Rob Ford, the football coach, has this thing he does with his players when they step out of line. He makes them roll the length of the field in full equipment until they puke.
I’ve told that story before, but after Thursday’s marathon meeting of council’s Executive Committee to receive public input on the raft of cuts being proposed by consultants KPMG, I’m compelled to repeat myself.
The mother of all meetings felt more like a torture test, with Ford in the role of little kid getting his kicks watching the bugs squirm in a glass jar.
Many on the left and those following online, took solace from the proceedings. That’s one way of looking at it.
On the other hand, deputants had to endure a 24-hour meeting just to be heard, only to have their concerns dismissed with a 39-second vote at the end. Sayonara. See you later. And watch the door doesn’t hit you on the ass on the way out.
It’s become a habit of the Ford crew to invite public input and then summarily dismiss it as “special interests.” Enter Giorgio Mammoliti to offer a post marathon interview and say that the outpouring from Torontonians, while touching perhaps, is not reflective of the sentiments of the wider populace (read: the suburbs).
A little strange coming from Mammo, you’ll be surprised to hear me say. I distinctly remember when he was making his own run for mayor, speaking glowingly of how impressed he’d been by the passion showed by downtowners for their city.
It was at an all-candidates meeting at St. Paul’s on Bloor. Giorgio told the gathering that he’d gotten into the race to push the concerns of the suburbs, but that downtowners had taught him that we all live in one city.
Mammo is happier these days being the mayor’s right-hand thumb.
Well, at least the Fordists can’t be accused of being fascists. They allowed people to have their say, right? But I did hear security was tight around the hall Thursday.
Ford certainly seemed in a hurry to get through the speakers list, not allowing more names to be added right off the top, then to mess with people’s heads, stating his preference for the meeting to go all night if it had to, just to scare a few people off. That move managed to weed out more than half the 300 or so residents who registered to speak.
Those who did tough it out to be heard were put on a short leash, the executive voting to reduce their time to speak from five to three minutes, and their time for questions from councillors from five to one minute. Those who couldn’t make it from the overflow room in time when their names were called were simply passed over.
If there was to be what could be called a public consultation, then it would be on Ford’s terms.
When all was finally said and done, nothing had changed.
Some on the left took solace from the experience. Gord Perks called it one of the most important days in the city’s political history. And it was, if only to prove that there are enough people in this city who are not going down without a fight. Joe Mihevc called it the beginning of an important citizens movement. Maybe.
Maybe some of those cuts, sorry “opportunities,” being contemplated in the KPMG report will come back to Ford. The debate over library closures seems to have struck a nerve.
Maybe those user fees the mayor is going to have to hike to help cover the $774 million hole he put the city in will finally put the lie to his election promise not to raise taxes or cut services. He’s now doing both.
We won’t know for some time whether what was witnessed this week is the beginning of a groundswell. Toronto won’t actually start feeling the full effects of whatever cuts are coming until 2012.
Some on the right with pet projects may prove a little harder than usual for the mayor to corral when it comes to the hard work of closing community centres, say. Or killing child care. Or closing swimming pools. Or doing away with late night bus routes.
When the burbs start to experience the brunt of the Ford agenda and come to realize what many have been saying for months – that his election promises don’t add up to a lick – then we might really start to witness the tide turning.
Some on council who’ve had their beefs with Ford, are starting to contemplate their time to break ranks. The tenor of the politics around 100 Queen West is only getting more oppressive for them.
How much longer can the James Pasternaks, Jaye Robinsons, Chin Lees, Michelle Berardinettis, John Parkers etc continue to play along?
The sheer embarrassment of some of the Ford admin’s antics would seem enough for a re-evaluation of their allegiance.
But those councillors considering a breakaway will have to show the same kind of determination folks who turned up at this week’s exec meeting did. Ford is a take no prisoners kind of political operator. And I’m not sure how many of them have that kind of fight in them, politics being the art of self-preservation as much as the art of compromise.
Ford’s bullying is beginning to turn people off, certainly. But as long as the perception out there is that the peeps are behind the mayor, councillors will be reluctant to put themselves on the line.
In the meantime, Ford’s opponents are going to have to up the ante if they want to be heard. I’m talking Wisconsin-like demonstrations.
At the press conference called Friday afternoon to debrief the media on next steps, budget chief Mike Del Grande was clear the emotion of deputants the night prior had changed nothing.
One member of the media practically begged Del Grande to show some compassion. Was there anything he heard from the impassioned pleas of Toronto residents that may have changed his mind?
Nope. Del Grande wouldn’t budge, although the usually straight-talking budget chief did uncharacteristically attempt to soft pedal the disaster in store for our fair city. “Just because everything is on the table,” Del Grande said, “doesn’t mean it’s going to be cut.” That’s why Del Grande has been carrying around a piggybank and warning about the coming “tsunami.”
Now Del Grande’s saying there might be some hope of saving Riverdale Farm, if say patrons were made to pay for parking, and farm admin looked at maybe selling the eggs laid by chickens as a source of revenue.
Hey, we can all get behind local food, but chickens laying eggs to save city services sounds a bit scrambled. Whether it’ll give Ford backers some food for thought is an open question.
