What do John Tory supporters see when they see candidate John Tory? What do Tory supporters dream when they dream John Tory dreams?
I ask, as I was struck somewhat by a series of responses I got over the Twitter this weekend after I took to mocking their dear leader for his apparent flip-flop over the ranked ballot voting reform initiative now sitting in limbo at Queen’s Park. (Here’s John Tory in May, all over the idea of ranked ballots: Yes, I’m very open to the discussion…” blah blah blah… “ Look, if you have the discussion, there’s no reason you couldn’t have it in time for the next election.” Here’s John Tory’s response to the ranked ballots Big Idea published this weekend in the Toronto Star: “Position: No. Both the city and the province are examining electoral reforms and I look forward to seeing the results of those studies…” blah blah blah…
Carrying this parenthetical over to a 2nd paragraph, it’s also interesting to note in John Lorinc’s Spacing article from May, 
John Tory was gung ho about the Downtown Relief Line and stated emphatically that the rapid transit expansion for northwest and northeast Toronto in the form of the Finch West and Sheppard East LRTs might have to be delayed, de-prioritized and sacrificed at the altar of the DRL. Four months on and the guy can’t shut up about SmartTrack. Just how malleable are his transit plans, it makes one wonder.)
In response to his glaring ranked ballots flip-flop, I fired off a series of tweets, suggesting that aside from their respective code of conduct differences — Rob Ford, all debauched, degenerate and dissolute, John Tory, buttoned-down, hair parted on the left, corporate – I couldn’t see much daylight between the two candidates. While Tory’s SmartTrack isn’t nearly as phantasmagorical as the mayor’s Subways Redux plan, it still relied solely on a one magic bullet funding solution. John Tory hates taxes as much as Rob Ford does, except when it comes to the Scarborough subway. 
Both men now appear to be on the same page when it comes to voting reform.
John Tory: a warmed over Fordism dressed up in a tailored suit. City Hall, crackless, but essentially Rob Ford’s 2nd term.
I expected pushback in terms of policy from Tory fans. No, no, no. You got it all wrong. SmartTrack is this… Or, Mr. Tory’s new position on ranked ballots is more new nuanced. It’s not so much a reversal as it is a re-thinking.
Uh uh. Not even close. What I got were variations on a theme. ‘Inoffensive.’ Gracious. A pleasure to work with. ‘Genuine and impacting’. (**shrug**) ‘A businessman with a sparkling resume’.
Which was the fucking point of my outburst!
Nothing but personal testimonials. Issues? Issues? Give me an issue, I’ll make a tissue and wipe my ass with it. (h/t to the Lou Reed for that.)
Clearly, politics in Toronto has grown flabby and lazy. The uptick in support for John Tory in this campaign suggests that more and more people in this city look around and see the problems we face, 
whether it’s congestion or growing inequality, and they come to the conclusion that, damn, if only our mayor hadn’t smoked crack, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
We seem willing to extend our delusion that these things can all be fixed without anybody having to lift a finger to contribute. We just need to fire a few more bureaucrats. Lean on the private sector a bit more. Keep on keeping our taxes low.
Ignore the fact Rob Ford did all these things. In between crack smoking bouts and punching people in the face while holding a McDonald’s bag, these are all policies he pursued. Cuts to services and programs. Reduction in spending. Sheppard subway extension anyone?
Now we seem to think that all these things would work if we only had someone else in place to implement them. Someone inoffensive. Someone gracious. Someone genuine and impacting. Someone like John Tory.
What I once thought was a political liability, I’m now beginning to think might’ve been a stroke of pure genius on the part of John Tory. Back in the 2010 municipal campaign, he donated money to both Rob and Doug Ford. When the donations came to light this time around, people jumped on him. What were you thinking, John Tory? 
Look how this all turned out.
I can only imagine what it was John Tory was thinking. Help get Rob Ford elected mayor. Support him early on. And when he crashes and burns, because the safe bet was he’d crash and burn, people would turn to John Tory to come in and clean up the mess. John Tory’s ticket to power would be that he wasn’t Rob Ford.
The joke is, beyond the wreck in the mayor’s office, John Tory has no intention of cleaning up the mess Rob Ford left behind. A John Tory mayoralty is going to be pretty much business as usual. Build and repair what you can within the confines of shrinking revenue. Cut and eliminate where necessary to keep the books balanced.
He’s done or said nothing to suggest otherwise. Believing he has is simply believing in fairy tales. Once again a plurality of Torontonians seem happily prepared to fall for the big con, part two.
— depressingly submitted by Cityslikr
All true. It is the same policies only Tory won’t have food slopped down the front of him when he blames everything on Miller. I shudder at the make up of the new Council. How many will be clinging to the hem of his garment.
After the 2010 Election, there were the 14 left, 15 center & 16 right. Which after Exec. appointments went 14 left, 8 mush & 23 Fordites.
When people look closer they will realize it is Tory’s scamtrack.
36 incumbents are up for reelection, 8 OPEN races
P.S. Thomson dropped out to run in W20 vs 27
Everybody’s transit plan is a scam. Tory, Chow, Ford, etc.
Tory’s is a $8 Billion scam!
Ford’s is a $9 Billion scam?!
Chow’s is doable because those 500-600 who purchase homes each year worth $2 million OR more would be paying an additional 1% that will bring in $20 million which is more than the $15 million required to maintain older usable buses and to hire operators…
P.S. Silence you fool!
Think you forgot to add that Chow needs to buy NEW buses and add staff on top of the older buses (approx $250mil not accounted for). Why not bring back the electric buses?
She has no funding for the DRL. And that is 15 years away.
As stated before all the transit plans are a scam. Toronto needs to have a 60 year master plan for transit.
Chow can’t likely increase transit 10% with $20 million, although she is at least trying to get there by looking at options such as later retirement, rehabs and various storage scenarios. The last administration (minus Augimeri TTC) did their best to cut funding and block expansion possibilities, but TTC staff put forward a raft of ideas for how to improve service, for future Councillors and Mayors to peruse. Surface transit seems to be viewed as competition or congestion by the Fords and Tory. Interestingly Tory supports express buses, but I imagine that an express bus from Liberty Village might also need to use the road and might even stop to pick up passengers.
Chow = No funding for DRL?
If Toronto puts its billions into the Scarborough expressway and SmartTrack, TO borrowing will be maxed out indefinitely. Chow’s platform calls for transferring $900 million from the 3-stop subway extension to the DRL.
The Province would be a lot more interested in speeding up DRL construction, if the city also showed some interest – i.e. put its money there, rather than everywhere else.