Historicist: "The city that nobody loves"
Elsewhere in the Ist-a-Verse
The Daily Photoist: November 23, 2009
Among the progressive members of City Council, TTC Chair (and occasional Torontoist Rocket Talk contributor) Adam Giambrone is one of those most frequently cited as a potential mayoral successor to David Miller. In the aftermath of Miller's announcement this morning that he will not be running for re-election, we spoke with Giambrone about the mayor's statement, and about the speculation that has already begun to swirl about his own so-far hypothetical candidacy.
Torontoist: When did you first learn that Mayor Miller did not intend to run for re-election?
Giambrone: He let a few people know shortly before he made the announcement this morning.
Were you surprised?
I think when something like this happens we're always surprised...I've been here for six years, and had a chance to work with the mayor. I was expecting him to run in the next election; I was looking forward to the campaign.
What effect do you think the mayor's announcement will have on his major policy initiatives over the next fourteen months? Will he be forced to scale back his ambitions now that councillors know he won't be running again?
No, I think exactly the opposite. If there had been a normal process when the mayor was running he would have had to have been both candidate and chief magistrate at once. This will give him the opportunity to focus on the issues that have been at the centre of his mayoral career...Fourteen months is a long time and we have a lot of work left to do.
Speculation has already begun building about which progressive candidates might step into the breach now that the mayor will not be running. Your name has appeared on every list of potential candidates. Are you considering a bid for office?
Despite what the news media's reporting, today is not about the next campaign. There are fourteen months—there is plenty of time.
I think people forget that politics is not just something that happens in an isolated setting—there are people involved. Everybody here in this City Hall is a human being. I respect the mayor: he's a colleague, a friend. For a day like today I'm focused on that element, the human side.
What do you think are the most important issues for us to all be discussing over the next fourteen months? What should this campaign be about, whoever runs in it?
I think the first general thing the campaign should be focused on is the next four years. Some people are already talking about looking at the mayor's record, and that would make sense if he were running again, but he isn't and that's not going to be helpful.
Campaigns really do need to be focused on people's vision, and not just vision—vision's important—but the action plan...You can't just propose, for example, that you're going to build one hundred kilometres of subway. I'd like one hundred kilometres of subway. But the reality is that there is no way for that to be feasible. Really we should be hearing specifics about where the city is going and what is under control of the mayor—that's what the campaign should be about and what I hope it's about.
What do you think are the most pressing issues?
The ones that I think are really important are ones like transit: people want to see movement on improving public spaces, on their parks, on the waterfront, they want to see a mayor that's talking about realistic financial arrangements for the city.
An example of an issue that I think will get talked about perhaps more than it should be is crime—that's an example of something that mayoral candidates are going to have to talk about even if perhaps it may not be the biggest problem.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Adam Giambrone for Mayor of Cutetown! Zing!
This guy is a classic head-in-the-clouds socialist who isnt`qualified to run a hot dog stand. Old Boy Wonder ought to start thinking about a career in the real world because there is no way in hell he will be re-elected.
Giambrone has never had a job in his life outside of political ambition and pontificating. He should be turfed out come next election so he can find a real job get some real life experience, learn that money doesn't grow on trees and Mayor Miller is not a Saint.
You know that he is educated, trained and has worked as an archeologist, right?
Are we supposed to be impressed by the fact that Boy Wonder was once an archeologist? The guy got the job running the TTC because he has been a loyal foot soldier to Chairman Mao Tse Miller.
I try not to feed the trolls, but people who make this comment - a poor pun on the alliteration of "Mao" and "Miller" - make mockery of the millions and millions who were tortured, imprisoned, and died as a result of Mao's policies. It is the same for people who compare the Prime Minister to Hitler. Have some respect for the dead, and please stop conforming to the stereotype that commenters on the internet are stupid and uneducated. Partisan debate may be had without resorting to name-calling and outright barbarism.
It isn't even amusing; Dave McD alleges the councillor has never had a 'real' job, and when disproven, Jim Beam then discounts it. Never mind the fact that being a city councillor is more of a 'real' job than many jobs in the private sector. Indeed, I wonder why so many conservative commenters dismiss civic responsibility as unreal or without any merit. Do they simply not understand how political systems work in liberal democracies, or do they yearn for a monarch, or a despot?
Unfortunately, this is the level of discourse the internet facillitates. Our technology is guiding us to poor use of our faculties, and the atrophy of our critical thinking means that we will have less democracy and more bureaucracy, because in every sense it will be true that we cannot trust the average voter with important decisions because the average voter, as amply demonstrated by Dave McD and Jim Beam, is actively disengaging with the democratic process, and is stupid as well.
I hate to break it to you Andrew but your pseudo-intellectual musings amount to nothing more than drivel. Not only are you a pompous ass, you are a dangerous one at that. Your cliam that my reference to David Miller as "Mao Tse" Miller makes a mockery of the millions that died under Mao is a stretch to say the least. What I find really scary is your assertion that the average citizen is too stupid to make important decisions. This is precisely the line of reasoning used by Mao Tse-tung justify the extermination of millions.
I really shouldn't engage again, but JB reinforces my point through sheer lack of comprehension. I'll point you in the direction of Orwell, first. Say what you mean, and do not allow the words to dictate your meaning. Don't add unnecessary adverbs or adjectives in an attempt to dress up your argument. It makes you sound dumb. Second, spell check that shit. Third, read what is written and respond to it accurately. Use a dictionary and thesaurus if necessary. Also, wikipedia is a great resource, but don't rely on it solely.
If you can't even argue on the internet without pwning yourself, how do you hope to excel in your civic duty of understanding policy as proposed in council, or voting for a candidate that will serve you well? We need you, JB, and you're failing us.
Nicely put, Andrew. Affect driven rhetoric (e.g. Jim Beam's pissed-off-drunk rambling) is always easier that thoughtful response. Feeding the trolls is anti-democratic.
oy!
that = than