Who's running show at city hall?Mayor opts for a distant vacation |
At this morning's funeral for Toronto Fire Services District Chief Bob Leek -- who passed away while working last Sunday's propane explosion on Murray Rd. -- Mayor David Miller will be conspicuously absent.
The word is he has returned to B.C. to tour up the West Coast with his family, not to return until Tuesday.
"He has an important family commitment he had to go back for," said spokesman Stuart Green yesterday. "The mayor has told the (Leek) family he won't be at the funeral ... they understand completely and are not holding it against him."
Deputy mayor Joe Pantalone won't be showing his face either. He's been off holidaying in Italy before, during and after the fiery blast that displaced thousands of residents and damaged many homes and businesses.
It took Maria Augimeri, the ward councillor from the area, more than three days to make her way home from her Italian holiday. Whatever excuse she might have, it is not difficult to get a train -- even from the countryside -- or to catch a flight from a variety of cities, provided the will is there. I know. I was just in the Italian countryside in April.
When Augimeri, a council drama queen who has had a less than spectacular career at City Hall, finally blew back into town she distinguished herself by telling a constituent to "shut up" when he dared ask her a pointed question.
What a circus. What a joke of an administration.
It has made many wonder just who is running show at socialist Silly Hall.
Councillor Brian Ashton says he hasn't a clue who's in charge.
I'm not at all surprised that when the going gets tough, the socialists get going -- anywhere far, far away from the heat of the action.
Miller, our so-called strong mayor, came back to Toronto from a Vancouver vacation with his family just long enough to show his face at the crisis centre last Sunday night, to visit the blast site Tuesday and to hold a few press briefings in which he managed to point fingers at anybody but his regime for the explosion.
Then he flew the coop, so to speak.
Now in fairness, every Toronto politician, even His Blondness, is entitled to a vacation, especially in August, when city hall holds no meetings.
But I'm betting former New York mayor Rudy Guiliani -- a strong mayor in action, not just in words -- wouldn't be AWOL at such a crucial time. Nor, I'd venture to say, would Miller's predecessor, Mel Lastman, for all his schtick.
Green said budget chief Shelley Carroll (who will be the mayor's "surrogate") Councillor Cesar Palacio, and a "bunch of people" will attend today's funeral. Green did not elaborate on who will be in that bunch.
'STARTLED'
Scott Marks, president of the Toronto Professional Firefighters Association, has agreed to "read a statement" from the mayor, he said.
Councillor Michael Thompson said he was "startled" when he heard the mayor wouldn't be at the funeral.
"Actually I was disappointed," he said.
Councillor Karen Stintz just shook her head when asked who is really in charge.
"The whole place is falling apart," she said. "It sounds like a Monty Python sketch."
She said the mayor is the "face of the city," and the Keele-Wilson neighbourhood is still in a time of crisis.
"People don't have confidence we can get through this," Stintz said.
Thompson said the perception is that "it's crazy" at City Hall.
"It's chaos and nobody seems to be taking control of the situation," he said. "This is a major, major event for the city of Toronto and the mayor has gone on holidays."
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