Thank You Comrade Miller......

.....for proving on almost a daily basis the contention of your opponents that you are nothing but a petty dictator beholden to city unions, waterfront developers, island squatters and social in-activists.

'Strong mayor' is a bully

David Miller and his NDP minions licence and tax residents, almost with a sense of entitlement

By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN

More than three years ago -- months before it became a reality -- Judith Andrew of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business warned the City of Toronto Act would prove to be "scary and ridiculous."

"It will mean monumental change in the way governments do business ... there'll be much more intrusion and more money out of individuals' pockets," she said at the time.

Yesterday I asked Andrew if everything she predicted has come true.

"Yes, regrettably ... and more," she said. "If I could just predict the stock market like that, I'd be wealthy."

I have been critical not just about the potential harm that could be done by the act but about the "strong mayor" powers Mayor David Miller has insisted he needs to deliver his so-called "mandate."

What nonsense. I have made no bones about my concerns that Miller would use those powers to do nothing more than strengthen his near megalomaniac grip on council and the six-figure bureaucrats who rely on his say-so to keep their jobs.

Miller and his arrogant, spendthrift NDP minions have been true to form -- licensing and taxing city residents with an almost delicious sense of glee and entitlement.

It doesn't matter one bit that home sales are down as the result of a downturn in the economy and the mayor's new land-transfer tax. Ka-ching, Ka-ching.

They're shamelessly unrepentant about conceding that only $20 million of the $55 million they'll collect from the vehicle ownership tax next year will actually go to repair our decrepit roads.

It appears they don't give a hoot either about whether coffee chains and retail stores are struggling to stay competitive -- during what could be a winter of fiscal discontent. They're poised to order retailers to give consumers discounts if they use their own refillable cups and bags -- all in the name of achieving the mayor's green legacy on the world stage, methinks.

The Miller bunch have licensed trees, food carts and dog parks. They've banned pesticides and handguns.

They're so desperate for cash they pushed through their garbage tax on Nov. 3 without getting bins to some 75,000 homes, while the stand-in pink tags are hit and miss. Now the city's waste lines are jammed and garbage bags are being illegally dumped everywhere.

But there's much more. A memo from the mayor's office revealed earlier this week proves, in my view, there was good reason to be concerned about what Miller would do with his powers.

Supporters eyes only

The memo -- which gives councillors instructions on how to deal with those constituents who have not received pink tags or grey bins -- was sent late last week to only 22 councillors, namely those who consistently support and fawn over the mayor.

It was sent out the day before Miller opted to kick councillors Mark Grimes and John Parker off the works committee, leaving a balance of politicians who distinctly favour the Mayor's punitive green agenda. In fact, it appears every single standing committee is now weighted to ensure the mayor and his minions get their way.

Coun. Michael Thompson, booted off the TTC, said the garbage memo is "the very kind of thing" he was concerned about when he decided to fight the strong mayor powers.

"The mayor's office is running roughshod over pretty well everyone at City Hall ... the mayor is thin-skinned and vindictive," he said, adding his concerns about Miller "dividing and conquering" council have come to fruition.

(Thompson's office has put together a meeting of councillors on the right this weekend to discuss what they can do about the mayor's power grab.)

Coun. Brian Ashton, also left off the garbage memo list, said the system has totally "shifted into the mayor's office" and a large section of the city is not being heard at council.

Coun. Karen Stintz, also not on Miller's A team, said the mayor is actually in violation of the Municipal Act for not notifying all councillors of new directions.

"I have no reason to believe this is the first time not all councillors were notified," she said of the garbage memo.

She said as it stands now, Miller's "strong mayor powers" make him completely unaccountable to councillors not in the inner circle, and to Torontonians.

"By bullying and threatening and punishing people he thinks he can get his own way," she said. "That's not what being a strong leader is (all about)."