How councillors from the centre and the left teamed up to take down Rob Ford’s budget

In a fittingly dramatic end to the city’s long-running budget drama, Josh Colle emerged from relative hiding in order to block $15 million worth of service cuts and essentially stop the budget debate in its tracks. According to the Toronto Star, Colle’s motion—and the 23-21 vote that followed—was the culmination of some serious back-room politicking that started before Christmas. Apparently, centrist and lefty councillors engaged in “furious negotiations” through BlackBerry messages, shared online documents and meetings both in and out of city hall. The ragtag crew was careful to only add the most crucial items to the omnibus motion (sorry, Sarah Doucette, that doesn’t include the High Park Zoo), a strategy that kept it from growing out of control. Meanwhile, the mayor’s staff did its best to sway votes their way. In the end, however, Rob Ford was simply outmanoeuvred and outgunned. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »