September 21, 2010 - 1:44 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
He is who he is, and his messaging hasn't changed much over the course of this campaign. Ford's definition of self and policy priorities bodes well for Mayor Gregor Robertson
Yesterday’s polling showing Rob Ford taking a commanding lead over his closest rivals in the Toronto Mayoral race is stunning in its decisiveness. From my sources around the George Smitherman campaign, the mood is sombre and even defeatist at this point.
What is even more interesting than the gap in voting intentions is the fact that a new poll today finds that Ford is now seen as the most trustworthy candidate in the race. And what of Ford’s criminal past where even though got busted in Florida in 1999, he hadcomplete memory loss about getting charged when confronted by the media? Merely an afterthought.
Now as I have previously pointed out, Ford as an angry man reciting rhetoric along the lines of “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore,” is really getting traction, regardless of his past indiscretions.
Now, one might deduct that this atmosphere of backlash against incumbents everywhere should present some real pause for concern within the upper reaches of the Vision Vancouver braintrust.
And yes, this type of political climate, particularly locally as seen in recent weeks, is a consideration that cannot be overlooked, and must guide Gregor and his team to consider the suggestions I had in my abovelinked post.
That being said, the Rob Ford model for success also provides a blueprint that seems to place Vision Vancouver in a decidedly advantageous position in the coming year ahead.
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June 22, 2010 - 12:14 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Cycling in Vancouver makes David Pratt a very unhappy camper.
Dave Pratt is angry about cyclists being given a greater opportunity to get around town safely.
“FAIR WEATHER” CYCLISTS…BOZOS…“PIN HEADS”…“CORUPTED” – are just some of the adjectives and terms he uses to get his point across.
So Is it any wonder that he used this kind of technique in his former job?
Pratt’s “minor gaffe” is something that is considered pretty major in the world of authoring, whether it be a blog, a book or a newspaper article. Thus, his radar on the cycling issue in Vancouver, and any other for that matter that appears on his blog, suspect to say the least.
Oh, and what was his justification for this “minor gaffe”?
“It was a Saturday and I wanted to get out of [the office] before noon.”
Seems that he employed the same kind of attitude in his writing of such a shallow and poorly thought out post as the one linked to above.
Pratt and his wisdom can still be heard on the TEAM 1040.
Me thinks, however, that it is time to do a little digging into his blog archives.
May 19, 2010 - 12:10 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Allen's dating himself with his archaic views of what modern transportation should look like.
For at least a year, one of Bruce Allen’s favourite topics for his inane “Reality Check” segments on CKNW have been the bike lane trials and more broadly, City Council’s support to increase cycling in Vancouver.
You see, in Bruce’s world, you get with his program, or you get run over. This is the kind of attitude that propelled him to make the following comments about immigrants back in 2007:
“If you choose to come to a place like Canada, then shut up and fit in.” (although he later clarified that xenophobic statement, so all is clearly forgotten)
But rather than be offensive in his latest rant, Allen shows himself to be a true fossil when it comes to his views on cycling and those who support it.
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