In 2010, Don Cherry attended Toronto City Council’s inaugural meeting as a “special guest” of then-Mayor Rob Ford, where he went on to call the city’s progressive councilors “left-wing kooks.” and “pinkos”.
If the disgrace expert did the same today, he might be disappointed to find out that the “pinkos” have left the building.
In fact, Toronto’s current election season could be characterized as an exodus of “pinkos.”
This campaign isn’t defined by the people who run in it: it’s defined by the people who don’t run – especially high-level progressive leaders who have championed causes like safe injection sites and supportive housing. modular supports.
Joe Cressy, the former downtown councilor and chairman of the board of health who was once rumored to be a potential challenger for Mayor John Tory, recently took a top job at George Brown College. Kristyn Wong-Tam left City Hall for the win at Queen’s Park. The former councilor for Ward 13 (Toronto Centre) currently represents Toronto Center as an MPP.
In May, longtime Ward 9 (Davenport) councilor and affordable housing advocate Ana Bailão announced she would not seek another term. In June, John Filion, the Willowdale councilor who fought hard for modular housing in his ward, did the same. And just last week, after 12 years in office, University-Rosedale environmental adviser Mike Layton announced that he would follow in the footsteps of his best friend Joe Cressy and step down from the city council.
Although these councilors are in different places on the spectrum of the left, each of them is a high-profile progressive leader with far greater name recognition than Gil Penalosa, the urban planner running against the Tory mayor. .
Their exodus then, as understandable (would you want to run for office after serving overstaffed service during a pandemic?), comes at an ugly time for the council’s fractured progressive flank.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has just announced his intention to give expanded powers, such as veto power, to Mayor John Tory, a move some left-wing voices call undemocratic and even fascist ( it should be noted, however, that US cities like Chicago that operate under the strong mayor system are not oppressive regimes). That said, chances are the new system will be a hurdle for progressive advisers in the fall. Just because a strong mayoral system won’t overthrow Toronto’s democracy doesn’t mean it won’t make things much harder for council members who disagree with the mayor.
You would think that in light of this, there would be a master plan to elect as many left-handers to the board as possible; a bold vision to unite the left against the soon to be strong mayor.
But no: It seems that beyond some grunts on Twitter about democracy, the best plan Toronto’s progressive brains can come up with is to run two of their own in the same neighborhood.
Why, for example, are Robin Buxton Potts and Norm Di Pasquale – both left-handers – running against each other in Councilman Mike Layton’s former neighborhood? When Councilor Wong-Tam left the council to run for provincial office, their former chief of staff, Buxton Potts, was named acting councilor for Ward 13.
At the time, she told the board she had no intention of running for office, yet last month she announced her candidacy in University-Rosedale. Many were quick to point out that this is bad form; that an interim councilor should not use what is a gatekeeper role to gain publicity before launching an election campaign.
But beyond the clearly bad form of it all, why are two well-known leftists running against each other in the same neighborhood in an election year in which a center-right mayor will be granted extended powers? Shouldn’t they spread out instead of splitting the vote?
Whether it’s talking a big game about fairness and then voting against drinking in public parks or calling out homelessness but placating NIMBY voters, leftist leaders of Toronto constantly contradict each other.
They are their own worst enemies. If they want to make the change they talk about, they have to organize themselves, ideally around someone with high profile who wants to become mayor. (The deadline for running is August 19.) Until then, it seems their goal is to earn rhetorical points on Twitter and on the board: not elections.
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