This left-winger is voting John Tory

This is a difficult election, this mayoralty campaign. First, the bar has been set so incredibly low. But also, there has been the almost spectacular flame-out of the progressive candidate Olivia Chow, in whom many hopes rested. What happened? Even her English is not up to scratch. I am wondering if Jack was the better part of her appeal and her strength, and now that he is gone, her own weaknesses show much more clearly.

John Tory, wealthy, well-connected, white,  has made some foolish mistakes, including recently saying he didn't think there's such a thing as white privilege, and awhile ago, telling women that to get ahead, they needed to learn to play golf. He can sound condescending and out of touch. But many have said he is a nice man; Kathleen Wynne has said they get along well. He may be able to fix our hideously derailed municipal government and actually get something done. What matters most is to defeat the many-headed Ford monster.

So especially after talking to a very savvy friend of mine recently, who follows these things closely, I have decided to vote for Tory.

My smart friend wrote this after I queried him about Tory's latest gaffe:

This election is interesting as it seems to be so partisan, given that the two main mayoral candidates have such well-known party affiliations - although John Tory could no longer run as a provincial or federal conservative, seeing how right wing those parties have become.  I don’t want party politics at the municipal level, I don’t think it would be healthy nor would it be our tradition.  I am perfectly fine with people from the left and right being on Council in different roles and representing different areas.

The comment about Tory to me represents one of the major problems in contemporary politics – everyone looks for a gaffe and wants to see it be the main story, in the absence of real discussion or analysis of the type of leadership or policy being offered.  Pity that this mayoral election has become so polarized along gender lines as well as economic class and ethnicity. Most unhealthy. Issues around income inequality seem out of place too when one considers that municipalities do not really have the taxation power to deal with it. Sounds to me like people are fighting other elections with the mayoralty as a proxy.  To me this time is around defeating the Fords and returning civility and some leadership and cooperation to City Hall.

I also find Olivia Chow’s pamphlets and speeches which refer to "Tory-Ford" policies as ridiculous.  To equate her two competitors is obviously over the top and that is why her criticisms fall short.  She talks hearts and flowers about children, dental plans and art on Meals for Wheels, or she's engaged in overblown criticisms which belie credibility.  She lacks an authentic voice. We don’t believe that she is the same person off camera as on.  She has miscalculated. 

The long campaign has shown she does not have the leadership for a role like Mayor.