Mayor David Miller has done the only thing he can do – accept the resignation of Michael Bryant, the former MPP recruited to Invest Toronto but who now faces time in jail for his part in the highly-publicized death of bike courier Allan Sheppard.
All very regrettable for the mayor, who, after a challenging six-week garbage strike, needs another distraction like he needs a hole in the head. But back to Bryant.
In the hours since his arrest on criminal negligence charges, the situation’s not looking so dire, from a strictly legal point of view.
It turns out Sheppard may have been drinking on the night in question. May have even grabbed the steering wheel when he clung for dear life on the side of Bryant’s Saab in a high-speed game of chicken. The steering wheel theory, and it’s only a theory, would certainly explain why the car veered so wildly into oncoming traffic, according to eyewitness accounts, before Sheppard was deposited so violently onto the street.
A little hard to imagine the other theory – that Bryant deliberately swung his car to knock Sheppard off. Seems crazy to think.
How many of us thought the worst when we first heard the bad news? That Bryant had maybe had a few. And who was that woman in the front seat with him? Turned out to be his wife. But, you get the picture.
These kinds of tragedies, it’s easy to think, usually ensnare those already on a downward spiral. Perhaps Bryant’s much publicized ambitiousness was getting in the way in his personal life. Perhaps not. It’s difficult to say and maybe a little foolish to speculate.
Bryant looked contrite enough in his one statement to the press outside traffic services shortly after he was charged. It’s true he’s never met a camera he doesn’t like (check the Post spread on his shopping excursion on West Queen West).
But certain emotions you can’t fake. Was he feeling sorry for himself when he choked back tears in front of the cameras apologizing to Sheppard’s family? Was it all PR? He’s reportedly hired a public relations firm. He chose his letter announcing his resignation from Invest Toronto to proclaim his innocence for the first time. Doing so in front of the cameras might have made him look too defensive.
Certainly, the Bryant of today is a lot slicker than the Bryant who got his political start in a church basement all those years ago. He was more preppy casual back then, only a few years removed from Harvard, where he graduated magna cum laude, and a legal career with McCarthy Tetrault.
Hopefully, something good will come of it all. That the whole sorry episode knocks some sense into motorists and cyclists both. That a mutual respect takes root. And politicians and planners see the wisdom of transforming our car-dominated roadways into more civilized spaces for travel. Am I dreaming?[rssbreak]