“There is a vacuum in the debate, and right now, Ford is filling it with anger.

So it’s no wonder the people who left Tory’s side in January are feeling out in the cold here in July. And it’s no wonder so many of them are at not-so-quiet work, trying to bring the reluctant candidate back into the fold.”

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“I seek to create a new model that will limit days of disruption,” he said. “Quickly we will create an index, that is live to telephone apps and people with GPS’s, that will give people up to date information about where traffic is disrupted because of construction, and within 100 days of taking office I would expect construction officials to create a new strategy to reduce days of disruption. If they can’t do it, that would be a sign they need to be moved along.”

Smitherman said he would also create new requirements and incentives in construction contracts to ensure the jobs are done more quickly, and contractors work longer hours.”

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“John Tory is a decent man. He can be nasty at times and has been on occasion along the way, but it is not in his nature to be negative or on the defensive. He cares a lot about Toronto and has demonstrated that loyalty throughout his life of public service. I would just like to remind him that he already knows he can have more of an impact from the outside than he can from the inside.”

Read the rest of his thoughts here.

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“Gurney: Your energy won’t go into serving the public, but into battling two other levels of government, entrenched unions, hostile bureaucrats and an amateur-hour council, not to mention apathetic voters. Instead of pursuing a new vision for Toronto, you’ll get inexorably drawn in to all its existing squabbles and problems.”

Read the rest of the forum here.

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Photo courtesy: Toronto Star

The National Post reports that a member of the Ford family will definitely be on the ballot as a candidate in Ward 2 to replace mayoral candidate Rob Ford:

“Rob Ford deferred comment to his spokesperson, Adrienne Batra, who said a member of the Ford family will announce their candidacy for the seat on August 6 at “Ford Fest,” a backyard barbeque being held to raise money for the Rob Ford campaign.

“The Ford family is weighing all their options in terms of who might have their name on the ballot,” Ms. Batra said. The barbeque announcement isn’t a sign that the Ford campaign will be slowing down anytime soon: “Rob will be on the ballot for mayor of Toronto,” she said.”

Read the rest of the article here.

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“Mr. Ford and his volunteers are blitzing a ward or two per weekend, and reaching tens of thousands more voters as the first Canadian general election campaign to employ “tele-townhalls” – a clever technique that President Barack Obama used to sell seniors on his health-care reforms. The technology places robo-calls to every land line in a defined area and asks residents to press a button to participate in a call-in radio show starring Mr. Ford.

Mr. Ford’s strong showing is also the result of political kismet. Through internal polling and focus groups, the Ford camp – led by his older brother Doug – concluded early that the ballot issue was anger at a tax-and-spend city hall, not transportation.”

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Photo courtesy: BlogTO

BlogTO has published an interview they conducted with former SportsNet anchor and current Ward 19 candidate Sean McCormick:

How did you go from sports broadcasting to politics?

I’ve lived in Toronto for eight years now and I love this city. I moved here from out west – I was in Vancouver for a few years, grew up in Edmonton – and this is such a great city. It’s the best city in Canada as far as I’m concerned. However, in the last few years I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the way tax dollars are being utilized. I don’t feel that Torontonians are getting good value at all for their tax dollars and rather than complaining about it, I figured it’s better to be part of the solution – so I’m going to try and be a part of that solution.

Read the rest of the post here.

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Photo courtesy: Stefan Baranski

Mayoral candidate George Smitherman took to the sky over Toronto to show journalists what – and where – he plans to improve if elected mayor:

Trying to shed his image as a downtown guy — a major battle cry for chief opponent Rob Ford, an Etobicoke councillor — Smitherman had his pilot soar over the suburbs.

From forests of green along ravines and city parks to hydro tower fields empty of people but full of space for “community gardens” and bicycle lanes, he winged over sandy beaches begging for bathers, talking of “better promotions needed for this fabulous city.”

But this was no flight of fancy.  Between the green, streets narrowed with roadwork got an aerial salvo, with him repeating a campaign promise to end “days of disruption.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Related: Gee: Welcome on board Air Smitherman (Globe and Mail)

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George Smitherman, who has been neck-and-neck with Ford in the polls, attacked Ford as a “purveyor of doom and gloom”.

“This councillor sees everything through the narrow lens of a penny,” said Smitherman, who was Toronto-Centre MPP when the revitalization of Regent Park was approved.

Other questions tackled by mayoralty candidates at the debate focused on what one resident deemed police brutality in the area.  Candidate Joe Pantalone gave a general response about dealing with violence.

“We need to train our society to have more peaceful means.”

Read the rest of the article here.

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“A civic government locked in “a pattern of mediocrity” shares the blame for areas with empty storefronts or lower employment, Smitherman suggested, because it hasn’t spoken openly enough to Torontonians about the heavy tax burden on Toronto businesses.

Making its commercial property taxes more competitive is a way to create jobs and address Toronto’s social challenges, argued the candidate, who said his transit system expansion plan would bring more economic opportunities to the city by knitting together its more neglected parts.”

Read the rest of the article here.

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