Rossi Addresses Toronto Board of Trade, Slams Smitherman

This afternoon, mayoral candidate Rocco Rossi addressed a  Toronto Board of Trade lunchtime audience to discuss his ideas for how to manage the city’s finances.  Accordingly, his speech was entitled “Let this be our last budget crisis.” From the Board’s website:
“Getting Toronto back on track, the central theme of Mr. Rossi’s speech, stuck close [...]

Smitherman Backs Selling Off Some City Services

In a sit down with the Toronto Star, mayoral frontrunner George Smitherman indicated he would give “careful consideration” to the idea of contracting out some of the city services currently provided by unionized employees:
“[T]he two places where big dollars are spent and where outsourcing are going to be most prevalent are garbage and also [...]

Mammoliti Launches Mayoral Bid

Mayoral candidate and long-time councillor Giorgio Mammoliti officially launched his campaign bid last night with a $250.00-a-head fundraising dinner.   In his speech he outlined a number of policy planks, including asking the province to take over the TTC and turning portions of Yonge Street into a pedestrian-only mall.
He also took square aim at at [...]

Pantalone: City Cannot Afford An Outsider Mayor

At the opening of his campaign office, Deputy Mayor and mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone gave some specifics on what may be in his eventual platform and why Toronto cannot afford someone who hasn’t been intimately involved in municipal government:
“Torontonians cannot afford, if you want to protect this amazing city, people who don’t know how it [...]

Mammoliti Courts Seniors With Promise To End Property Tax

Mayoral candidate Giorgio Mammoliti will soon unveil a major plank in his platform: eliminating property taxes for seniors in Toronto:
“A campaign source said eliminating property taxes for Torontonians over the age of 65 will be the main plank of Mr. Mammoliti’s platform, to be unveiled at a glitzy dinner and dance tomorrow night.
The veteran councillor [...]

Smitherman Fine-Tunes Emerging Platform

Mayoral candidate George Smitherman kicked off the “Discussions @ The Bistro” series at well-known dining establishment Bistro 990 by expanding details on his campaign platform:
“Smitherman said voters have lost patience with a municipal government that wants them to pay more in taxes for fewer services, earning cheers from audience of 80.
At $125 a ticket, [...]

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  • Miller: Comments On City Spending "Ludicrous"

    Miller: Comments On City Spending “Ludicrous”

    Mayor David Miller has indirectly responded to mayoral candidates George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Sarah Thomson and Giorgio Mammoliti as well as the Toronto Board of Trade for their comments this week on the city’s financial position:
    “The truth of the matter is that the city spending has grown very modestly over the last few years, at [...]

  • Gee: City Unions Didn't Realize How Good They Had It

    Gee: City Unions Didn’t Realize How Good They Had It

    Marcus Gee at the Globe bets the union that represents city employees is regretting pushing Mayor David Miller to a strike last summer: 

    “[T]he two leading candidates to replace him are talking openly and aggressively about contracting out some city services delivered by union members.
    It’s a radically different political landscape from the one the [...]

  • Levy: George Smitherman’s Slippery Stance

    Levy: George Smitherman’s Slippery Stance

    In her Sun column, Sue-Ann Levy takes aim at mayoral candidate George Smitherman and his recent announcement he’d consider privatizing some city services:
    “You can say one thing about Smitherman: Whatever he lacks in policy — and believe me the stuff he’s offered up so far has been thin gruel indeed — he makes [...]

  • Star Op-Ed: Outsourcing Worth A Look

    Star Op-Ed: Outsourcing Worth A Look

    In the opinion pages of today’s Toronto Star, the editorial board believes that a full debate on privatization of municipal services is a worthy exercise:
    “Proponents point to garbage disposal as a fertile area for this approach, noting that private sector firms already collect a great deal of commercial waste and also pick up [...]

  • James: Candidates In A Race To The Right

    James: Candidates In A Race To The Right

    The Star’s Royson James comments on the on-going battle between mayoral candidates George Smitherman and Rocco Rossi in an effort to stake out the right-of-centre territory in their platforms:
    “There is a sense that the political winds have shifted. Toronto residents have grown increasingly skeptical of the political ideology governing city hall. Having been [...]

  • Walker Mum On Political Prospects

    Walker Mum On Political Prospects

    Ward 22 Councillor Michael Walker, who has not filed to run for re-election in October, does not give any firm indications of his intent when asked directly by the Town Crier:
    “I may need to make my decision by the end of March,” said Walker. “I am leaning towards running, but everything is so fluid [...]

  • Levy: Why Howard Moscoe’s A Target

    Levy: Why Howard Moscoe’s A Target

    The Toronto Sun’s Sue-Ann Levy gives her reasoning why Councillor Howard Moscoe successfully presented a motion to establish an Office of Independent Counsel to represent the legal interests of councillors:
    “Moscoe’s manipulations had absolutely nothing to do with the fact councillors are at legal or financial risk simply for doing their jobs.
    His move has everything [...]

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