James Contends The Ballot Box Is The Solution...

...even though the same incompetents where returned to office both at the municipal and provincial level and the number of participants was dismal. 

 

 

James: Youth, business give mixed review of city’s future

May 06, 2010
Royson James

If perception is reality, members of Generation Y, entering the workplace and poised to lead this city — are not bullish on Toronto.
And neither are the businesses that will employ 18- to 35-year-olds, according to a new survey conducted by Leger Marketing for George Brown College.
Both employers and the next generation of movers and shakers give mixed reviews on Toronto’s potential as a thriving urban region, compared with other international cities and our Canadian competitors.
• A majority embrace and laud Toronto’s multiculturalism, but only one in five believes Toronto is “much better” at providing opportunities to newcomers than other international cities.
•  One in five say they are unlikely to be living here in 10 years. And those who plan to stay don’t point to love and passion for Toronto. They cite reasons such as “always lived here,” a job, being comfortable, friends. Only 21 per cent said “I like, love it here.”
•  Overall, respondents rate Toronto behind other international cities in providing career opportunities and being a place with strong economic growth potential. But they ranked Toronto ahead of Montreal and Vancouver.
•  About half anticipate either that little will change or that the city will be worse off in the next decade.
•  They finger traffic congestion, poor transit and high living costs as negative aspects of life in Toronto.
College president Anne Sado said “it won’t be long before we lose our domestic and international stature,” if the city-region does not modernize its infrastructure, close the skills gap, better integrate newcomers and drastically improve the level of research and innovation.
“We’ve got to take them up a big notch to where it will make a difference,” Sado said in an interview. “It’s crucial for Toronto to improve as a city and address the core socioeconomic indicators that will be instrumental to its future competitiveness.”
Conducted last January, the survey interviewed a random sample of 500 residents aged 18-35 and 300 of the city’s employees to gauge their views on the city’s economic, employment and social prospects.
Since these young people will shape the region’s future, and their voices are frequently muted, Sado said the downtown college gave them the platform.
What do they like most about Toronto? Diversity, entertainment options, accessible transit and, for the employers, a thriving business centre. And, get this: 16 per cent of the respondents listed “friendly people” as a positive.
Some 86 per cent of the youth say Toronto is a good place to live and do business, while 73 per cent of the employers concur.
What needs improvement? The shortage of skilled labour, waterfront revitalization and the need for immigrants to fill labour shortages, a need cited by 82 per cent of employers but only 68 per cent of youth.
Biggest perceived weaknesses: affordability, workforce skills, science and technology industry, environmental friendliness. Not in any of these did they view Toronto as performing “much or somewhat better than world cities.”
Sado invited mayoral candidates to use the study’s findings for discussion and dialogue.
“We as a city need some significant action to deal with the challenges we face. I hope the mayoral candidates use this. It comes from the future workforce, key stakeholders, and a demographic whose voice is not always heard.”
Municipal leaders looking at the survey may want to note this: Asked to name the “worst things about Toronto,” respondents picked, in order of frequency, poor transit, high taxes, traffic congestion, gangs, litter, winter weather and, then — city hall politicians.
That’s ahead of pollution, homelessness, unfriendly Torontonians or expensive TTC.
Thankfully, there is a potent city hall remedy — the Oct. 25 election.

For relevant politics, look to the provinces and municipalities 

Jeffrey Simpson

At the federal level, almost nothing worthwhile currently figures in discussion or policy

Message To Sandra...

...the city hasn't stop the trafficking in handguns so why would you think another ridiculous initiative would work. IMHO this would be just another challenge to taggers. 

Consider spray paint ban, councillor says

By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, Toronto Sun

Toronto needs to look at banning the sale of spray paint to minors to curb the rampant spread of graffiti, a city councillor says.

The Better Way For Many...

...but the group didn't include the riders!

Transit City is a (slow) go

By KEVIN CONNOR, Toronto Sun

Transit City is a go.

Who knew the Red Rocket could fly?

By JOE WARMINGTON, Toronto Sun

There’s still no Red Rocket to the airport but there are some who rode the TTC around the world. 

It Is Surprising There Aren't More Attacks On Toronto Politicians...

...when you consider the way they screw the majority of their constituents but we are Canadians and I guess we should give our politicians the same consideration we give the inhabitants of the Metro Zoo.

Political Panel: City Hall's new security — outrage or overblown?

 

Posted: April 26, 2010, 5:00 AM by Daniel Kaszor

Goodbye Giamboner...

...and we can only hope and pray that more ofthe clown council would follow suit; Moscoe, Mihevic, McConnell, Bussin, etc.

'TTC fame' got to Giambrone

Bakery owner Adrienne Weinberg could barely contain herself Tuesday about Councillor Adam Giambrone’s decision not to seek re-election after two terms in office. 

Some in Dundas West glad to see Giambrone go

By DON PEAT, Toronto Sun

After Adam Giambrone’s six years at the public trough, Dundas West BIA members would like to see the councillor reimburse them for a few things before heading out the doors of City Hall.

Changing City Of Toronto Crest...

...to include "late & over budget!" St. Clair right of way, Entertainment District homeless shelter, Wychwood Barns, etc. etc.

Why Bloor Street’s revitalization is taking so long

...does anyone believe it won't happen again?


Work to begin on $42.7-million makeover of Nathan Phillips Square 

Time For A Reality Check...

Fiorito: Bedbugs a plague in public housing

Sun Apr 11 2010

In spite of efforts to control the spread of bedbugs in community housing, the residents of 40 Gordonridge continue to be bitten.
Related:

• All about bedbugs (.pdf)

• The Bedbug Registry

• A site that drives landlords buggy

  ...it is time for a name change. It is not "community" housing but rather "affordable" housing managed by a corporation that is continually in the news for lack of maintenance,  violation of city housing bylaws. enclaves that do not co-operate with police either through cultural norms and/or fear, bureaucratic nit picking etc. etc. etc.

Comrade Miller's Legacy...

Haunted by Toronto’s taxes: Levy

By SUE-ANN LEVY, Toronto Sun

This summer Stephane Abbat will celebrate his 20th anniversary of “staying” in business. He really wishes he could say he’s “thriving” in business.

Letters to the Editor

By Toronto Sun Readers

Let’s face it, a strong case could be made for David Miller being the worst mayor Toronto ever had, his list of accomplishments would fit on a single sticky-note

Mayorality Candidates Should Add These To Their Election Platfor

*The Mayor MUST go through a mental assessment annually.

*The Mayor, Council Members And Senior Bureaucrat's annual salary will be reduced by the %  the property tax exceeds the cost of living.

Delusions of budget grandeur: Levy 

Mayor says his policies have this city in a ‘fiscally sustainable position.’ I beg to differ

By Sue-Ann Levy

Mayor David Miller said Wednesday he’s leaving the city with a “strong” operating budget and that his regime has “managed prudently” in “extraordinary circumstances.”
He said they’ve also made some “difficult” decisions, referring to the creation of the land-transfer and personal vehicle taxes under his watch.
“It’s left this city in a fiscally sustainable position,” he said.
“That’s not just my position, that’s the position of Moody’s (bond rating agency),” Miller added, referring to Moody’s upgrade in the city’s rating to AA1 last week.
The mayor added “any reasonably informed person” can’t hold a different position.
King David’s henchmen on the Executive Committee echoed his sentiments as they crowed about the $9.2-billion operating budget — and Miller’s last (thankfully) — before rubberstamping it.
Would-be mayor Joe Pantalone, a.k.a. David Miller the Sequel, thought it an “affordable budget” which achieves a number of objectives in terms of “city-building.” (Yawn.)
Howard Moscoe-saurus said much has been made about the recently discovered $100-million surplus when it’s just a “tiny, tiny amount” — no more than “nickels” — compared to the $9-billion budget.
(Hmmm. One can only imagine how many “nickels” Moscoe has thrown down the drain to keep his union buddies well paid and well fed during his esteemed 32-year career on the public teat.)
Another Miller lieutenant, Janet Davis was downright effusive.
“It would be complete disservice to our finance staff to describe this budget in any other terms but deliberate, thorough, responsible and prudent,” the good union sister gushed.
OK, call me uninformed. Make me hang my head in shame.
But evidently I had not swallowed the Hypnotiq the mayor and his cheerleaders seemed to share Wednesday.
A sustainable future, my foot. Prudent and thorough? Those words are just downright delusional.
I won’t talk about the 671 new positions that are in this year’s budget over and above the 423 permanent positions being decreased through attrition. Some savings.
I won’t talk about all the little extras that have been included, despite the difficult times, like the $654,000 budgeted to produce three Our Toronto promotional newsletters.
There’s also $70,000 set aside to continue funding Miller’s C40 Climate Change office in London, England. I sense a farewell tour looming.
Then there’s the Shore Up the Arts Vote (in the October election) funding program.
The ink was barely dry on the new Third Party Sign Tax — which kicked in officially Tuesday with grandiose projections to collect $3.5 million this year and $10 million in 2011. Yet that didn’t stop budget chief Shelley Carroll, who urged her comrades-in-arms to support a motion that city officials report back on how the new proceeds can be used next year for arts and culture funding.
No issue there. Her socialist pals were only too happy to comply.
After all, buying votes is a fine art at Socialist Silly Hall.
And why shouldn’t they spout their nonsense? After all, not one member of the Responsible Government Group bothered to turn up to Wednesday’s budget rubber-stamping. Mayoralty candidate Rob Ford was a no-show, too.
Only Doug Holyday was there to offer some common sense.
He said the last thing council should agree to, with the city in dire straits, is to give the proceeds of the billboard tax to the arts community.
He called the city’s long-term fiscal plan that involves getting 50% of provincial transit funding plus one-cent of the provincial or federal sales tax plus encouraging Queen’s Park to upload the costs of social housing all “pie in the sky” concepts.
If none of those things happen, and they won’t, he predicted property taxes will have to increase an average of 10% over the next three years.
City staff backed him up, saying without new revenue sources, Torontonians will face a tax bill hike of 12.5% in 2011 and 11% in 2012.
“It’s not a way to run this ship,” he said. “The next council will have a big job ahead of it.”
He’s absolutely right.
But why should David Miller worry?
He’s leaving behind a “fiscally sustainable” city.
Pass me the Hypnotiq.

A Photo Op For Mihevic But...

...his real persona is reflected in the cost overruns of the St. Clair TTC debacle, Wychwood Barns project, etc. The $$$ wasted would feed a multitude of people.

Do the Math about eating on welfare

Toronto Councillor Joe Mihevc’s 11-year-old daughter Catherine looks at her family’s food bank ration of tinned salmon, dried chick peas and peanut butter and wonders what her friends will think when they come to her house for lunch this week. 7 April 05:47 ⁽¹⁾

^{... an example of Toronto Council priorities; working people are going hungry BUT:}

Budget chief wants revenue from new billboard tax to support the arts

How to spend the money generated by the new tax has been a political hot potato for months 4:05 AM EDT 

Poverty stalks the nation's big cities

by Carol Goar

A Normal Day...

Councillors' road show

Big Spenders: Spending by some councillors in 2009 on travel

GIAMBRONE SPENT $18 Gs ON TRAVEL

Smitherman calls out council for 'outrageous' expenses

By JENNY YUEN, Toronto Sun

To make Toronto a world-class city, its councillors need not join the jet set. 

...a comment fresh from spending a "billion" on eHealth and received zilch.

Pissing In The Wind...

...this was just another attack on drivers and was hailed as a way of saving non-drivers three minutes on their daily commute on the TTC.

Lawsuit targets St. Clair streetcar route

Thu Mar 25 2010

The $100 million suit alleges the city was deliberately encouraging gentrification with protracted construction that hastened the death of struggling.

How Many People Are On The Waiting List For Affordable House...

No cash for city in land sale?

Sat Feb 06 2010

A developer who owes the city $300,000 should be allowed to pay by turning over two condominium units to be turned over to arts groups, a city council..

He Has My Vote...

Parking tickets really a Rob Davis election gimmick

By Ian Robertson, Toronto Sun

Last Updated: 25th January 2010, 7:13am

It’s a “mock ticket,” said author Rob Davis, a city council candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence (Ward 15).

Davis had 10,000 of the yellow tickets whipped up as a pre-election gimmick, to call attention to his bid for scrapping the $60-a-year city vehicle registration fee. Voters go to the polls on Oct. 25.

“I’ve been busier than a meter maid at a car show,” Davis said on the second day of his windshield-plastering venture.

City council imposed the levy in September 2008, with an annual fund-raising target of $57 million.

Davis called the fee unfair and invited voters to sign a petition to rescind the program.

Davis, who has served on Toronto and the now-defunct City of York councils, was appointed to the Toronto Catholic District School Board in 2008.

Hitting motorists for $60 every time they renew their licence stickers “takes a lot of money out of the local economy,” he said. “You renew on your birthday, so I’m calling this a reverse gift ... uninvite the city to your birthday party.

“The roads in Toronto are not any better than roads in Mississauga, Vaughan and Pickering,” Davis said, calling the fee “a penalty, a fine for Toronto motorists.”

The bottom of his non-tickets — which were paid for out of campaign funds — have two boxes voters can check off:

n I’m voting for Rob Davis, and

n I like high taxes. I’m voting for the other candidate (veteran incumbent Howard Moscoe).

Moscoe supports the fee, saying “Toronto needs the money. It’s a reasonable user fee and it’s being applied to repairing roads.”

Comment:

Rob if you put one on my car, my fellow councillors and I will get the city to sue you at the taxpayers' expense!

What do you think all the new fees and taxes are for.

We have lots of perks taxpayers need to pay for.

Joe, January 25th 2010, 6:41am

How Many Remember Sewell?

Time to ask mayoral hopefuls some basic questions

John Sewell

22 January 2010 08:00

One disadvantage of being a former mayor is the number of times one is asked on the street to comment on those running to be the next mayor of Toronto.

There are three leading candidates already declared, and a few more in the wings with the election still 10 months away. When asked about them, I have three kinds of answers.

First, if there’s a candidate running because he or she wants to solve problems at city hall, then I’ll treat that candidate seriously. So far that hasn’t happened. George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi and Joe Pantalone have all said they want to run because they want to be mayor, and not much else. Making the city a better place isn’t as great a priority for them as becoming mayor. Who can respect them for that?

Second, I want someone who recognizes that city council doesn’t work.

The megacity is a mess for everyone — for councillors who find the 2,000-page agendas unreadable, for residents who find city hall untouchable, for businesspeople who find city staff unresponsive. It is time to dismantle the megacity and try something else, preferably something smaller and more manageable with councillors eager to serve the public interest. Why aren’t candidates clamouring to solve this issue?

Third, in the city’s 176-year history, no one has been elected mayor who has not first served on council. Why do Smitherman and Rossi, neither of whom has been a councillor, think they can break that strong tradition? And if they haven’t cared enough to serve in the past, how much do they care for the city now?

The other side of the coin is that Joe Pantalone has been an insider at city hall for what seems like the last century. He’s already made the changes he thinks are needed. No one can expect him to say it’s not working well.

These are three simple answers. Sure, there are big issues candidates must address, but when asked, I judge them right now on these questions.

If I Was Fiona I Wouldn't Hold My Breath...

Public complaints system flawed: Toronto ombudsman

January 21, 2010

Paul Moloney

In one of her first moves as Toronto’s new ombudsman, Fiona Crean asked all civic departments to forward copies of their processes for handling complaints from the public.

That was last December. She’s still waiting.

“We received good procedures from some, mediocre from others and none from yet others,” Crean told reporters Thursday. “Less than half the areas submitted processes or posted them on their website. Openness and accessibility was a problem even for those who had good procedures.”

Citizens must first seek redress from the relevant civic department before approaching the Ombudsman’s office, on Elizabeth St. near city hall, but people often say the municipal public service just isn’t responsive to them, she said.

“I can’t tell you how many people said, ‘I never heard back from the city.’”

In 2009, the office received 1,057 inquiries and complaints and processed and closed 958 of them, or just over 90 per cent, she said. It is detailed in her report.

As a new office, the ombudman focused on individual complaints. In 2010, Crean wants to turn her attention to solving systemic problems.

The first order of business is ensuring the 50,000-employee government develops procedures to handle complaints and publicizes them.

Crean said she also wants to see public disclosure of the city’s standards for how fast to return calls and acknowledge correspondence. However, the departments don’t tell the public what their standards are.

“I’m asking them today to make those public so that residents know what to expect,” she said.

Sink Or Swim? Guess Where We Are Heading...

The billion-dollar leak problem

Toronto’s old watermains are cracking up as fast as our financially beleaguered city can repair them

By Sue-Ann Levy

Since the end of December, there have been 93 watermain breaks and leaks from underground pipes in the city. But the news gets even “better.”

So far, the lack of a snow covering (which acts as insulation) and the deep freeze — coupled with the city’s aged infrastructure — has created the perfect storm for watermain breaks and leaking underground pipes, Toronto Water head Lou Di Gironimo told me yesterday.

In fact, Sunday’s water problem at Yonge St. and Davenport Rd. — which kept 19,000 Yorkville customers in the cold and dark for eight hours — was a pipe leak which got into a Hydro vault, he said.

A complicated fix, Di Gironimo said the cost of the Yorkville leak repair could be upwards of $50,000 — far beyond the average $5,000-$6,000 it costs to repair a watermain break on a suburban side street.

Still, considering there have been 93 breaks and leaks in just two weeks, you’ve got to figure Toronto Water has already spent a small fortune patching the problems alone, without really getting to the root of the issue.

(That’s just what’s happening below our streets. I won’t even get into the major thoroughfares like Avenue Rd., that are already showing the cracks and other ruts of winter.)

No wonder. I’ve been saying for years that Toronto’s infrastructure is crumbling around us.

About 69% of all underground water pipes are still cast iron — 7% of them more than 100 years old and another 17% more than 80 years old. The average age of the pipes is 55 years old.

The total backlog of repairs required for underground water infrastructure — watermains and sanitary and storm sewers — is $1.3-billion.

‘Chipped away’

Di Gironimo says the city has to spend a minimum of $254 million per year to “just deal” with the backlog growth. Last year “they chipped away at it” (the backlog) by about $10 million and this year they hope to do so by $77 million.

This year, they’ll spend another $127 million of their $720-million capital budget on replacing or rehabilitating watermains.

“We have to sustain the investment in the infrastructure,” he said, noting that he feels Toronto Water is finally starting to get a handle on the backlog.

That’s small comfort for residents, who’ve experienced water rate hikes of between 6 and 9% per year throughout Mayor David Miller’s two terms. The average household water bill will jump from $352 in 2004 to $618 this year — a 75% increase!

(This year’s 9% water rate hike is estimated to bring in $70 million — just slightly less than 10% of Toronto Water’s total revenues for 2010).

Di Gironimo appears to be doing what he can to tackle the backlog under a socialist regime that can’t (and won’t) focus on the city’s priorities.

But it’s too little, too late.

Despite all of his best-laid plans, he admits there’s only $200 million in the Water Rate Stabilization reserve fund — an amount that will probably be used up in the next couple of years dealing with a flood of repairs until the backlog can be addressed.

Little wonder, considering the current political regime has been sticking its fingers in the dike for years hoping nothing will happen — while sinking the city further and further into debt to pay for frivolous pet projects.

Aggressive plan needed

That’s why it is so important that the would-be mayoralty candidates have a firm plan to tackle the backlog that is even more aggressive than the current one proposed by Toronto Water.

Why not sell off assets like Enwave — funded to the tune of $33 million out of the Toronto Water reserve a few years ago — or other city businesses to help address the backlog?

(Toronto eyes sale of green-energy utility

Cash-strapped city ponders sale of 43 per cent stake in Enwave to raise up to $100-million)

Just imagine. A City Hall spending tap that actually uses the money to rebuild a city crumbling right out from under us.

Call it my pipe dream.

sue-ann.levy@sunmedia.ca

Pissin' In The Wind

* Term Limits
* Recall Legislation

James: Let's set some limits on councillors

January 07, 2010

Royson James

Kyle Rae's packing it in after 19 years, blowing out of city hall with typical bluster. Too many of his colleagues are calcified in their roles as pothole fixers and ward heelers, eschewing the larger city, he said.

Was he calling out the likes of Case Ootes – 21 years as East York rep?

Is it time for councillors such as Michael Walker (28 years in North Toronto) and Mike Feldman (18 years in North York) and Howard Moscoe (wash your mouth out, he registered this week) to ride off into the sunset?

Well, Ootes called it quits this week. The guy who did so much to hold the city together after the botched 1998 amalgamation won't be on the next council to deliver his fiscally conservative message with humour and passion, even as others choose vitriol.

"It's time to move on and give someone else a chance," Ootes said Wednesday.

Can Doug Holyday (28 years) and Maria Augimeri (25 years) be far behind? Well, yes, far, far behind. Neither is showing signs of bowing out, which means citizens looking to bring new ideas to city government as a councillor for Etobicoke Centre or York Centre will be waiting more than three decades before having a real shot at the job.

Now, how can that possibly be healthy?

To the uninitiated, yes, we do have elections every four years. But this is what a challenger is up against:

The incumbent has a $53,100 taxpayer-supplied slush fund account to spend on his or her office. From that they can send out fridge magnets and newsletters, all the way up to the end of the summer, just months before the election, patting themselves on the back. They can also outfit sport teams, buy raffle tickets and shuffle money to other fundraisers in what is only thinly disguised vote-buying.

While the challenger may have to take a leave of absence from work to run a credible campaign, the incumbent continues to be paid as a councillor every day, whether on the campaign trail, sitting at home or attending to constituents' needs. And, as we are seeing, if the incumbent gets into a legal joust with a challenger, councillors will use taxpayers' money to pick up the tab for the colleague's legal fees. Sweet.

Incumbents have access to phone lists, calls for help, ward issues and many policy details that place them at the heart of solutions for which they gladly take credit. The name-recognition advantage is almost insurmountable.

The least we can do to upset this "jobs for life" sinecure is limit councillors to two or three consecutive terms.

Now, if you are like Jane Pitfield and you take a term off council (voluntarily or because of electoral defeat; she lost to David Miller in the 2006 election) you can return. Pitfield, in what seems like a cozy affair, will run in Ootes's ward as the local councillor, not mayor.

Ootes, 68, admitted Wednesday it is time for a council debate on limiting city councillors' terms.

His views would carry more weight if he'd shared them before, since they'll no longer apply to him. Still, the current system is of greatest service to the incumbents, the entrenched men and women who have to prove themselves incredibly inept or corrupt to lose at the polls.

A good starting point with this debate is the mayoral campaign that's now taking shape.

What's needed is for the mayoral candidates to present a platform that challenges the right of councillors to serve forever. Just contact Dave Meslin of www.betterballots.to. He's bursting with ideas.

Antonia Is Correct And Results Are Obvious....

....and foremost at the municipal level and to some extent at the provincial level.

Politicians forget that `left-wing fringe group' votes

by Antonia Zerbisias

We Vote NO But We Vote YES....

.....Confused? Don't Be. It is the leftist manta of your clown council.

Council nixes using tax money to sue the public ... kind of

By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, SUN MEDIA

Toronto councillors have nixed a proposed policy that would have allowed them to dip into tax revenues to sue for defamation.

Immediately after rejecting the controversial plan, council voted to cover Councillor Sandra Bussin’s legal costs in a defamation suit she launched against a newsletter distributed in her ward.

Several politicians said they did not find the two actions to be in conflict.

“I think that the proposed policy is the wrong way to go and ironically would lead to even more and angrier criticism because members of the public would feel that we’re trying to muzzle them in their criticisms,” Councillor John Filion said, but added that council has an obligation to respond to individual cases where someone has clearly crossed the line.

Budget Chief Shelley Carroll said the newsletter article about Bussin was “full of lies,” and an outside legal opinion has recommended they pursue the case in court.

Councillor Rob Ford said the majority of councillors are prepared to support Bussin because she’s a member of the left-leaning pack that runs city hall.

Ford noted that he’s been the subject of many critical comments and articles, yet those same politicians did not rush to his defence.

Calling the newsletter in Bussin’s case “a joke,” Ford suggested his colleagues need to develop a thicker skin.

“C’mon - grow up,” he said.

The debate offered a revealing look at the impact of criticism on politicians.

One after another, the councillors told of incidents where they had been heckled at in public meetings, lied about in mailings to their constituents or misrepresented in newspaper articles.

“When we got into politics - and I don’t think anybody in this room will disagree - we put a kicking sign on our back,” Councillor Paul Ainslie said.

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti stood up at one point and read out an e-mail he had just received that called him an “a..hole” and a “c..ksucker.”

“We as councillors are reasonable people. We’re in the kitchen. We’re used to some heat. We accept people sometimes throwing darts at us, or hand grenades at us, or calling us names,” said Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker.

“But there’s a line (which) people cross where you have to defend your public name because that statement about you will stick to you for the rest of your life.

“In my ward, there’s an individual who sent a letter around about (another politician) who said that he was a convicted pedophile,” he said.

'bill-ontario' is right, communists!

As for Filion, hey John where the hell were you at the vote on the CUPE deal? According to the tale of the tape you were an effin no-show so explain that before you go spouting off on your hurt feelings. Same goes for Giorgio, although I think I know why he didn't vote. He's ex-CUPE and now sees things from the other side. In a weak compromise he ducked.

Anyway to everyone who's predicting a Miller concession speech, beware, this guy is a master of deception and the art of politics. It will take more than a small angry subset of the population that recognizes that the orange left is killing Toronto to unseat his highness. We need candidates. Anyone? I'm no politician but I'll help whoever is.

taxpayer, August 6th 2009, 11:12pm