God, weren’t we all thankful when we heard Rob Ford was finally given the boot? (Let’s hope it stays that way, anyway). Of course, before his appeal has even really begun, people (the media) have been speculating on his replacements. Many names have come up already, among them Olivia Chow and Adam Vaughan (Toronto City Councillor).
Although the Huffington Post has said that Chow could beat both Ford and his brother if either ran, I still have my reservations about her as the mayor of that city. Granted, I don’t live there (although I plan to) and of course, I think we can all agree they need a new mayor – and badly. My reservations are not based on her political ideology, because I believe that her views line up very nicely with mine. And I know she’s a very tough lady who is quite outspoken and jumps on injustice at the speed of light. Basically, I think that, politically, she’d be a blessing to the city of Toronto.
My reservations are as follows:
Unfortunately, Jack Layton is dead. What does this have to do with her running for mayor? Well, I don’t like to sound judgmental, and I have immense respect for her intelligence and drive, but I think a lot of her support comes from her being the widow of Mr. Layton. I mean, we all loved Jack’s politics, but how well do we really know Ms. Chow? I’m sure she’s quite capable, as she was part of city council in Toronto from 1991-2005, and she must be very familiar with all the faces in City Hall there, but I have a feeling that a lot of people would vote for her without really knowing much beyond her relationship with the man who filled the NDP with new energy and life. I just hope people realize that she may or may not have the same charisma, leadership skills and management that he did. She’s been a vocal opponent of the Toronto Island airport expansion – a project that, in my opinion, would create a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Anyone who’s had to drive from downtown out to Pearson Int’l knows what I’m talking about. There are already plans to build an underground connection out to the island. If that could be expanded to include the subway… I mean, that’s good city planning in my eyes. No doubt about it. Also, she’s never made her views known (correct me if I’m wrong) on safer consumption sites for illicit drug users. Toronto desperately needs one, and so many studies have been done showing how effective it would be at reducing the rates of HIV and HCV. Vancouver has one – Toronto or Montreal should be the logical next step. I know she is very progressive and social, but my fear is she doesn’t have enough experience running so much at the same time. I think that if she were to become mayor, she would be overwhelmed (at least in private). I know this is the case for every mayor – few realize what a huge job they’ve taken on. But since Mr. Layton’s passing,
I suspect that Ms. Chow’s best source for ideas and her best sounding board for ideas is gone. I imagine that they relied on each other, but Jack was very independent and I hope I don’t sound completely ignorant to point out that it’s possible she relied on him politically much more than the other way around. The bottom line is I don’t want people voting for her without asking the same tough questions they would ask any other candidate. Don’t assume she’s the female Jack Layton because you will be sorely disappointed. While they had similar politics, they implement and lead in very different ways.
Now, as I said before, I have no doubt that she is a very talented, smart, well-educated woman. And I know she’s tough – she had to go through a very public grieving period and she did it with class and stoicism. I have a lot of respect for her, both as a politician and a positive role model for youth of all genders. I think she would be best suited continuing in her role as a federal MP for Spadina, or even moving up into the shadow cabinet, before considering the move to municipal politics. She needs to make a big bang in the federal arena before people will be able to take her seriously as a contender municipally in one of the biggest, most diverse and complex cities in Canada.
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts about Ms. Chow, so please comment below! Also remember that I’m not trying to put Ms. Chow down, I’m merely trying to spark discussion around whether or not she’s a good fit for Toronto.
