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38 Comments

news

Duly Quoted: Adam Giambrone

By Torontoist

“You know I will be announcing I have a partner. It is someone named Sarah, who I’ve been involved with in the past. It is important for the campaign.”
—Adam Giambrone, mayoral candidate, in an alleged text message to Kristen Lucas on December 27, 2009. Giambrone has admitted to having “an inappropriate relationship” with Lucas to the Star.

Comments

  • http://undefined nib

    That Star article sounds like it was written by The Onion, or the writers of The Hills.

  • http://undefined warmflash

    These stories crack me up. How many writers at the Toronto Star have had affairs? A lot. Thank you.
    I’d rather have a Mayor that was human. Affairs and all.

  • http://undefined MattAlexander

    It’s not the affair that concerns me, it’s the idea that he thought he needed someone like sarah to stand by his side “for political reasons”. It’s disappointing.

  • http://undefined hudson

    He lied. He lied to Kirsten Lucas about Sarah McQuarrie. He lied to Sarah McQuarrie about Kirsten Lucas. These are people he allegedly cared about. In addition to lying, he showed moral bankruptcy in how he treated these women and an incredible lack of judgment. Can you imagine being Kirsten Lucas when she received a text from Giambrone telling her he was with Sarah for political reasons? Can you imagine being Sarah and reading that in The Star this morning?
    I don’t care who my councillor is sleeping with, but I do care that he’s honest, moral and shows good judgment. Why is this distinction difficult for some people to grasp?

  • http://undefined friend68

    I enjoyed her quote about getting herself the TTC Chair position — at least she understood the position he had put himself in.

  • http://undefined warmflash

    People have affairs all the time. It’s human nature.
    ( Especially journalists )
    Many affairs are had for purely political reasons.
    This is the way the world and politics, operate.
    Adam is being brutally honest with both women. They knew who they were gettin’ jiggy with.
    I want a worldly Mayor. A Mayor with an appetite for life and love and change. Not some wallflower or wining Macbook toting hipster.

  • http://undefined Lands Down

    Actually the story in The Star indicates he was being brutally dishonest with both women.
    Either way, I don’t think this torpedoes his chances and I hope he doesn’t withdraw from the race because his is a good perspective to have. I’m not a supporter of his but his private life is just that and is only relevant to the extent that it interferes with his public duties.
    The sex on the couch in his office isn’t relevant, but I do question his judgement in having an affair with a 20 year old (playing with fire) and telling her about future TTC initiatives…that seems unwise.

  • http://undefined warmflash

    Like the ” journalists ” at the Star have any credibility? These are the worst hacks in the business.

  • http://undefined warmflash

    “Brendan Burke – the gay son of Toronto Maple Leafs…..” – The Toronto Star.
    The Star gives yellow journalism a good name.

  • http://undefined Usus

    The most disturbing part for me is the (potentially) forged text message. If Giambrone will forge documents to discredit his detractors, he has no business being in a position of power.

  • http://undefined hudson

    Why is that yellow journalism? Brendan Burke came out last year, publicly, and his dad gave interviews to the media about it. The Burkes felt that Brendan coming out would help ameliorate homophobia in the NHL.

  • http://undefined hudson

    If his private life informs what we know about his public persona, I think it is relevant. How can you say that he was being dishonest in his private life and support him as a public candidate? It doesn’t square.

  • http://undefined Lands Down

    While this is a pretty significant instance of dishonesty, it involved romantic stuff that people often make a mess of in their private lives. I would be more concerned if he was dishonest with money or involved in fraud of some sort.
    Expecting moral perfection from politicians is a good way to keep qualified people from considering elected office.
    This isn’t to say I agree with warmflash and his/her apparent willingness to excuse everything Giambrone has done, but I think delving into a politician’s private life is something we’ve avoided to our benefit here and something America has become obsessed with to its detriment. Some of the dishonesty here is relevant, but not the salacious stuff.

  • http://undefined friend68

    You know, you might have some traction in attacking the credibility of the Toronto Star reporter if, say, Giambrone was denying the affair.
    The Star certainly reported the titillating details, sure, but also made a case that he was intending to continue the affair and its cover-up, was intending to use his public girlfriend to deceive the voters about who he was, was passing on privileged information to his girlfriend and that she knew that she might have political leverage on him should he reach a position of power.

  • http://undefined Dave F McDonald

    Agree with Hudson that you could not creat a worse scenario about how to hurt the most, the ones you are supposed to care for. Shows a level of bad judgement that goes way beyond just an affair. This thing didn’t stop until Jan.2 this year! Did he delay his nomination until he could dump her? Some things can be ignored but this just reinforces that Giambrone has being deceiving the Public for years for political gain on the state of the TTC and has a very faulty moral compass. Now he is on record treating people like dirt for political gain. For him to continue in the campaign will only make the pain he has caused to his partner even worse. He should resign, period.

  • http://paul.kishimoto.name Paul Kishimoto

    warmflash: click the little red REPLY thing. Works wonders!
    In France and Italy, this kind of behaviour would be seen as unfit for a mayoral candidate. Giambrone would have no choice but to withdraw, and aim to be Prime Minister instead.

  • http://www.sayitwithpie.com Karen Whaley

    She says she didn’t send that message, and it looks pretty damn forged.

  • http://undefined warmflash

    You are correct. Adam would make an excellent Prime Minister.
    Let’s see here. If we were looking for Mayors without chance in hell of having an affair, I would vote Barbra Hall, Hazel M or June Rowlands.
    Come on folks. We need a worldly Mayor. And Adam G has that in spades. This ” affair ” proves it.

  • http://paul.kishimoto.name Paul Kishimoto

    Actually, I retract that. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Sarkozy#Relationships

    As mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Sarkozy met former fashion model and public relations executive Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz when he officiated at her wedding to television host Jacques Martin. In 1988, she left her husband for Sarkozy, and divorced Martin one year later. Sarkozy married her in October 1996, with witnesses Martin Bouygues and Bernard Arnault

    In other news, shocking revelations about the Pope’s continued Catholicism and where bears shit.

  • Malcolm Tucker

    The fact the blogosphere’s already dubbed him ‘Giamboner’ has enshrined him as a joke candidate (not that he wasn’t one already). Stick a fork in him – he’s done.

  • http://undefined Peter K

    So if Giambrone gets elected Mayor of Toronto will he be Mayor of Ottawa too and just not tell either city?

  • http://undefined friend68

    I don’t understand the value to Giambrone’s camp of threatening themselves

  • http://undefined EricSmith

    Hey, it could work. The two cities are, like, 400 kilometres apart. What’re the chances they’d find out about each other?

  • http://undefined Ben

    The threat email would discredit the claims of Kristen Lucas.
    Giambrone had a staff member from Navigator Ltd. directing him when he signed on to run for mayor. That sort of sleazy tactic is far from beneath them, judging by their actions in the past.

  • http://undefined Moonmoth

    So he had an affair. Big deal. I’m still voting for him.

  • http://undefined PickleToes

    Awesome! Now we just need a scandal to ruin Smitherman’s campaign, and Toronto will be largely free from the socialists!

  • http://undefined torontocomments

    From some of the comments posted (eg. Paul K), it looks like this latest antic is helping to solidify Councillor Giambrone’s support among the frat-boy set. Me, I’m wondering if this revelation is a actually a tactical move by his backroom boys to gain him additional exposure in media that is usually considered atypical for mayoral candidates — like the Jerry Springer Show.

  • http://undefined x_the_x

    The idea that the comment was forged has credibility because, in addition to the TTC chair line, it suggested that the author would fabricate an affair in an attempt to discredit the candidate. Surely the fact that a fabricated affair would dovetail nicely with the candidate’s explanation that he and the teen had only met in public places and exchanged texts is suspicious on its face.
    I doubt his PR firm had anything to do with it. First step would be to review the texts in question to ensure whatever statement is made is not contradicted by them. The fact that the letter he forwarded to exonerate himself was immediatelty contradicted by the Star article is amateur in the extreme. A PR firm would likely have also asked for a pre-publication copy of the article as a courtesy so they could craft an appropriate response. Here there was no response from the candidate’s team for 12 hours, while in the meantime the story went viral, which strongly suggests they were not in the loop on this.

  • http://paul.kishimoto.name Paul Kishimoto

    I observed that the European standard on politicians’ affairs is greatly different, which is true enough. Torontoist itself saw fit to comment on the same point. I did not presume to assert the moral authority of either perspective.
    The joke about the Pope and the bears was by way of pointing out how, despite the reliable hue and cry, revelations like this have been occurring with unchanging frequency for decades. Consequently I’m entirely uninterested in the details of the romantic lives of the Councillor and others, or the question of how much outrage they should occasion.
    Incidentally, how does a graduate engineering student go about joining the “frat-boy set”? I spend most of my time coding. Educate me on how I can party with the bros.

  • http://paul.kishimoto.name Paul Kishimoto

    Look out for that blogosphere, eh?
    http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/#clip265000

  • http://undefined Andrew

    Because Italy is a model of good governance that we can surely emulate.

  • http://paul.kishimoto.name Paul Kishimoto
  • http://undefined torontocomments

    Berlusconi is pure slime … and it doesn’t speak well of Italian voters that he heads its government. Personally, I don’t care who Councillor Giambrone sleeps with. But the story most certainly is a relevant indicator of his integrity and judgement given that his campaign so deliberately trotted out his “long-time partner” as part of his image makeover for the mayoral campaign. The episode speaks volumes about someone who seems to be all spin, unwilling to own up to things until caught with his pants down, and all too willing to put on a good show for the sake of power even if it is so out of synch with the facts. As for whether you are a fratboy or not, I’ll take your word for it that you aren’t.

  • http://undefined tithian

    Agreed. What did he mean by ‘political’ anyway?
    Kirsten Lucas was very savvy when she texted “why not me?” Is it because she’s not mature enough? Not smart enough? Not white enough?
    I have great admiration with Ms. Lucas. Giambrone was using her for sex, and she refused to be used.

  • http://undefined Darren

    Yeah I had that vibe that she wan’t “anglo” enough

  • http://paul.kishimoto.name Paul Kishimoto

    white

    …and that’s how one plays the race card with a flourish.

  • http://www.guesswork.ca Patrick Metzger

    Yeah, he needs a white wife to be successful. Just ask Jack Layton.
    Actually what it’s about is Giambrone trying to come up with a plausible reason that Lucas should agree to keep her mouth shut and continue their relationship after she finds out he’s essentially married. Since there isn’t one, he came up with this instead.

  • Darren

    Well, turns out there were multiple relationships so “white” is no issue now.
    But the Lucas/Giambrone affair was not the same as Layton. Layton is Anglo. Giambrone is not.