Doug Ford says the mayor should have veto power over council
Lest anyone be skeptical, we’re sure Doug Ford would be saying this even if George Smitherman or Joe Pantalone had won the election, and not his own brother Rob Ford: “I believe in a strong mayor system, like they have in the States. The mayor should have veto power … so he has enough power to stop council,” Doug told the Globe and Mail. “The mayor should be the mayor. At the end of the day … the mayor’s responsible for everything.”
The Globe goes on:
It’s been a tough transition for the Ford camp to shift from a highly partisan, highly successful mayoral campaign to the enforced diplomacy of governing, attempting to woo councillors and win votes on a 45-person council with no party system, in which the mayor has only one ballot to cast.
“You’ve always got that council. You’ve got to have your 23 votes to get it passed,” Mr. Ford said.
This kind of statement from the brother of the mayor raises a number of questions. Questions like: what, exactly, do the Brothers Ford want that that they haven’t already got out of council? So far, all of Ford’s priorities have been met without a serious fight. Idly suggesting that the mayor needs even more power to run through an open door is a bit odd, to say the least.
The mayor’s ability to appoint councillors as committee chairs and members of the executive committee already gives him plenty of power to woo and punish if necessary. Councillors opposed to Ford have, in interviews with The Informer, taken to quoting Royson James’s line about “political harlotry:” the mayor’s power gives councillors a lot of incentive to play nice, something that began to happen the exact moment Rob Ford became a serious candidate in the mayor’s race.
On top of all that, suggesting the mayor needs veto power—something prime ministers don’t have in parliaments or premiers in legislatures—is just, well, odd.
• Toronto needs strong mayor with veto power, Doug Ford says [Globe and Mail]
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Before becoming mayor Rob was on AM640 calling Miller a dictator for using the additional power included in the City of Toronto Act. How times have changed!
And, can we all just remember that he is only the Mayor’s BROTHER! Please Councillor Ford, SIT DOWN!
If everything is so much better in the States… why couldn’t he stay there?
Can we veto the Election?
Seems many Torontonians have been hood winked in to thinking this Ford guy is the best thing since sliced bread.
Gutting the public service brings minimal savings and we just don’t know how things will be with the private contractors keeping in mind that this not that hogs hollow Etobicoke.
The whole city is quite vast and do you really want to had it all over to the profiteers ?
I recall a whildcat strike in Mississauga a few years back by their ( private contractors ) and this will not eliminate strikes although 2 strikes in more than 34 years I would not call excessive or abuse of the unions right to strike.
No matter what Ford does , there is going to have to be a tax increase to settle the 2012 budget.
And so it is all for nothing as there will be a need to extract more out of rate payers at the end of the day.
No changes should be made with out the opproval of council and to suggest a Mayor should have special vito powers over council is as rediculous as the Fords lap dog Mammolini suggesting Toronto become a Province.
I can’t believe Toronto voted in these idiots !
But then they elected Lastman who was fine in his own element of the former North York but knew nothing about running a megga city as Toronto has become.
A little over 3 years left to endure these Ford fools but sadly by the time they are booted out Toronto will have permanent changes that cannot be reversed.