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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July 12, 2010 - 12:01 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
November 16, 2009 - 11:06 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Civic affairs were front and centre in an interesting and engaging forum hosted this past Saturday.
I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into the “Year In Review” forum hosted by previous NPA candidate Michael Geller, largely because I suspected an overwhelmingly NPA supportive crowd would be the only ones to show up.
And, for the most part, I was correct – former and current NPA board members, elected officials and supporters roamed the room, with few Vision or COPE supporters in tow. In fact, one of those former NPA elected officials tried to tell me that the morning remained civil and well-behaved because “the right-of-centre” had been behind the organizing, suggesting that had the “left” been at the helm, chaos and hostility would have ruled the day.
This is exactly the type of comment that I have come to expect from your typical NPA, Quadra-type of supporter. When confronted with the question, I told the individual that having grown up in Marpole/Kerrisdale, I knew first hand that civility was by no means exclusive to her end of the political spectrum.
That bit of nonsense aside, I found the morning to be a fantastic endeavour that could prove to be a model for civic engagement for all parties – assuming, of course, that the pool of interest is widened with future sessions.
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November 10, 2009 - 10:41 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
A fat bank account and the continuing flow of development-related revenues is the only thing that seems to be of any interest to Burnaby Mayor Corrigan these days.
Mayor Corrigan basks in the admiration of his subjects.
He is sitting high with $633 million in the bank, hundreds of millions more in land reserves, and complete control of Council.
Yet with all of this financial capability behind him, Corrigan continues to tell people in his community that affordable housing and homeless shelters are not his responsibility.
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