Featur e URBANIS PERSONAE
A Character by Character Description of the 2010 Toronto Mayoral Election
By Anthony Furey
DAVID MILLER Senile and foolish Lear, dividing his kingdom
W
hen David Miller first won the Toronto mayoralty of 2003 he was an unknown city councillor who
captured the public’s attention by creating a wedge issue that he stood firmly on the ‘progressive’ side of. That issue was the Toronto Island Airport and whether the city ought to build a short bridge to it to ease travelers’ journeys and make the core more desirable as an international business hotspot. Miller was opposed to it and won a close victory against fiscally conservative business leader John Tory. If you ask Torontonians what legacy Miller leaves be-
hind you will receive a varied response. Those on the left will primarily cite his commitment to Transit City, the program designed to expand LRT networks through- out Toronto. Those on the right will cite the increasing amount of service fees and taxes in the face of disruption union strikes.
While Miller and his support audaciously contended that he could have hardily won a third term (this fact was somewhat supported by an early poll) the staggering amount of support received by Rob Ford should make municipal hawks giddy at the what-ifs of a Ford versus Miller showdown. Almost steadfast in his refusal to ac- knowledge criticisms, Miller contended that his legacy was a strong one. He endorsed his deputy Joe Pantalone as mayoral candidate. Given Pantalone’s similar insistence that Miller’s tenure was near perfect this can be taken as another sign by Miller. It can be argued that Toronto’s inaugural mayor, Mel Lastman, governed with the benefit of the suburbs in mind (and has been argued that Ford will do the same) while Miller governed for the benefit of the downtown. Should anyone on the left bemoan the ascendancy of Ford they have only Miller to blame. Had he been a centrist there would have been nothing for the reactionaries to respond to.
28 Campaigns & Elections | Canadian Edition
ADAM GIAMBRONE Romeo – naïve youth; possible heavyweight yet dies after falling for young waif
Toronto city councillor at 26. At 32, after two terms in council, he announced his intentions to run for mayor. His initial platform was largely based on electoral reform: allowing on-line voting, changing the voting system and allowing non-citizens to vote in elections. However soon into his campaign he was discovered to be involved in an affair with an attention seeking young lady which, due to poor damage control on Giambrone’s part, saw him end his campaign.
G
While his left-wing successor Joe Pantalone offered no better policies, Giambrone’s reasons for running seemed lacklustre and insincere.
JOE PANTALONE Mercutio – wide-eyed dreamer and idealist; deeply committed to family; dies from hubris
T
hirty year veteran of city council, Pantalone filled the left-wing void made by Giambrone’s departure. He
was known as a major proponent of green initiatives and a long-time NDPer. His campaign never gained momen- tum nor did he ever release a platform of any significance. A city-wide food program and a commitment to increas- ing the number of trees seemed to be the policies that made it most into the minds of the electorate and pundits. Despite having been told of his affable nature, I found his character to be quite snide and always dismissive of his opponents instead of addressing their actual concerns. Many were offended by his suggestion that instead of vot- ing for Ford and Smitherman they should just tear up their ballots if they weren’t going to vote for him. Panta- lone placed a respectable but still distant third.
iambrone was a rising star for the left. He became president of the federal NDP at the age of 24 and
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