*recall legislation
Issues to debate in mayoral race
With incumbent David Miller's announcement Friday that he will not be seeking re-election, the 2010 race for the Toronto mayoralty is now wide open. Let there be a wide range of good choices for the voters.
Even before Miller's announcement, both Deputy Premier George Smitherman and former provincial Conservative leader John Tory had hinted strongly that they would be candidates. They represent, respectively, the centre-left and centre-right. And Miller's departure may also open up room for city councillors who are further left or further right. That would cover just about the full political spectrum and give voters lots of choice.
But the mayoral campaign ought not to be fought solely on the basis of ideological labels. This city is at a turning point and faces a staggering array of problems. If they are not addressed with pragmatic solutions, Toronto could begin a long, slow decline. Some of the problems:
- Fiscal deficit. The city's books have been balanced under Miller through a range of tax increases (including new taxes on drivers' licences and land transfers and user fees for garbage), raiding reserves and bailouts from the province. All three options may have been exhausted. How, then, should the city address its financial woes?
- Transportation. Miller is rightly proud of the "transit city" plan he pioneered. But it remains clouded by the TTC's sometimes testy relationship with Metrolinx, the provincial transit body that controls the purse strings. Should the two agencies be merged? And, turning to the road side of the transportation equation, is it really wise to pull down the Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis St.?
- Affordable housing. There were cheers last week for the YWCA low-income housing project on Elm St. But few other such projects are being built. Most of the funding has to come from the senior levels of government. But has the city done all it can to facilitate development of affordable housing, both in its zoning and in land acquisition?
- Recycling. The city boasts about the high percentage of garbage it recycles. But it is still well short of its ultimate goal (70 per cent diversion), and a recent Star series raised serious questions about the recycling program that ought to be addressed. Are we getting enough bang for the green/blue bin buck?
- Island airport. Opposition to a bridge to the airport propelled Miller to the front in the 2003 mayoralty race. But subsequent reports of the airport's imminent demise were clearly premature. Is it now time to acknowledge the airport is an asset, not a blight, and build a tunnel to it?
- Waterfront. Why is it taking so long to develop the city's waterfront? Is the tripartite (municipal, provincial, federal) structure of the planning body just too unwieldy? What are the alternatives?
- Intergovernmental relations. Miller got on well with the province, not so well with Ottawa, and mostly ignored the other municipalities, notably in the 905 belt around Toronto. Is it time for Toronto and the surrounding municipalities to get together and forge a joint economic strategy?
This list is not meant to be exhaustive. There are other issues that could be added. The point is that an open mayoral race gives us a chance to debate them. We should not throw the opportunity away.
1 comment:
I wonder, how long it'll take twits like you to understand, that balancing the books, and keeping up services, and infrastructure, requires money.
Taxes.
Your buddies in Ottawa, are fast showing everyone the "tax cut myth", and what it does to our country's finances.
We'll be paying the huge interest payments on that for years to come...
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