[BRIEF NOTE] On the possibility of MPP Glen Murray

[rfmcdonald]

Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, who mysteriously relocated to Toronto several years ago, is running for Ontario's legislative assembly.

Urban affairs activist Glen Murray, who had been mulling a run for mayor of Toronto next year, plans to seek the Liberal nomination to replace Toronto Centre MPP George Smitherman, who is preparing his own run for the top political job in the city.

“This seemed to be the right match,” said Mr. Murray, 52, who aims to succeed the former deputy premier who is expected by late February to join the race to replace Mayor David Miller next fall.Mr. Murray, who will take a leave of absence from his post as president of the Canadian Urban Institute, says he has the endorsement of Mr. Smitherman. Both are openly gay politicians.

Mr. Murray, the former mayor of Winnipeg who ran unsuccessfully for a federal Liberal seat before moving here in 2004, had been seriously contemplating a mayoral bid.

But the certain arrival of Mr. Smitherman as a major contender for mayor and the likely, but still not confirmed, entry of former Ontario Conservative John Tory as a big-name rival appears to sucked political oxygen out of the air for other aspirants.

Mr. Murray is not the only Liberal seeking the nomination, setting the stage for a competitive battle to replace Mr. Smitherman for the plum downtown seat.

During his tenure as Winnipeg mayor, Glen Murray was well-known for his arguments that cities had to be recognized as the engines of Canada, deserving of greater representation at the federal level, on pretty much the Jane Jacobs model. See below for an example of his thought.

[C]ity governments have to take an intergenerational perspective. By that I mean every decision a local government makes should be focused on what impact it will on the environment, economy, health and culture of the city for the next generation.

Livability is one of the biggest factors in where people decide to live and where creative people decide to live is where investors look to put their money.

Cities have to have activist city governments that can invest in innovation, design, art, sports, entertainment and support local culture.

Let’s take Winnipeg where you and I lived. The redevelopment of the exchange district and Corydon in Winnipeg are examples. They are places with a vibe or buzz. Rezoning the district to a mixed use lie-work precinct, introducing tax credits equivalent to the difference between the market rents generated by a heritage building and the cost of restoration and maintenance triggered the redevelopment of 36 properties.

Free transit in the district, major increases in arts and cultural funding, theatre and festival programs and a strong commitment to public safety with defensible space design initiatives and 21 new dedicated police offices in the downtown all helped begin to restore the historic heart of the city.

The relocation of Red River College's creative and design programs to the Exchange and the support given to the local special effects and multimedia cluster and nascent film industry all contributed to the formation of a creative media cluster in the Exchange and the return of construction cranes and shops to the streets.

Public works as public art are also important to place-making and projects like the inhabited pedestrian bridge or new downtown library are examples of this concept.

Collaborative governance was also critical and the success of Centre Venture, a development agency that facilitated private and public sector collaboration, was an essential ingredient. Unfortunately, the city government disengaged from this approach four years ago.

City leaders need to facilitate research and development by supporting a strong university and business network to accelerate the movement of ideas to market. This is important to a city’s capacity to generate innovative and interesting employment.

Economic development initiatives in biomaterials and aerospace were example of this approach in the Peg. The success of RIM (BlackBerrys) in Waterloo is an excellent example of the dynamic of innovation at work in a mid-sized city.

Activist government partnerships to mobilize capital from the private sector and co-ordinate government investment are also essential. In Winnipeg, the Hydro building, MTS Centre, library, baseball park, Thunderbird House, the residential district on Waterfront Drive, the Forks and the Human Rights Museum are examples of how quickly these things can happen with a partnership approach.

Fairly conventional stuff, right?

Local queer weekly Xtra! featured an article (Kaj Hasselriis, "A queer's-eye view of Glen Murray") saying that the man's passionnate if flaky.

Take it from a Winnipegger: The man who wants to replace George Smitherman as MPP for Toronto-Centre, the riding that includes the country's biggest gay village, is a charismatic, commitment-phobic, power-hungry, eager-to-please crybaby who can't be trusted.

But he deserves every vote he gets.

[. . .]

As an NDP city councillor, Murray fought passionately, often to the point of tears, for official recognition of Pride and Pink Triangle Day events. He adopted a teenaged street kid and starred in a National Film Board documentary about their relationship.

In 1998, I moved into a house down the street from Murray, and a few months later, he was elected mayor. When I went to his inauguration with my lesbian roommate, he proudly showed off his big, shiny chain of office and we swooned, "That's our mayor!" To which he responded, "Now I just need earrings to match!"

But over the next few years, our love affair with Murray waned. He dumped his ties to the NDP, cozied up to the local business community and bulldozed the city's preeminent heritage building to make way for a dreary hockey arena.

In 2004, halfway through his second term, Murray joined the Liberal Party, ditched out of his job and made a kamikaze run for a federal seat in Winnipeg's suburbs — all because then-prime minister Paul Martin wined and dined him at 24 Sussex Dr and promised him a low-level cabinet position if he won. Murray's ambitious plans for a city consumption tax, fairer municipal funding and a long-awaited rapid transit system died the minute his political career crashed and burned at the hands of a neophyte Conservative candidate.

Despite my bitterness at Murray's hasty and horribly-timed departure, as well as the fact that he flew to Toronto midway through the campaign to smear Jack Layton and Olivia Chow in their home ridings, I can't help but admit that — on the whole — he was a fantastic mayor. He worked practically round-the-clock to inject new life into our downtown waterfront, invest heavily in the arts community and build a picture-perfect bridge over the Red River. He even managed to hold the line on property taxes while maintaining great relations with city unions.

Most importantly, though, Murray succeeded in inspiring Winnipeggers to think of our city as world-class. He was also a positive role model for young queers. After a local newspaper filed a Freedom of Information request for Murray's emails, it was revealed that gay and lesbian young people from across North America had written to him for advice — and received long, thoughtful responses.

That was one of Murray's greatest strengths as mayor — accessibility. He travelled everywhere in the city and tried to know everyone. When I needed to get my passport signed by a professional, I realized there was someone I knew better than any dentist or lawyer who could do the trick — my mayor. So I called Murray's office and the secretary told me to come on down.

I have a lot of good things to report about Glen Murray, but I have to end this column with a warning to the voters of Toronto-Centre: Don't believe that he won't dump you, too, if a hotter offer comes along. After Murray left Winnipeg, he landed a position with Toronto consulting firm Navigator for a couple of years, but quit so he could take charge of the Canadian Urban Institute. Now, less than two years into that job, he's hoping to become an MPP.

Toronto Centre isn't my riding. It is the riding of other people I know. So, I ask particularly you, what do you think about Mr. Murray?