{"id":26427,"date":"2012-02-21T08:45:46","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T13:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=26427"},"modified":"2012-02-21T01:15:11","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T06:15:11","slug":"lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"LORINC: Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ford,<\/em><\/p>\n

It has come to our attention that Rob and Doug are having some challenges with their course work, and specifically two classes: math and political science. Their teachers have observed that both boys seem blocked on basic questions, such as:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2022 \u201cIf you divide 45 by two, and round up to the nearest integer, is the answer greater or less than 25? Show your work.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2022 \u201cPlease describe the two fundamental features of a minority government. Use examples to illustrate your answer.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We strongly recommend that you seek out remedial help for both students as their term may be in jeopardy.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Yours,\u00a0 City Hall Guidance Department<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Certain numbers have been thrown around since the TTC revealed late Friday afternoon that it will convene today for a (not so) in-camera session to set the terms and conditions of chief general manager Gary Webster\u2019s be-heading.<\/p>\n

For example, we know that five of the nine commissioners signed the petition requesting the meeting (and did so while chair Karen Stintz was on vacation), signaling that they can deploy the majority required to get their way.<\/p>\n

We further (sort of) know the cost to the TTC \u2013 somewhere in the neighbourhood of $600,000 to $1 million \u2013 to make Webster go away, a figure that is roughly equivalent to the so-called savings the Ford administration found by cutting the mayor\u2019s office budget and those of the 44 apparently irrelevant councillors who labour away on the second floor of City Hall.<\/p>\n

Lastly, we know that eight of 11 Etobicoke\/York community council members boldly sent a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty, urging a free vote in the legislature on the $8.4 billion Metrolinx-TTC transit investment plan (Peter Milczyn, an ostensible Ford supporter, signed neither the petition nor the McGuinty letter).<\/p>\n

But the only number that really matters from this moment on is 23 \u2013 the minimum number of votes required to achieve a council majority.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The simple truth is that the brothers Ford became, for all intents and purposes, a minority government on February 8, the day of the special council meeting. It\u2019s just that they haven\u2019t figured it out yet. Calculator anyone?<\/p>\n

If the brothers need pointers on the differences between minorities and majorities, as well as some advice on how to transform the former into the latter, they would be well advised to contact family bud\u2019 Jim Flaherty, to whom none of this is a mystery. Perhaps he can talk some sense into them; god knows no one else has.<\/p>\n

Unless Frank DiGiorgio, one of the five commissioners who signed the petition, underwent some kind of mystical conversion over the weekend, it is safe to assume that Webster is gone \u2013 laughing all the way to the bank, his head held high.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s scroll forward to the make-or-break moment in early April when council gets its first look at the expert panel report on rapid transit options for Sheppard Avenue. But first, let\u2019s try to travel into the minds of some of the individuals who are writing said study:<\/p>\n

David Crombie:<\/strong> When he heard about the Webster coup, he may have found himself casting back to the period after he stepped into the mayor\u2019s office in 1972 and found himself at loggerheads with some of the tough, old-school bureaucrats who saw his reform agenda as so much piffle. Crombie may not agree with the Fords\u2019 tactics, but he likely has some insight into their frustrations.<\/p>\n

Gordon Chong:<\/strong> When he learned the news, he may have glanced knowingly across the kitchen table at his partner, Shirley Hoy, who, lest we forget, served as the city\u2019s chief administrative officer under diametrically opposed mayors (Mel Lastman and David Miller) and therefore knows a thing or two about the very real risks bureaucrats face when asked to provide dispassionate advice.<\/p>\n

Bruce McCuaig (or designate):<\/strong> As the administrative head of Metrolinx and a veteran provincial civil servant, he finds himself surrounded on all sides by executives and board members with direct access to the premier\u2019s office. So he knows a big something about implementing political orders.<\/p>\n

An as-yet unnamed senior representative from the TTC: Fear of god, etc.<\/p>\n

In short, it\u2019s possible that the expert panel will recommend keeping the compromise proposal to extend the Sheppard subway to Victoria Park on life support, with follow up reports, etc. After all, these advisors are pragmatists with years of experience navigating the minefield separating bureaucrats and politicians.<\/p>\n

But thanks to the expected Webster coup \u2014 and the cowardly way it has been handled \u2014 such findings may well be moot. The Fords, in the days since February 8, have done their utmost to dare the Stintz 25 (or has it grown to 26 or 27 since Friday?) to exercise their veto power for a second time, perhaps with added resolve. After all, the goodwill gestures made by Stintz and others during the special council meeting have been greeted with naked contempt. Absent new answers to the funding issue, there\u2019s precious little incentive for them to mollify the mayor\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the Fordists\u2019 perverse desire to thwart the will of council* and re-litigate the February 8 decision surely functions like a form of political superglue, not just binding together a coalition representing a range of perspectives and communities, but possibly adding a few wafflers who see the writing on the wall.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always important to remember that the mayor\u2019s obsession with blocking LRTs burns far more brightly than his professed love of subways. The irony is that by behaving like an arrogant majority government, the brothers may well deliver what they most despise (a Sheppard LRT) to the Scarborough voters whose interests they claim to represent.<\/p>\n

And that, Mr. Mayor, is what 23 equals.<\/p>\n

photo by George Heo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

_______________
\n*\u00a0 Procedural By-law: s. 27-10<\/a> \u201cUnless the procedures by-law specifies otherwise, a matter passes when a majority of members present vote for it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ford, It has come to our attention that Rob and Doug are having some challenges with their course work, and specifically two classes: math and political science. Their teachers have observed that both boys seem blocked on basic questions, such as: \u00a0\u2022 \u201cIf you divide 45 by two, and round upContinue reading “LORINC: Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8],"tags":[19370,12285,309,15998,976,19371,2450,19367,3216,846,425,1174,16543,14213,3280,19368,16711,2537,1969,426,551,3277,22085,2306,19372,227,89,19369,1631,6434,391,4213,496],"class_list":["post-26427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-transit","tag-administrative-head","tag-advisors","tag-bank","tag-bruce-mccuaig","tag-chair","tag-chief-administrative-officer","tag-chief-general-manager","tag-city-hall-dear-mr","tag-dalton-mcguinty","tag-david-crombie","tag-david-miller","tag-ford","tag-ford-administration","tag-frank-digiorgio","tag-gary-webster","tag-george-heo","tag-gordon-chong","tag-jim-flaherty","tag-karen-stintz","tag-mayor","tag-mel-lastman","tag-peter-milczyn","tag-politics","tag-premier","tag-procedures-by-law","tag-rob-ford","tag-scarborough","tag-senior-representative","tag-sheppard-subway","tag-shirley-hoy","tag-usd","tag-victoria-park","tag-york"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLORINC: Rob Ford's minority government at City Hall - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LORINC: Rob Ford's minority government at City Hall - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ford, It has come to our attention that Rob and Doug are having some challenges with their course work, and specifically two classes: math and political science. Their teachers have observed that both boys seem blocked on basic questions, such as: \u00a0\u2022 \u201cIf you divide 45 by two, and round upContinue reading "LORINC: Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-21T13:45:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Lorinc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Lorinc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/\",\"name\":\"LORINC: Rob Ford's minority government at City Hall - Spacing Toronto\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-21T13:45:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/faff9da0e20b8f5223099d707e940d8e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"LORINC: Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/\",\"name\":\"Spacing Toronto\",\"description\":\"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered | Toronto Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/faff9da0e20b8f5223099d707e940d8e\",\"name\":\"John Lorinc\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73e05cb61860b63be76ffccf72a4d736?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73e05cb61860b63be76ffccf72a4d736?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Lorinc\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/author\/john\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"LORINC: Rob Ford's minority government at City Hall - Spacing Toronto","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"LORINC: Rob Ford's minority government at City Hall - Spacing Toronto","og_description":"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ford, It has come to our attention that Rob and Doug are having some challenges with their course work, and specifically two classes: math and political science. Their teachers have observed that both boys seem blocked on basic questions, such as: \u00a0\u2022 \u201cIf you divide 45 by two, and round upContinue reading \"LORINC: Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall\"","og_url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/","og_site_name":"Spacing Toronto","article_published_time":"2012-02-21T13:45:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"John Lorinc","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spacing","twitter_site":"@Spacing","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Lorinc","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/","name":"LORINC: Rob Ford's minority government at City Hall - Spacing Toronto","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg","datePublished":"2012-02-21T13:45:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/faff9da0e20b8f5223099d707e940d8e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2012\/02\/cityhall-TTC-600x400.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2012\/02\/21\/lorinc-rob-fords-minority-government-at-city-hall\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"LORINC: Rob Ford’s minority government at City Hall"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#website","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/","name":"Spacing Toronto","description":"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered | Toronto Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/faff9da0e20b8f5223099d707e940d8e","name":"John Lorinc","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73e05cb61860b63be76ffccf72a4d736?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/73e05cb61860b63be76ffccf72a4d736?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"John Lorinc"},"url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/author\/john\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4051"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26427"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26431,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26427\/revisions\/26431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}