...and if I was Tory I would tell Torontonians to go screw themselves until we can find a way to get rid of the deadwood on council. Bringing back a Board Of Control would be a start.
Election gossip from City Hall: Granatstein
Who will stay? What will Tory do? Where's the Ford support coming from?
Last Updated: July 13, 2010 2:36am
The chatter about Toronto’s marathon mayoral election campaign has heated up along with the weather in Toronto.
The big question on everyone’s mind is what will John Tory do?
No matter how many times Tory says he has “no plans” to run (plans can change) and dances around the question, until Sept. 10 comes and goes and he hasn’t registered, the question in Toronto will be: “Is he in or is he out?”
Could he pop in late and win easily?
The rumour mill is spinning it this way: The better Rob Ford polls and the more nervous the city’s centrists, leftists and elites get, the more pressure will come thundering down on Tory’s shoulders to run.
The fact George Smitherman has run an unimpressive race so far and Rocco Rossi is having difficulty getting noticed plays right into that game.
For me, though, Tory’s not going anywhere.
It’s a big commitment to join the board of Rogers Communications, as he has.
It was a big deal to take over the Toronto City Summit Alliance from his buddy, David Pecaut, who died of cancer late last year.
And Tory wouldn’t continue shooting bullets from the sidelines on his radio show if he was serious about running.
Finally, he’s a man of his word, above all else.
The gossip will continue right through until the Sept. 10 filing deadline, but my money is on Tory commentating, not committing.
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The next biggest speculation is who is going to drop out of the mayor’s race?
Let’s say there’s now the Big 5: Rob Ford, George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Joe Pantalone and Sarah Thomson after Giorgio Mammoliti packed it in.
The campaign gossip is someone else is going to pull the chute and head for the hills, and it will happen before mid-August.
I don’t see it happening.
Ford’s in it, no matter what. Even if Tory runs.
Smitherman quit his cabinet job to do this. He says his fundraising coffers are filling up. He’s staying.
Rossi’s got a lot of steam in the tank. He’s run his mayor-athon and he’s still going strong. He also claims to have a healthy bank account.
Thomson won’t quit. She’s having too much fun. And all this is doing is building her name recognition.
Pantalone is the lone man on the left. And this is his retirement tour. There’s no place for him to go.
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The biggest headscratcher is the attack on Team Miller by his own so-called support team.
The “progressives” in this city, especially the young tweeters, are furious with the mayor for backing Police Chief Bill Blair — who they believe should be fired — for what happened on the streets of Toronto during the G20.
Free speech! Free protest! Free us from Miller and Blair!
The murmur in the back halls is these folks don’t get it.
As three different people connected directly and loosely with the current mayor’s office told me independently over the weekend, “They’ll figure it out when Rob Ford is mayor and Julian Fantino is police chief.”
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Finally, if you’re looking for where the fuel for the Ford campaign is coming from, look no further than the Toronto Star.
After smashing Ford for massive ignorance on the urban planning file, Star architecture critic, downtowner and non-driver Christopher Hume wrote: “Given his showing in recent polls, one can only conclude that suburban anger has reached the point where it has turned people’s brains to mush.”
Then, last week, this: “Most Ford supporters understand that as mayor, he would be a disaster and an embarrassment. The thing is they don’t care.”
At this point, Ford doesn’t have a plan, a platform or anything resembling a coherent campaign.
But he’s got the “anti” vote. And in this city, that’s a movement that is growing.
rob.granatstein@sunmedia.ca Twitter: robedits
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