Mayoral hopefuls Barbara Hall, Tom Jakobek, David Miller, John Nunziata, and John Tory attended the Varsity-hosted debate at Hart House on Thursday, where the construction of a bridge to the Island Airport became the hottest issue.
A recent Toronto Star poll showed that Barabara Hall’s once large lead is lessening to a three-way race with Miller and Tory, with Nunziata and Jakobek falling off the map. According to the poll, Miller is in second place among decided voters.
Barbara Hall immediately addressed the Island Airport issue during her opening remarks. The issue “comes down to a 100-metre bridge,” said Hall. Though “some want to reverse the decision of council,” she is not in favour of “ripping up agreements,” Hall stated in a pointed dig at Miller. Instead, she guaranteed that there will be no further development on the Island Airport. Though she did not originally support the idea, Hall has become convinced the bridge is required for emergency vehicles.
Miller’s opening speech garnered the most applause as the other candidates looked on glumly.
He retorted that the Island Airport issue “is not just about a bridge.” Miller proposes to revitalize the entire city, beginning with the waterfront. He will have people “living, working, and playing at the waterfront.” The airport expansion will destroy this revitalization, says Miller. A recent Toronto Star poll found that 53 per cent of Torontonians oppose the bridge.
Miller has centered his campaign around opposition to the bridge. In his attack on Miller, Nunziata cited an editorial in the Toronto Star entitled “Miller Twisting Facts,” which suggests that Miller is using a misleading campaign ad. Nunziata claims that Mr. Miller “is exploiting this one issue” when “there has already been a diplomatic process.” City Council has already approved the construction of the bridge. Miller is “misleading the people of Toronto” by suggesting that he will cancel the deal “when he doesn’t have the authority,” said Nunziata.
When asked afterwards how he plans to stop the construction of the bridge, Miller said simply: “Get elected.” The decision is up to Toronto voters, he says, and if they elect him he will simply stop the deal. “It is that simple,” said Miller. During the question period, Miller noted that Hall had once promised not to build a bridge to the airport and later changed her mind.
Jakobek says the area is “over-developed,” though he still is not a proponent of closing the airport, which he called “a unique thing.”
In his opening speech, Nunziata claimed that his four opponents “have all been insiders” who “authored the problems we have today.”
He spoke of his “parting of ways” with the Liberal party back in 1996, when he felt that “on a matter of principle” he could no longer support the Liberal government and its refusal to scrap the GST.
Tory, who showed up late, addressed an issue during his opening remarks that hasn’t come up much during campaigning. If elected, his city government will “lead to the retention of value-added jobs” and will invest in education in order to “keep the best and brightest in Canada.” He also hopes to create an economic environment that will attract non-Canadians.
Tory also commended the university on its work in getting a discounted metropass for students, and voiced his support of the TTC ridership strategy. Tory promised good management, which to him means finding waste, avoiding taxes, and avoiding debt.
During his opening remarks, Tom Jakobek claimed that it is not the mayor who “runs the city on a day to day basis.” The city needs “new blood,” he claims, in the form of new bureaucrats running the city, which he will bring to power if elected.
His campaign centers around getting Toronto’s “financial house in order,” for which he claims he is uniquely qualified as Toronto’s former budget chief. Jakobek also spoke of his good old days at U of T, when he attended Vic College and worked at the Bloor and Ossington liquor store to pay his tuition.
All the candidates agreed that reinvesting in the city’s arts and culture is important. Jakobek pledged a $100 million arts re-investment plan. Hall said that re-investing and reinforcing the arts is a major priority and noted that a vibrant arts community is why she stayed in Toronto.
Miller said that Toronto is “a big complex city with artists everywhere,” and spoke of the need “to find ways to get more money to artists.”
Miller claimed that leadership from City Hall can resolve the city’s problems, and says that he has “seen first hand what good leadership can do.” A clean government is where it starts, says Miller. He referred to his exposure of the MFP scandal, when he “fought back against a mayor who wanted to bury the truth.”
Tory plans to increase the level of arts funding to that of Montreal, and also proposes a small surcharge on city-owned attractions. Nunziata plans to re-create Toronto as “the city of festivals.” He also wants to ensure that “the funding out of City Hall is distributed through the entire city rather than focused on downtown.”
When the candidates were asked how they will improve public transit, Hall said that this too is a “major priority.” She is optimistic with the change in provincial government and plans to freeze fares. “Every time fares go up, ridership goes down,” said Hall. She also mentioned plans to expand the subway to York University and beyond.
Miller was a TTC commissioner for six years, and said that “we cannot promise a fare freeze,” which could cost taxpayers up to $53 million. He also noted that Premier-elect Dalton McGuinty “has not promised one penny.” Instead, he hopes to reduce the cost of transit passes and improve the bus system to York.
Tory plans to look at private financing, and at least do the first leg to York University. He will hold the government to their commitments and establish a partnership with mayors of the surrounding cities.
Nunziata held up his metropass to demonstrate that he believes in the TTC, which has been “starved to death” and needs “assistance from higher levels of government,” he said. He also mentioned York, and a plan to “upload the TTC to a regional transit authority.”
Jakobek says that although almost everyone is promising a York University subway, he is not. If you go above the new Sheppard subway line on any weekday around 5:30, says Jakobek, it’s “bumper to bumper traffic.” Instead he plans to get the TTC working better than it is, and to implement a “Smart Card” that works like a phone card and a “short fare” for those who only wants to go four or five stops.
Tory closed by noting that the race will come down to “who has the requisite set of skills.” Hall remembered “how good it felt when [she] was mayor” and Fortune Magazine named Toronto the best city in which to live and do business. “I love Toronto and I know Toronto,” said Hall. Fifty per cent of voters are still undecided, concluded Nunziata, and that’s what makes this “an exciting race.”
