The Mayors of Jane Jacobs' Toronto

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs, a book which influenced generations of urban planners and municipal leaders and forever changed the way we think of cities. So what better way to celebrate than in the company of four former mayors of Toronto, the city Jacobs called home for nearly half her life.

David Crombie, John Sewell, Art Eggleton, and Barbara Hall were all on hand for "Jane Jacobs' Toronto", a panel discussion moderated by TVO's Steve Paikin and presented by the Centre for City Ecology. Tickets were free, and were snapped up so quickly that organizers moved the event to a larger venue at OISE - and even then they were left with a waiting list of over 150.

Given the overwhelming interest in recent goings on at Toronto City Hall, it's not hard to guess why.

Rocco Rossi's New Friend

You know, I really didn't mind Rocco Rossi so much while he was Fundraiser-in-Chief for the Liberals. Although I did raise an eyebrow when the big cash influx from the Convention was being touted as proof of his powers.

Then he started running for Mayor of Toronto, and it's like any semblance of Liberalism just seemed to fall away like a lizard skin.

But just in case any Liberals out there still feel the need to continue supporting our former National Director just because he's a good guy, consider who else is supporting him:

This Tory is backing a Liberal
by Michael Taube

I've written many words and phrases in my career, but I never thought I'd write this next line. Yet it's true: this November, I'm going to vote for a Liberal.

After some reflection, I've decided to cast my ballot for Rocco Rossi to be the next mayor of Toronto. I believe he's the best choice for Toronto-area conservatives and libertarians and I hope other like-minded individuals eventually reach the same conclusion.

Good enough for me. Then again, I don't live in Toronto anymore.

Sorry, Rocco

You know I love you, man... but you lost me at "fire sale":

The latest contender for Toronto's mayoralty said he would whip the city's finances into shape by selling Toronto Hydro and other city assets if elected.

"I'm big, I'm bald and I've got bold ideas for this city," said Rocco Rossi, who until last week was the Liberal party's national director in Ottawa.

..."We're going to sell assets," Rossi told reporters. "We're going to start with Toronto Hydro."

Nope. Sorry. Been there, done that, didn't like it.

Happily, I don't live in Toronto.

Toronto Strike Vote - UPDATED

Not that it's any of my business, but I was curious about something: just how many of the fifteen Toronto City Councillors who are on record opposing the deal with the city workers actually have one of those festering mountains of garbage in their wards?

The answer is: 4

Michael Feldman, Ward 10
Frances Nunziata, Ward 11 (she's got 2)
Karen Stintz, Ward 16
Brian Ashton, Ward 36

(CORRECTION: There were actually 5 - Cliff Jenkins of Ward 25 also has a garbage dump in his riding.)

The rest all represent relatively sweet-smelling wards like Willowdale and Don Valley. In fact two of them - Rob Ford and Peter Milczyn - represent Etobicoke, the only area of Toronto which has been enjoying garbage pick-up during the strike thanks to their privately contracted workers.

My next question would be: what do you think the odds are of those four councillors getting re-elected if the actually manage to shoot down this deal?

UPDATE: Here is the final vote, courtesy of the Toronto Star. Both agreements passed, 21-17.


Yes

Maria Augimeri (York Centre) - Yes
Sandra Bussin (Beaches-East York) - Yes
Shelley Carroll (Don Valley East) – Yes
Raymond Cho (Scarborough-Rouge River) – Yes
Janet Davis (Beaches-East York) – Yes
Glenn de Baeremaeker (Scarborough Centre) – Yes
Frank Di Giorgio (York South-Weston) – Yes
Paula Fletcher (Toronto-Danforth) – Yes
Adam Giambrone (Davenport) – Yes
Mark Grimes (Etobicoke Lakeshore) – Yes
Suzan Hall (Etobicoke North) – Yes
A.A. Heaps (Scarborough Southwest) – Yes
Doug Holyday (Etobicoke Centre) – Yes
Pam McConnell (Toronto Centre-Rosedale) – Yes
Joe Mihevc (St. Paul’s) – Yes
David Miller (Mayor) - Yes
Joe Pantalone (Trinity-Spadina) – Yes
Gord Perks (Parkdale-High Park) – Yes
Anthony Perruzza (York West) – Yes
Bill Saundercook (Parkdale-High Park) – Yes
Adam Vaughan (Trinity-Spadina) – Yes

No

Paul Ainslie (Scarborough East) - No
Brian Ashton (Scarborough Southwest) – No
Mike Del Grande (Scarborough-Agincourt) – No
Mike Feldman (York Centre) - No
Rob Ford (Etobicoke North) – No
Cliff Jenkins (Don Valley West) – No
Norm Kelly (Scarborough-Agincourt) – No
Chin Lee (Scarborough-Rouge River) – No
Peter Milczyn (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) – No* (Only pertains to vote on Local 416 agreement)
Denzil Minnan-Wong (Don Valley East) – No
Ron Moeser (Scarborough East) - No
Frances Nunziata (York South-Weston) – No
Case Ootes (Toronto-Danforth) – No
John Parker (Don Valley West) – No
David Shiner (Willowdale) – No * (Only pertains to vote on Local 79 agreement)
Karen Stintz (Eglinton-Lawrence) – No
Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre) – NoMichael Walker (St. Paul’s) – No

Names in bold have a temporary garbage drop-off in their ward. A few notes:

- Milczyn and Shiner have close relatives in the Union and were originally not going to be allowed to vote, but apparently it was agreed to split the vote between the two Locals and let them only vote on the one where they did not have a conflict.

- Of the six councillors who had said they were 'undecided' going into the vote, all voted yes except for Del Grande who voted no.

- Councillors for the 13 ridings I could find with dump sites were evenly split: 6 for and 6 against, with Kyle Rae of Ward 27 absent.

FURTHER UPDATE: In deference to my OCD-like fascination with maps, here's a map of Toronto's Wards showing 'Yes' votes in green, 'No' votes in red.

Fuckers Fire Ed & Red

The evil corporate overlords at what used to be our beloved CityTV have proven once and for all that all the weasel words about "nurturing and preserving" City's "unique and special culture" were only so many small piles of doggie doo.

'Ed & Red's Night Party', the latest incarnation of Canada's longest running comedy show, has been cancelled.

Steve K is being very gracious about it:

"There's no ill will. Things change," said Steve Kerzner, Ed's voice and creator. "We just don't really fit, I guess, as presently constituted, with what they wanted to do with the channel."

Yeah. That's one way of putting it, I suppose. And happily Steve and his lovely Liana K (one of us!!) have had numerous offers from elsewhere. But word from the underground is that the mood over at Rogers-owned CityTV is decidedly grim, and the sword of Damocles is casting its shadow over more than one icon of the Temple of Television.

It's the end of an era, man. But it sure was a sweet ride while it lasted.