. I'm judging Giambrone for his close association with Miller's poor financial direction, which I ascribe to an ideological view that places financial prudence low on its list of priorities.
3. As for Toronto's position, that's a much larger debate and one that no one's going to win or resolve any time soon. Every level of government is facing a deep deficit right now, they aren't going to upload responsibility for service any time soon, so we need to play with the hand we were dealt and cut our spending.
TTC just declared that they had significant increase in ridership but still having deficits. translate that to a city, more people paying taxes but the city is still broke! there's a lot of red tape going on. I came from a country where corruption is at its worse. I'm seeing a mirror image of it here already. eHealth scam its just the tip of the iceberg. it starts with stealthy acts and it will end up to the down right obvious. mark my words!
to everyone that said they got a quick response to their questions: did they (TTC) actually DO something about it? or they just sent you an email that SAID they're gonna do something about it?
so what if you got a reply within 2-3 days, but when nothing has been done then it's the same thing as a non-response.
If Toronto is going to avoid bankruptcy, we are going to need a tough Mayor who can tackle the unions, because most of the money in this city goes to payroll. Then we have to stop wishing for projects we can't afford and stick to what we already have. But there's no glamor in that, is there?
I have been preaching this for a few years now, but no one has been listening. The workers, the committees - the city just throws money into a big bucket like it is water. Where are the hundreds of millions in development fees going? With more than 50 condo projects alone darkening our skies - where has this money gone? The extra $60 million in license fees? Gone. All gone, yet we are still $300 million behind in road repairs - and how will the TTC pay for the extra costs of heading into Vaughan?
Good luck to Gambrione or any other person foolish enough to take the Mayor's chair. Why do you think Miller is getting out? He's nobody's fool.....
Deliver what?
I don't really see Giambrone doing much of anything but taking advice and talking his way out of his short-comings.
So far I like what Rocco Rossi has had to say. He'll cut his salary 10% and urge councilors to to vote the same for theirs. Limit the term of mayor. Basically clean up house -- the guy ran a non-profit and ran it without bleeding money all over the place. I'd rather someone who knows how to run a complex operation like heart and stroke rather than an archaeologist who wants to make a difference in his community. It would make for a touching story I'm sure, but I'm voting for results.
As for the TTC: it is crap, plain and simple. Streetcars are a waste of money and we ordered new ones to meet the service demands almost 10 years too late. We keep building condos along the busiest traffic corridors of the city and cannot stop to think about what that will do to the TTC infrastructure?
Three or four years ago it started getting bad. It's just getting worse now. How many of us have waited on King St during rush hour in the dead of winter trying to catch a street car to work? Has anyone counted the number of streetcars that go by that are too full to accept more passengers? How many service outages last year brought HALF of the system to a halt? Yet it keeps getting more expensive and we have yet to see real improvements. Instead we get workers that sleep on the job and excuses from Giambrone.
Yeah, money from the federal and provincial governments would solve everything. Yet we know that isn't going to happen no matter how hard we protest. Other cities get government money -- that's nice, but we're not going to get it. We've been trying and the answer is pretty clear. Where else can we get the money to stop the hemorrhaging and expand the system? Well... you can either cut operating expenses or you can find investors.
I still say business can provide the answers. It would have to be operated as a public utility and regulated in that fashion. However it's just too painfully obvious to me that the TTC and all the consultants it hires will not be able to figure it out. They're not motivated to find the best answer, the cheapest price, and they're rarely on a tight deadline. Profit is a good motivating factor and if there's a way for business to get in on the action and we get an improved system -- what's wrong with that?
Note, I'm not saying complete "hands off" privatization. I'm thinking that the TTC should step back as the regulatory body and lease out access to its existing infrastructure for business to build off of and improve. They should monitor service levels and progress and have the ability to penalize businesses that fail to live up to the public expectations.
I've heard this guy in some interviews and he doesn't strike me as "mayor" material, to be honest. He's too young, he seems kinda stiff, no focus and he's "not" funny(*you seen his latest YOUTUBE video??)
Seriously folks, let's not even consider him for mayor. We'd regret it.