Could his support for a GTA casino hurt Rob Ford in the 2014 election?

Most of the casino coverage has focused on the economic and social aspects of the debate, but today Spacing’s John Lorinc turns his attention to the potential political fallout. He argues that the casino issue has potentially upended the 2014 election, which, until now, pundits had assumed would be centred around subways and fiscal conservatism—issues on which Rob Ford continues to garner a healthy amount of support. However, if a referendum on a casino is on the 2014 ballot, Lorinc continues, it could be “manna from heaven for the centre-left.” The logic goes that Ford’s opponents would be able to rally against the pro-casino mayor by calling attention to the corporate and political villains and backroom deals that surely go along with pushing through such a development. Lorinc says that the trick is to not sound too sanctimonious about shielding Toronto from wicked gambling dens, but rather to paint Ford “as someone willing to gamble the future of the city and its waterfront.” For a mayoral race that’s still more than two years away, things are already getting heated. Read the entire story [Spacing Toronto] »