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Going rogue

The list of councillors who appear to be abandoning the mayor is growing – the question is, what does it mean?

Four of Rob Ford’s allies on city council have already spoken out against the possibility of library closures, and on Thursday councillor Michelle Berardinetti joined them by declaring she too doesn’t support shutting libraries, and never did.

Closing libraries was one of the savings “opportunities” identified by the core service review the mayor commissioned from KPMG and the subject of Doug Ford musings, but on Thursday Berardinetti, a member of Ford’s executive council, called the idea “a non-starter.”

“I never would have supported it,” she said. “It’s not something that I would ever want to cut, and I don’t support cutting any libraries in my ward.”

Also on Thursday, another Ford ally identified several more city services he wants to protect from suggested cuts. Councillor James Pasternak said eliminating arts grants, cutting services for senior citizens, and eliminating end-of-driveway snow clearing “are just not in the cards.” He described maintaining these services as “non-negotiable.”

Councillors Frances Nunziata, Karen Stintz, and Michael Thompson have already come out against library closures.

The growing number of councillors seemingly going rogue is being taken by some as a sign that Ford is losing his grip on power. But while it’s tempting to think that Ford Nation is crumbling, there’s equally good reason to believe that, in fact, much is going according to the mayor’s plan, and that his slash-and-burn budget is still on track.

Since the outset of the budget process, Ford and his allies have been adamant that “everything is on the table,” and all the options proposed by KPMG will be considered. But the fact is that many of KPMG’s suggestions were unrealistic from the get-go, either because they were politically unpopular (shutting libraries, ending water fluoridation), or economically counter-productive (gutting the film and television office).

Berardinetti’s admission now makes it clear that the KPMG report’s deficiencies were also obvious to members of Ford’s executive committee, even as they voted to approve it during the epic committee meeting last week.

Berardinetti said she didn’t speak up at the 22.5 hour marathon last week because nobody asked for her opinion. A more plausible theory might be that the mayor didn’t want her to, in order to maintain the fiction that even KPMG’s most far-fetched suggestions were still “on the table.” Ford’s nothing-is-sacred budget process looks increasingly like a deliberate shock-and-awe campaign that he’s hoping will make eventual and painful budget cuts more palatable.

That councillors close to the mayor are beginning to speak out now suggests that last week’s executive council all-nighter marked the first, spectacular phase of the shock-and-awe campaign, and we are now on to phase two, in which Ford and company start scaling back the savage cuts proposed by KPMG into something more human.

Presumably, they’re hoping we’ll be so grateful that part of this town is still standing we won’t even complain.

Essentials like daycare spots could still be on the chopping block, and Ford is still set on shrinking the workforce, which means thousands of city employees could lose their jobs.

The question now becomes, what other services have the mayor’s allies taken off the table without telling us? Councillors were only pushed into voicing support for libraries thanks to a vintage Doug Ford quip that managed to provoke outrage from half the city and simultaneously shine a spotlight on Margaret Atwood, one of the most prolific celebrity tweeters in Canada.

In the ensuing media frenzy and pushback from constituents, Fordists had to start going on record about where they stand on libraries.

If only Doug would say something stupid about community grants or seniors homes, we might start to get an idea of what Fordists’ budget priorities really are.

It would not be unreasonable to expect more Fordist councillors to start outlining what they don’t want to see cut in the coming weeks. By defending seniors services and arts grants, Pasternak has taken a tentative step towards reason.

Meanwhile, it’s hard to avoid the feeling that people who care about city services are being manipulated.

The growing willingness of Ford’s allies to speak out against cuts may not be evidence that Ford Nation is teetering at all. This could just be proof of the extent to which councillors and the rest of this city are still dancing to the beat of his drum.

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