TTC chair Karen Stinz is photographed at Yonge-Bloor station in Toronto, Ont. Jan. 21/2011.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail
While Toronto City Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti makes absurd statements to the press, other councillors are striving to make the best of Toronto's current fiscal situation. We should listen to them instead.
Mr. Mammoliti has taken his capacity for nonsense to new heights by calling for the City to corral Toronto's homeless population into Queen's Park. He also launched a Facebook page two days ago to rally support for Mayor Rob Ford's plans to cut spending but he said he will be monitoring the comments posted on the page for the "smell of communism."
Meanwhile, other councillors like Karen Stintz, while generally supportive of the Mayor's agenda, are working to ensure that Torontonians continue receiving decent city services, minus the theatrics.
As chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, Ms. Stintz exemplifies managerial competence of a complex organization, regardless of how one feels about where the TTC is heading. She has had to navigate the TTC around unpopular bus service cuts while overseeing the $2.6-billion expansion of the subway into Vaughan.
Centrist councillor Raymond Cho was recently the sole city representative at the opening of an arts-focused addition to a library in Scarborough, despite the city committing more than $1-million to its construction. Is it now a source of shame to open new quality of life infrastructure in the City of Toronto? Not at least for Mr. Cho.
On the left-leaning side of city council, Adam Vaughan has spent the better part of two years co-ordinating the revitalization plan for the neighbourhood of Alexandra Park. This work has garnered far less attention than his outspoken criticism of the Core Services Review report.
As a city councillor and supporter of Mr. Ford, Mr. Mammoliti has every right to articulate his point of view. Straight talk can be welcome, but wouldn't it be better to be known for some material improvements to the city?
His antics have robbed other councillors of the attention they deserve. Anyone can pitch a tent or start a Facebook group; it takes more than that to solve the problems Toronto is facing.
Correction: This online-only editorial originally stated that Councillor Raymond Cho was generally supportive of Mayor Rob Ford's cuts. This version has been corrected.