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The mayoral debate: who won, who lost and who knew

The mayoral candidates squared off in the first televised debate of the campaign at CP24 last night. Here’s the view from in-studio on who scored and who bored.

Who won – With apologies to Joe Pantalone supporters, the deputy-mayor didn’t quite rise to the occasion under the glare of the television lights. He needs to slow it down a bit, make his point and move on, not get tangled up in the details. Instead it was George Smitherman who showed (finally) why he was cabinet material. Simply put, he’s more capable than any of his opponents of playing the political game at a higher level, and he showed it for the first time, without reducing the debate to ad hominem attacks – although he got a few zingers in, too.

Who lost – Rob Ford was missing in action most of the night, at times not heard from in long stretches. The format was changed up to see how quick the candidates could think on their feet, only for Ford, it wasn’t exactly conducive to his boilerplate populist shtick. The other candidates managed to be heard, more or less. Old yeller, not so much. Maybe that’s a good thing. Fewer opportunities to put his foot in it. Ford was also the target of one of the biggest hits of the night, delivered by Rossi, over his absence on key votes at council. Across the table, Rob Ford Part Two, aka Giorgio Mammoliti, moving further right to toward the guns and god crowd as his campaign struggles to be heard, failed to make any impression at all.

Who impressed – Not Sarah Thomson, which is somewhat of a surprise. Say what you will of her legitimacy as a candidate, she’s been ahead of the curve on a number issues. She’s made her mark on the campaign, but missed the opportunity to make this her big coming out party. For those in TV land who were seeing the candidates in action for the first time, Rocco Rossi came across as the most prepared and more often than not gave better than he got when tangling with his opponents, including alpha gay Smitherman. Most importantly for Rossi: is this as good as it gets, or is there room to grow? Must rethink that proposed Toronto Hydro sell-off to fund subways.

Who surprised – Joe Pantalone never quite hit is stride. There were flashes, and Pants got his point across on occasion. But the direct hits against opponents were few. For a guy whose honed his skill as a great debater on the council floor, the oratory flourishes, at least on this night, were missing. Pantalone is a three-dimensional thinker, but the vision thing was not exactly in focus on this night. Message needs sharpening, clarity.

Who knew – The mayoral candidates, who’ve spent so much time scoring political points at David Miller’s expense, could all find one thing to commend about the outgoing mayor, so vilified (mostly unfairly) in certain quarters. All except Ford, that is, who could only offer that he respected the man but not the politics. Even Mammoliti was able to muster a few good words about the mayors Tower Renewal project. Rossi described the mayor’s work on community policing as “exceptional.” Smitherman commended the mayor’s green agenda, something he said he’d like to build on when (if) he becomes mayor.

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