• I obviously ruffled one former mayoral Cheif of Staff’s feathers with Friday’s post, inspiring this lacklustre rebuttal.  Notice how Daniel conveniently ignores my points about EcoDensity being prepared for IN ADVANCE of a Council vote in much the same way as the Hornby bike lane was, and provides no explanation except for this:  “He even goes back in time and tries to redesign history by incorrectly alleging that EcoDensity was handled by staff in the same manner as the separated bike lanes.”  I anxiously await the promised future post on the subject for Fontaine to feverishly spin the virtues his former boss’ baby.  Oh yeah, and one more thing, Daniel: your allusions to future revelations are always humourous…so let’s clear something up about your constant accusations about my relationship to the Mayor’s office.  I do indeed talk to people in the Mayor’s office, Vision Vancouver offices, and electeds on the Park Board and City Council…this is something I have never tried to hide.  Why?  Well, because a) this is a political blog where my political loyalties are very obvious and b) they are in the thick of things and I like to try to pry information out of them.  On that front I am not always successful, but for the sake of this website, from time to time I have inquiries.

• I have definitely graduated from my former fandom of professional wrestling to MMA.  Nonetheless, the WWE didn’t just pull out of a scheduled event in Vancouver for nothing.  The City of Vancouver says it is not anti-combat sports, but it is putting up barriers that make it a) a bureaucratic nightmare b) a costly affair for any promoter and c) a process that directs organizations like the UFC and WWE to look at other options (in the case of WWE, they headed to Washington, where UFC is not adverse to moving into a city like Edmonton or Calgary for a third annual PPV Canadian event, according to my conversations with UFC Director of Operations Tom Wright).  I understand there is a liability issue that the City needs to insulate itself from when it comes to protecting taxpayers.  But after a successful UFC 115, you’d think they’d be willing to negotiate with a little more flexibility.  Based on recent meetings that happened with UFC officials over the past few weeks, however, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

• Seriously, with the way that Minister Rich Coleman has played games with the City of Vancouver in recent months on the social housing component of the Millennium Water development, I can’t see why the City wouldn’t use the time frame of the casino being built as a bigger bargaining chip.  If non-profit groups can benefit, or at the very least if the City can get some better cooperation on a range of issues with the Province, then it might very well be worth it, particularly with the state of the government these days.

• Once again, I think that the NDP caucus Carole James detractors are utter idiots, and handing the BC Liberals a free pass to get back into the game.  This article seems to suggest that Gordon Campbell might be invigourated to stay to fight a fourth mandate as a result of the NDP’s ever-emerging implosion.  But if I am one of the people that actually has a measure of influence with Campbell and who is still interested in the fate of the entire party (and I know of at least a few of those types who stop in to read this site), I would be saying “Look, they are giving us an opportunity to change everything.  So let’s allow a few more disgruntled NDP MLAs to publicly resign, go through these recall campaigns, and then let a new leader emerge as a person of the people by initiating an immediate referendum on the HST.”  Gordon’s ego is unlikely to allow him to arrive at the same conclusion without a little (or a lot of) cajoling.  But I do think it will happen nonetheless.

• I have a feeling that this public consultation process over the budget, which is currently forecast to have a deficit of $20.6 million, is going to be very political.  The City would be well advised to look at their Metro Vancouver partners and find out what kind of deficits they are encountering, because rest assured, most municipalities are in this financial position.  I am interested to see if the NPA can attract more than 200 people to their fundraising dinner on Wednesday (an event, by the way, that no one should be fooled about when it comes to that $185 ticket price – because they are just giving away tons of free tickets for, including many politically active youth), which will indicate to what extent they can organize.  Then again, with the way their candidate selection meeting is shaping up, maybe the crowds that are attracted to come out really will be concerned public members instead of…naw, I won’t go down that road again.

• The kind of political gridlock the Mayor of Toronto will encounter after winning is why I prefer the party systems that are in place in Vancouver and Montreal.  Locally, Gregor Robertson et al. were elected on a platform, and now they are implementing that platform that garnered them a mandate.  That is the way it should be…and the reason why I absolutely abhor minority governments.

• Speaking of the Toronto Mayoral race, it looks like a dead heat.  Unlike what people like my friend Warren Kinsella was saying, I think that Rocco Rossi’s exit from the race really gave George Smitherman the lift that he needed to pull even with Rob Ford.  Joe Pantalone currently looks like Toronto’s version of Ralph Nader, however, which should be very concerning in the Smitherman camp.  The bright side of the eqaution is that less than half of Pantalone’s backers (47.5%) declare their support as firm, which means that Smitherman will benefit from those scared enough of Ford’s potential victory to change their vote.  The next week is going to be very interesting.

OK, off to meetings folks.  Have a great day.

John Tory will now contemplate his future as a private citizen, a tireless advocate for the charitable sector, and of course a father and a husband.

News of John Tory’s official departure from the race to become Toronto’s next Mayor this morning seems to have caught my contacts over at Queen’s Park and within the Toronto municipal political scene off guard, as he was clearly seen as a consensus candidate that centre and centre-right support could turn to in unison.

Even some friends who are David Miller supporters and traditionally aligned with the centre-left in all three realms of Canadian politics privately acknowledged Tory’s previous momentum and appeal in serveral conversations over the past few months.

Why you may ask was a bumbling and ineffective former Conservative leader and already once unsuccessful mayoral candidate already considered as such a hot political property?  Simply put…Tory was a guy with a personality that just about everyone liked and respected.  They might not have agreed with his politics, but they always appreciated the man.  Point and case?  My friend Warren Kinsella, who as a Liberal strategist and war room leader for Premier Dalton McGuinty was ruthless with a brilliance that few could match and from which Tory’s electoral prospects could never recover.  Enter the municipal realm, however, and Tory would have had a loyal general that would have gone all out for his campaign.

So with the “nice guy” out of the race, what happens to the new focal point of the mayoral campaign (some might say only serious candidate) whose straight-forward style often rubs people the wrong way?

Major outreach and a substantial branding overhaul, if he and his advisors have any smarts.

Smitherman should follow the words of wisdom from another famous George - "Serenity Now!"

Dont get me wrong.  From my limited experience in working with George back in the opposition days of 1999 and 2000, I really liked the guy.  Personable, off the cuff, passionate, and viciously partisan – all qualities that as a young politico I was quite impressed by.  Plus, I tend to gravitate towards the Jean Chretien/Larry Campbell type of brashness in leadership.

But that isn’t necessarily the kind of reputation that lends itself well to a city-wide electorate that collectively elects the Mayor to office.

Tory had attracted Liberals like Warren and disaffected provincial Liberals upset with Smitherman for abandoning the ship at such a difficult time for the McGuinty government.

Then of course there is Rocco Rossi, whose entry into the race came first, fresh from serving as the National Director for the Liberal Party of Canada.  Rossi is far from a candidate of threat, but he too will be able to pull some loyal Liberal supporters into his sphere simply for his affiliations to the federal party.

This is a constituency that Smitherman and his team must make a priority to reach out to.  Humility, acknowledgment of objections, and substantial offers for roles on the campaign would be a great start for these types of efforts.

I have a hard time picturing another name entering the race at this point, as Tory’s broad appeal is not something that will be easily replicated.  That being said, maybe the multi-year dream of getting Pinball Clemons into the mix is now something that Tory supporters are looking to once again attempt.

Smitherman would be wise to keep any assumption of his ascension to the throne as low key as possible, and instead focus on immediately releasing tangible platform ideas to define what his campaign will be about.

The image needs to be softened, his reasons for running need to be defined and properly articulated, and a vision for Toronto must be released in a slow and steady progression.

Then, and only then, wil Smitherman be able to turn a corner and overcome some of the long-standing opinions that exist about him and his demeanour.

This is no longer simply about winning for Smitherman.  This is now also about managing the responsibilities and challenges associated with being the front-runner.