Not Running For Re-Election? THEN SHUT UP!

National Post editorial board: David Miller, where you want him least

Posted: April 17, 2010, 9:15 AM by NP Editor Filed under: Editorial,Canadian politics

 

Toronto’s Mayor, David Miller, is like the guest at the party who doesn’t know when to go home. Mr. Miller has announced he will not seek re-election this year, and a spirited campaign to replace him is underway. You might think it would be a good time for Mr. Miller to ease out of the city’s affairs. But the Mayor isn’t going quietly, continuing to push his personal hobby horses even as his days dwindle toward an end. His latest gambit is to record a political plea for more money from the province, and play it repeatedly over the public announcement system to a captive audience on Toronto subways. After identifying himself, Mr. Miller urges riders to pressure the provincial government to restore $4-billion in funding to a transit expansion plan championed by the city. Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government announced in its recent budget that it would have to delay its contribution due to economic conditions. Mr. Miller has never let lack of money stand in the way of grand spending plans, so it is understandable he would be bewildered that the province might see the need to do so. The issue is whether transit riders should be forced to listen to his side of the argument while trying to get from Point A to Point B. Adam Giambrone, the TTC chairman who has long been a Miller ally, and who hoped to succeed the Mayor until a sex scandal ended his campaign, defended the move, noting that the Premier can use provincial resources to respond, if he chooses. That’s just what we need: Two politicians using public resources to squabble over money in front of a trapped audience. It’s typical of Mr. Miller and Mr. Giambrone that they feel entitled to intrude on trapped Torontonians to peddle their personal political positions. Riders have no way to turn off the message other than stuffing their earphones in deeper and turning up the sound. Toronto’s subway can be unpleasant enough as it is. Riders shouldn’t be forced to listen to yesterday’s politicians as part of the bargain.