All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Joe Pantalone Misses The Hail Mary
The National Post takes a look at the Joe Pantalone campaign, which was never able to capture the imagination of voters clearly tired of the current regime: “In pre-election poll after poll, Mr. Pantalone was down by 30 points. The 58 year old did not need a Hail Mary. He needed a voice of reason [...]
A Campaign That Quickly Lost Its Way
The Toronto Star examines the candidacy of George Smitherman and how he went from the frontrunner to defeated candidate over the course of the 9 month campaign: “In the opening weeks of the campaign, Smitherman used a conventional front runner’s strategy: He coasted along, saying little on policy, meeting few voters, in a bid to [...]
Mayor-Elect Ford, Meet Your Fresh-Faced Council
The wave of change did not stop at the mayor’s chair last night, as a full six incumbent councillors went down to defeat last night, putting a total of 14 new faces on council: “It is this council that will have to deal with the extraordinary Mr. Ford, who not only comes with an aggressive [...]
Rob Ford Elected Mayor
With the majority of polls reporting, Rob Ford has been elected as the 64th Mayor of Toronto, beating opponent George Smitherman by a wide margin: “The city’s choice marks the end of a dramatic, twist-filled 10-month campaign, and the unofficial close to the David Miller era that saw an expansion of city programs and spending, [...]
Bitter Rivals, Bulletproof Incumbents Face The Music
The Toronto Star reports on the final weekend of campaigning, as well as a listing of some of the hotter races across the GTA: “The mayoral race, which focused on city spending and transportation, has generated headlines across the country, most focusing on colourful Councillor Rob Ford and his jump last summer to front-runner status. [...]
Toronto Mayoral Campaign Ends On A Hateful Note
The Globe and Mail reports that the final weekend of campaigning featured heavy schedules, but also some aggressive attack ads from unknown parties: The final weekend of Toronto’s too-close-to-call mayoral race veered into dirty territory with an advertisement on Tamil radio and derogatory signs that denigrated Mr. Smitherman for his sexual orientation. Mr. Ford said [...]
Poll Shows Rob Ford Ahead, Gaining Ground With Immigrants
A new EKOS poll shows that days before the election, mayoral candidate Rob Ford is once again in the lead in the race to become Toronto’s next mayor: “A survey of 500 Torontonians over a week shows 43.9 per cent would vote for Rob Ford, compared with 35.6 for George Smitherman and 15 per cent [...]
Former Mayor David Crombie Endorses Smitherman
Toronto’s former “tiny perfect mayor”, David Crombie, has taken the unusual step of endorsing a candidate for mayor y choosing George Smitherman: “Crombie, mayor from 1972 to 1978 and later a federal Conservative cabinet minister, said he decided to make his first civic endorsement since leaving public office 22 years ago. Smitherman said that, if [...]
Ford Backs Off Land Transfer Tax Repeal Promise
In a speech to local realtors, mayoral candidate Rob Ford says he will make ever effort to repeal the Land Transfer Tax in his first year of office, but cannot guarantee it will be done: “I just don’t want to say it’s going to get done, the problem being there’s a provincial election on Oct. [...]
Smitherman Vows To Establish Green Tech District
Mayoral candidate George Smitherman announced his plans to create incentives for green businesses in Toronto, in addition to offering more support to local outfits: “Using measures such as tax increment financing, Mr. Smitherman pledged to establish a green business district in an as yet unspecified area of the city where there’s an abundance of fallow [...]
Pantalone Hopes To Create ‘Road Peace’ With New Bike Plan
Mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone used the remaining days of the campaign to unveil his “complete” transit plan, which includes 1,000 km of new bike lanes: “Transit City, the light rail network championed by Mayor David Miller, is the backbone of the deputy mayor’s “complete” transportation plan. “My plan provides more options to get Torontonians going [...]
Ford, Smitherman No-Shows
After mayoral candidate Rob Ford abruptly cancelled an appearance at a debate sponsored by Get Active Toronto, opponent George Smitherman quickly followed suit: “About an hour before, an e-mail came in from the Ford camp “saying they had been on their way, but an issue had arisen and they were suddenly unable to attend. They [...]
Smitherman Fends Off Attacks In Final Debate
In the last televised debate before voters go to the polls on Monday, mayoral candidate George Smitherman found himself as the target of fire from both sides: The two have parried on [eHealth] many times, but Ford made a new bid in this important debate, asking Smitherman if he gave an untendered $10 million contract [...]
Toronto Mayoral Race ‘Down To The Wire,’ Pollster Says
According to the latest poll of voters, mayoral candidate Rob Ford continues to hold a lead over rival George Smitherman: “An Ipsos Reid/Global Television poll of 500 Torontonians conducted Oct. 15-17 found the mayoral front-runners still running neck-and-neck, with Mr. Ford at 33-per-cent support and Mr. Smitherman at 31-per-cent support. Joe Pantalone is trailing with [...]
Polls Show Gap Closing, Pantalone Likely Kingmaker
Two new polls released over the weekend, one from Angus Reid, the other Nanos Research, show that the race for mayor continues to narrow, with mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone positioned to be the kingmaker: “The momentum is clearly with Mr. Smitherman, who appears to have captured the lion’s share of support from Mr. Rossi and [...]
Ford Leads In First Poll Narrowed To Three Candidates
A new poll with the three remaining mayoral candidates has Rob Ford maintaining a healthy lead with ten days left in the campaign: “The Forum Research poll showed the Etobicoke councillor has support from 44 per cent of the 700 people polled, compared with 38 per cent for George Smitherman. Sixteen per cent of those [...]
Pantalone Reveals Budget Plan
Mayoral candidate Joe Pantalone revealed his fiscal platform, which includes a pledge to balance the 2011 city budget: “The deputy mayor said the modest tax increase – coupled with a projected $180-million surplus for 2010, land sales and efficiencies – would make it possible for him to balance the books in 2011 without asking the [...]
