Rob Ford is spouting a new soundbite, “saved a billion dollars”. Anyone who bothers to look at the numbers will quickly see that isn’t true, and even if it was true he’s selling Toronto’s future short. I could tell Torontonians, “Elect me and you will not pay another cent of tax!” and then watch as the city crumbles. “Sorry the Gardener is gravy”. ” Sorry community housing is gravy”. “Sorry transit is gravy”. Which is essentially what Ford is doing.
It works because the suburbanites don’t think of Toronto as their home even though they commute in every day. The asphalt in their neighbourhood isn’t crumbing because their development is only 10 years old, where as the neighbourhood in Toronto is 110. So it is easy to say “why should I pay?”
I could easily say the same thing. Sell off the TTC, make all the highways toll based. Charge people more money for Go train and let them pay for the renovations at Union station. I don’t use it, why should I pay?
The answer is simple, because like it or not, you are part of this city. It behooves you to elect a leader with vision. Toronto needs to stop thinking about the next 4 years and begin thinking about the next 40. We need a leader who can think about how can we connect different parts of the city easily and efficiently. How we can improve the lives of everyone in the city.
This election shouldn’t be about saving money, it should be about saving Toronto. The future Toronto, the Toronto that could be. If Rob Ford gets elected, that future will die…