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Friday, June 25, 2010 11:56 AM
The pre-G20, non-G20 wrap
Kelly Grant
You know who I feel sorry for? Jazz musicians. And not just for the usual reasons.
The stage and tents are up outside city hall for this weekend’s Toronto International Jazz Festival. But, like the rest of downtown, Nathan Phillips Square is so eerily quiet you’d think Viljo Revell’s hovering spaceship of a council chamber had beamed up every earthling in the vicinity. Unless the alien forces of the G20 relent by tomorrow, the jazz fest will be like a backyard jam session, with swanky tents.
Things are equally slow inside City Hall. Today’s licensing and standards committee meeting was moved to the North York Civic Centre, where Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong’s chocolate lab puppy Strider trotted around chambers. (No sign of committee member and mayoral candidate Rob Ford, at least according to the TV feed.)
There is life elsewhere, namely in the social media universe. A new study analyzing the major mayoral candidates’ performances on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets has found Rocco Rossi is outpacing his competitors, thanks to his army of online volunteers and fans.
Interestingly, the study was done by Northstar Research Partners, which employs John Laschinger, the wizened election guru running Joe Pantalone’s campaign.
So how did Mr. Laschinger’s candidate fare in the analysis? Meh. His mentions were 5 per cent net positive, better than any candidate other than Mr. Rossi, but 81 per cent were neutral, suggesting the deputy mayor doesn’t excite much passion one way or another in the social-media world. In the real world, however, Mr. Pantalone picked up one whopping endorsement this week: the CAW.
Finally, council is about to lose its sense of humour. Scarborough Councillor Brian Ashton has decided not to seek re-election. The 26-year veteran’s farewell press release was classic Ashton. But he was more sober in an interview, saying he’s grown disillusioned with his powerlessness of late.
“It used to be that individual council members, depending on their ability and creativity, could pursue their own agendas very effectively,” he said. “Under the last number of years with the centralization of power in the mayor’s office, the impact of amalgamation ... I’ve found it much more difficult for individuals to use their skills.”
Mr. Ashton has been marginalized since 2007, when he voted against new land-transfer and vehicle-registration taxes, prompting David Miller to kick him off executive committee. Still, his sentiment is not an uncommon one, especially among veterans to the right of council’s left-leaning majority.
But he's not sour. "[I've] had such fun that it probably should be illegal."
The stage and tents are up outside city hall for this weekend’s Toronto International Jazz Festival. But, like the rest of downtown, Nathan Phillips Square is so eerily quiet you’d think Viljo Revell’s hovering spaceship of a council chamber had beamed up every earthling in the vicinity. Unless the alien forces of the G20 relent by tomorrow, the jazz fest will be like a backyard jam session, with swanky tents.
Things are equally slow inside City Hall. Today’s licensing and standards committee meeting was moved to the North York Civic Centre, where Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong’s chocolate lab puppy Strider trotted around chambers. (No sign of committee member and mayoral candidate Rob Ford, at least according to the TV feed.)
There is life elsewhere, namely in the social media universe. A new study analyzing the major mayoral candidates’ performances on Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets has found Rocco Rossi is outpacing his competitors, thanks to his army of online volunteers and fans.
Interestingly, the study was done by Northstar Research Partners, which employs John Laschinger, the wizened election guru running Joe Pantalone’s campaign.
So how did Mr. Laschinger’s candidate fare in the analysis? Meh. His mentions were 5 per cent net positive, better than any candidate other than Mr. Rossi, but 81 per cent were neutral, suggesting the deputy mayor doesn’t excite much passion one way or another in the social-media world. In the real world, however, Mr. Pantalone picked up one whopping endorsement this week: the CAW.
Finally, council is about to lose its sense of humour. Scarborough Councillor Brian Ashton has decided not to seek re-election. The 26-year veteran’s farewell press release was classic Ashton. But he was more sober in an interview, saying he’s grown disillusioned with his powerlessness of late.
“It used to be that individual council members, depending on their ability and creativity, could pursue their own agendas very effectively,” he said. “Under the last number of years with the centralization of power in the mayor’s office, the impact of amalgamation ... I’ve found it much more difficult for individuals to use their skills.”
Mr. Ashton has been marginalized since 2007, when he voted against new land-transfer and vehicle-registration taxes, prompting David Miller to kick him off executive committee. Still, his sentiment is not an uncommon one, especially among veterans to the right of council’s left-leaning majority.
But he's not sour. "[I've] had such fun that it probably should be illegal."
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