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rfmcdonaldA brief item in the Toronto edition of Metro has me wondering. Unlike Montréal or Vancouver, Toronto has never had political parties active at the municipal level although there have certainly been linked between individual city councillors and different political parties--Mayor Ford is aligned with the Conservatives, for instance, while lack NDP leader Jack Layton began his political career in Toronto as a city councillor.
Whether this would be a good thing or not, I don't know. There seems to have been a general consensus that an absence of political parties at the municipal level allows city councillors to be more flexible in their allegiances and voting strategies, but whether ot not this actually exists is a question I can't answer. (I take it for granted, you'll note, that flexible politics at the municipal level is a good thing.)
Whether this would be a good thing or not, I don't know. There seems to have been a general consensus that an absence of political parties at the municipal level allows city councillors to be more flexible in their allegiances and voting strategies, but whether ot not this actually exists is a question I can't answer. (I take it for granted, you'll note, that flexible politics at the municipal level is a good thing.)
Mayor Rob Ford says he and his supporters want to run a slate of candidates in the next municipal election to take control of the agenda at City Hall.
Still stinging from his defeat over light rail transit, Ford used his radio show to invite potential candidates to call him. He then read out the phone number of the mayor’s office at City Hall.
“Doug and I and the 19 councillors who want to change the city are doing everything we can,” Ford said, referring to his brother, Coun. Doug Ford (Ward 2, Etobicoke North).
“But you know what? We need to run a slate next time,” Ford said.
“We have to get rid of these other 24 councillors.”
He was referring to the 24 councillors who backed light rail over Ford’s proposal to extend the subway system.
Doug Ford said it would take very little to change the balance of power on council. “There are eight or nine councillors that won by only a few hundred votes, and those eight or nine councillors are left-wing councillors that are dictating the way we have transportation, the way we’re spending the money,” he said.
“All you need is two or three or four of these councillors to get in, and it’s a game-changer.”
