Seven Long Years: How will David Miller be remembered?
As a kvetchy, largely ineffective do-gooder ultimately undone by the unionists who helped elect him
Unless Joe Pantalone, the unrepentant David Miller acolyte, mounts a surprise surge, our next mayor will arrive at city hall on an explicit promise to do things profoundly differently than his (or her) predecessor. George Smitherman promises to do things differently with a degree of sobriety; Rob Ford promises to do things differently with a flame-thrower and a manic glint in his eye.
It’s timely, then, to recall Miller’s own rise to power. He was elected because he thought it was a bad idea to build a bridge across the western gap of Toronto Harbour, which is only 121 metres wide. Remember the fixed link? It was a burning issue in 2003. It was incompatible with a revitalized waterfront, Miller insisted. Much smarter would be to pressure Ottawa to deliver a rail link to Pearson airport.
Yes, well, seven years later, we still need rubber tires to get to Pearson, and the waterfront, despite some progress, still eagerly awaits revitalization. Porter Airlines hurtles dozens of quiet turboprops skyward every day from a gleaming new terminal that smells like free cappuccino. The Port Authority is planning for more than 200 flights a day in the coming years. It will start construction on a pedestrian tunnel in early 2011—some people have sarcastically suggested naming it after Miller. An Ipsos Reid poll conducted for the Port Authority in the spring found a majority of Torontonians now support a fixed link. Sixty-three per cent are in favour of an airport on the Island, and just 12 per cent are opposed to it. And why not? It’s one of the few things left in this town that works like it’s supposed to.
In any case, little airports, short bridges and other ideological indulgences are a thousand miles off the radar this election season. We don’t just have bigger fish to fry; the kitchen’s on fire. And while Miller didn’t light the match, he didn’t pick up a hose, either. Since Miller came into office, Toronto has drifted far from the ideals its citizens hold dear: cleanliness, efficiency, competent governance, a degree of fiscal solvency, traffic that isn’t as bad as L.A.’s. Only the most determined utopians, innumerates and CUPE members still think this is a model of a high-functioning city. Toronto’s net debt is more than a billion dollars greater than it was in 2004. The 2010 operating budget projects 43 per cent more spending than in 2003, much of it on salaries and benefits to Miller’s purported friends in the unions. (Who, in 2003, would have predicted Miller would ultimately be undone by a garbage strike?) Toronto suffers from an alarming structural deficit and can only scrape by with emergency budget cuts, tax hikes and user fee increases for so long before no one wants to live here anymore.
That said, Miller’s tenure was not a calamity of historic proportions, as some Torontonians believe. For starters, he’s not Mel Lastman. He never made jokes about Kenyans and cannibalism or threatened to kill a reporter. Miller is a decent gent with honourable intentions. And he’s indisputably clean: he was a key figure in busting open the MFP computer leasing scandal. He championed the municipal lobbyist registry, which was launched in 2008. He leaves city hall with an integrity commissioner and an ombudsman it didn’t have before. Seven years ago, municipal politics emitted a strong whiff of corruption and ineptitude. The whiff of corruption, at least, is gone.
Other than that, what will he leave behind? Mostly incremental improvements and works-in-progress. Miller often boasts of environmental accomplishments, such as recycling and green roofs, but we keep learning that many of the dirty diapers and fish heads we separate from our used tinfoil wind up in landfills. When Miller announced his retirement, a Star editorial listed the five-cent tax on plastic bags as one of his accomplishments, but that’s hardly a legacy. The Pan Am Games? Maybe. We’re spending $1.4 billion in the hopes that the games will improve our city, but the Pan Ams aren’t exactly the Olympics; previous hosts include Winnipeg, Indianapolis and Santo Domingo. It almost seems unbecoming of the GTA, which has a population of five million, to care about such an inconsequential event, successful or not.
Many people think Miller’s legacy will be Transit City, and that’s plausible enough: seven new light rail transit lines—including a 33-kilometre, partially underground route from Pearson airport to Kennedy station along Eglinton Avenue—would be a game changer.
Let’s say, 25 years hence, Torontonians have forgotten the TTC did not improve under Miller’s watch. Let’s say bus drivers no longer stop for coffee along their routes and streetcars no longer travel in threes, separated by 40-minute stretches of empty, howling winter. Let’s say we board transit with smart cards and have forgotten we were the last place in the developed world where you had to wake someone up to pay cash for subway tokens. And let’s say the city figures out how to build light rail lines better than it built the new streetcar line along St. Clair West, which really was a calamity of historic proportions. (Best line from the report on that five-year, $106-million debacle: “Construction commenced in the absence of a comprehensive design of what was to be constructed.”) If any of the LRT lines do get built, we’ll lift a drink to David Miller.
But that’s a huge, ghoulish “if.” The hell of being Toronto’s presumptive Transit Mayor is that your legacy can be undone with the stroke of a pen—as Queen’s Park demonstrated in March by lopping off $4 billion from Transit City and other transit projects. Mere months after city hall took out subway ads lavishing thanks on Dalton McGuinty for his beneficence, it took out ads begging him to reconsider the cuts. Humiliating is what it was.
And yet it’s hard to sympathize: how much money has Miller flushed down the john, after all? In 2006, his council awarded a $710-million subway car contract to Bombardier without putting it out to tender. Jaws dropped, but Miller was unapologetic. The cars simply had to be built in Thunder Bay. “I’m utterly shocked as a proud Canadian that there’s even an argument about this,” he said, adding that if the work went abroad, the federal and provincial governments would never give us another nickel for public transit. Whatever the potential savings might have been—the German supplier Siemens said it could do the job for at least $100 million less—they’re gone forever, and Vancouverites riding to and from the airport in their brand new Korean-built trains (funded in part by the feds) could be forgiven for smirking in Toronto’s general direction.
“It’s time to stop yelling at Ottawa and Queen’s Park about our problems,” Miller wrote at the beginning of his first mayoral election campaign. “Instead, we need to work with the other levels of government to ensure we have safe, clean, vibrant cities.” Seven years later, it couldn’t be much clearer we’re on our own. Politicians see little downside in screwing Toronto. There’s a choice at hand: the next mayor can keep muddling along, begging Queen’s Park and Ottawa for the nice things other cities have, and kicking the dirt when he doesn’t get them. Or he can make those things happen, even if it means job losses, labour unrest and user fees. It’ll hurt. But it hurts now.
I suspect that David Miller will be remembered as the last of his kind: a benevolent caretaker at a time when we needed a revolutionary. We could have done a lot worse. But we can’t afford another mayor like him.
Let’s just say it is TIME for DEPARTURE before he self destructs. Like all who enter public office he did good in the beginning but now he only thinks of what to do for votes and who he has to influence. Hopefully when ROB becomes MAYOR he will rule from the heart and not care about who will or will not vote for him. DAVID was very much like this BEFORE becoming MAYOR – don’t know what happened ?????? If they would only follow what they promised and rule like a true family member and do for us what they would want done to them that is what MAKES a REAL MAYOR.
Hey, you forgot his greatest accomplishment! Making himself scarce during the G20 Summit mess that happend in June. Not only was he M.I.A. when his city was turning and ‘burning’ (oh yeah – he said he was too busy dealing with floods and earthquakes in the city at that time), but when it came time to speak up on the event – all he could do was pat the police on the back for a job well done! Arbitrarily and brutally arresting hundreds of Torontonians at a peacful protest at Queens Park was ‘a job well done’?? Good thing he’s in hiding now – atleast he’s smart enough to know when he’s done – he’s done! Good ridance!!
At least he knew that it was time to leave, and didn’t hang around to get turfed.
If he ever writes a biography for his time as mayor, the title should be, “Talk – Action = Zero.”
Just wasn’t impressed. Miller was a big disappointment, and Slitherman is even worse. My vote is going towards Ford. We need this city cleaned up on the streets and in council. At the same time, we should vote Millers’ croonies out too. Just disgusting!
Nicely summarized, JD! I will remember him for reckless spending, user fees and inaction on the big issues. Oh, and routinely blaming everything on upper levels of government (when it suited him). Rob Ford may not be able to hold a candle to him in ‘book smarts’, but easily outclasses him in common sense and integrity.
Can somebody please explain to me how Ford is going to make this city better? It confounds me that anyone who loves Toronto can support a candidate who is short-sighted, selfish, and solely concerned about his own private business and family. Great family man, sure, but politician? How does saving you $100 and cutting services equal clean city and infastructure improvements. Ford is demoralizing, as as the article expresses, we need a revolutionary.
Miller’s legacy right now can be summed up in 7 letters – Rob Ford. Like Bob Rea’s failure (fueled by a terrible economy and not entirely his fault) saddled us with Mike Harris in much the same way.
Common Sense? Neither Ford nor Harris can spell it let alone use it. Buckle in, it’s going to be a bumpy, embarrassing ride from ineffectual lefty to the faaaaar lunatic fringe of the reactionary right. At least spending on post-it notes will go down.
Mammabear – did you actually invoke the name Mike Harris. Give that issue a rest. 10 years ago.
sg: we’re still living with the aftermath. You can’t un-amalgamate six cities, or bring back the local governance we lost.
When Rob becomes Mayor, as you say you want, he will have to rule with his heart since his brain went missing, and his “integrity” had him runiing his business and coaching football instead of doing his job for those who elected him. Since Chsriss Selley thinks no one wants to live here anymore, he has either moved out or I will help him pack. The trouble started with Harris, and ten years has not fixed it.
Toby
Hey! You all will crucify me but he will be remembered and missed. Compared to these assholes running for mayor, Toronto will not be a world class city anymore. I was a big miller fan when he won, then he let me down – we became a dirty city,huge deficits, taxes here, taxes there and he made me miss Mel lastman! YIKES! but these candidiates are a joker. Ford will run Toronto like its Port Perry – Christ people we ar ea huge world class city and we gotta spend and invest, we ned a visionary- he is not! George is just an angry person on the verge of loosing it all, Rocco – stay home and get back in your shell and Joe – how about retiring and get your CPP/OAs early!
So, Mr. Miller, ever consider running again ? You would get my vote as of now, WE HAVE NO HOPE!! none!!!
I’m confused about the second last paragraph.
What are job losses, labour unrest and user fees going to give us? More money to finance better services — but that the provincial government will just as soon siphon off. If we are going to go out on our own, let us not pussy foot around! Toronto needs the power to operate like a city-state. If you can scrap the HST in the GTA — now that would be revolutionary.
@Pee
If you really want Miller back then you might as well have an empty chair running the city because it would have the same effect. The other candidates may not be to your liking but at least they would do something, anything, instead of just wathcing the sun rise and set from the second floor of City Hall.
What is with all this talk of Toronto being a “world-class city”? Let’s get one thing straight, Toronto is not in the same league as London, Paris, New York, L-A etc. Never has been, never will be. That said, who cares? Why do we care what the world thinks of this city? I will be voting for someone who cares more about how livable this City is for Torontonians, not New Yorkers or Londoners. David Miller has sucked the life out of the City with his oppressive, tax grabbing policies. No doubt that the list of candidates we have to choose from is pathetic but at least none of them (except for Joe “Going Nowhere” Pantalone) subscribes to David Millers bull shit view of the world. Wheter we have a Mayor Ford or a Mayor Smiterman is irrelevetn. All I care is that we are finaly about to see the ass end of David Miller. Oh, happy days indeed!
I never get all the references to Miller’s tax-grabbing ways. Sure, there’s the vehicle registration tax and the land transfer tax. But our property taxes are so low!
Yeah..having low property taxes is not something to boast about…we get what we pay.. NOTHING! Mississauga and even Pickering taxes are more than ours and they get a good deal. If Miller had listened to Hazel and increase tax appropriately over time, he would not hitting us in every other corner.
in Any event, whatever you guys do, DONT VOTE FORD!! He is not to be trusted.. way too many flip flops.
MammaBear is right. Miller’s legacy is Rob Ford. If Miller hadn’t been such a screw up, we wouldn’t be worried about Ford’s possible election.
FU David Miller.
Like or hate Rob Ford, at least you know where he is coming from. He speaks the truth, his mind, and always backs everything up.
Its not just Ford’s fiscal policy that is impressive. I like his thoughts on homelessness. Get THEM off the streets!! Get them help. You can just leave them on the streets! Its not good for their well being, nor tourism. Just walk along Queen street, its disgusting to see all these people begging for money.
As for who to vote for, don’t be swayed by the media (especially the biased Toronto Star who hates Rob Ford). Read about the canidates, and make an educated choice.
Hello,
I’m moving to Toronto from the United States this Fall. Please do not elect George W., I mean Robert Ford, to the mayoralty.
Thanks,
Regular American
Dear Regular American who is moving to Toronto. God help you. If Rob Ford does get elected you might wanna re thing moving here. And also I would like to know if I can move with you to the USA if he does. God help us all.
he was a great mayor. Media in modern world don’t let any politician to be great. Look at what happened to Obama, the greatest president they have had for years, and what media have done to him despite his great achievements, among them the health care reform. Miller is like him. We will remember him later and praise him, but not now.
Horrible Mayor..Glad he is gone..
2nd highest cost of living after Vancouver in Canada….Thanks to highest commercial taxes in Canada….Highest Real estate values in Canada after vancouver….I doubt very much you own a house in Toronto…
Repeating the same thing over and over until you are blue in the face is not ‘backing everything up’. The ‘subways, subways, subways’ have no clear ‘funding, funding, funding’.
His thoughts on homelessness sound great. Get them off the street! Wonderful. For a mayor running on the platform of tax cuts, getting the homeless off the streets is a pretty expensive task. No tax increase? Well something is going to be cut. Perhaps we lose another fire-station? We can get the homeless to do it!