Toronto Election 2014 Power Ratings: the week rehab was amazing
Rob Ford is down and out (well, not entirely out), and the other candidates are taking the opportunity to make their own headlines. Even so, the mayor’s weird exile continues to dominate the news cycle.
Here’s how the candidates stack up this week.
John Tory is capitalizing on Rob Ford’s absence.
Highlight: While low on specifics, his “One Toronto” economic manifesto, released on Thursday, was full of the type of language that makes conservative hearts beat faster.
Lowlight: In an interview with Spacing, he said he’d delay construction on the Finch West and Sheppard East LRT projects in order to expedite the downtown relief line. That may hurt his reputation with left-leaning voters who have advocated for LRT throughout Rob Ford’s mayoralty, but it does, at least, show that Tory is serious about finding realistic ways of funding new subways—even if it may mean cannibalizing other projects.
Power Rating: Four
Crayola Crayon Colour: Jazzberry Jam
Karen Stintz ramped up her rhetoric.
Highlight: She issued a strong rebuttal to Tory’s suggestion that construction on the Finch and Sheppard LRT lines be delayed to free up resources for the downtown relief line. Such a delay, she said in a press release, “only hurts the thousands of Torontonians stuck in east-west traffic north of the 401 and crammed on to buses.”
Lowlight: Stintz, like Tory, has promised to prioritize the downtown relief line—and, like Tory, she hasn’t said exactly how she’d pay for it. (Well, she did say how she thinks she’ll pay for it, but there are still lots of unanswered questions about her proposed funding plan.) For that reason, her criticism of Tory is a little rich. At this point in the race, her relief-line proposal has even less credibility than his does.
Power Rating: Two
Crayola Crayon Colour: Wisteria
David Soknacki has been awfully quiet lately.
Highlight: He announced the addition of three new campaign staffers this week, all of whom seem to have some good political experience. Soknacki’s team is on the young side, and while this has helped him appeal to youth voters, a few more veterans may round things out.
Lowlight: Soknacki was light on policy announcements again this week. Word is, he’s still in the process of vetting the rest of his platform.
Power Rating: Two
Crayola Crayon Colour: Mauvelous
Olivia Chow continues to be a font of constructive policy announcements.
Highlight: Who’s going to argue with a promise to eliminate pedestrian fatalities on Toronto streets? Being seen as the anti-people-getting-hit-by-cars candidate has never hurt anyone.
Lowlight: The pedestrian plan includes a proposal to let neighbourhoods request speed-limit reductions, which seems like it could leave Chow open to attacks from car-friendly candidates.
Power Rating: Four
Crayola Crayon Colour: Purple Pizzazz
Rob Ford is still in rehab. We think.
Highlight: Not applicable. His campaign has flatlined and his few attempts to keep a hand in the race backfired terribly.
Lowlight: Probably the “Rehab is Amazing” Toronto Sun cover. Add it to the list of quotes that will haunt Ford for the rest of his career.
Power Rating: One
Crayola Crayon Colour: Outer Space
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/toronto-election-2014-power-ratings-week-rehab-amazing/&title=Toronto Election 2014 Power Ratings: the week rehab was amazing&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/election-roundup-intro-624x395.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_268173" align="alignnone" width="656"] (Image: The City of Toronto)[/caption]
Rob Ford is down and out (well, not entirely out), and the other candidates are taking the opportunity to make their own headlines. Even so, the mayor's weird exile continues to dominate the news cycle.
Here's how the candidates stack up this week.
John Tory is capitalizing on Rob Ford's absence.
Highlight: While low on specifics, his "One Toronto" economic manifesto, released on Thursday, was full of the type of language that makes conservative hearts beat faster.
Lowlight: In an interview with Spacing, he said he'd delay construction on the Finch West and Sheppard East LRT projects in order to expedite the downtown relief line. That may hurt his reputation with left-leaning voters who have advocated for LRT throughout Rob Ford's mayoralty, but it does, at least, show that Tory is serious about finding realistic ways of funding new subways—even if it may mean cannibalizing other projects.
Power Rating: Four
Crayola Crayon Colour: Jazzberry Jam
Karen Stintz ramped up her rhetoric.
Highlight: She issued a strong rebuttal to Tory's suggestion that construction on the Finch and Sheppard LRT lines be delayed to free up resources for the downtown relief line. Such a delay, she said in a press release, "only hurts the thousands of Torontonians stuck in east-west traffic north of the 401 and crammed on to buses."
Lowlight: Stintz, like Tory, has promised to prioritize the downtown relief line—and, like Tory, she hasn't said exactly how she'd pay for it. (Well, she did say how she thinks she'll pay for it, but there are still lots of unanswered questions about her proposed funding plan.) For that reason, her criticism of Tory is a little rich. At this point in the race, her relief-line proposal has even less credibility than his does.
Power Rating: Two
Crayola Crayon Colour: Wisteria
David Soknacki has been awfully quiet lately.
Highlight: He announced the addition of three new campaign staffers this week, all of whom seem to have some good political experience. Soknacki's team is on the young side, and while this has helped him appeal to youth voters, a few more veterans may round things out.
Lowlight: Soknacki was light on policy announcements again this week. Word is, he's still in the process of vetting the rest of his platform.
Power Rating: Two
Crayola Crayon Colour: Mauvelous
Olivia Chow continues to be a font of constructive policy announcements.
Highlight: Who's going to argue with a promise to eliminate pedestrian fatalities on Toronto streets? Being seen as the anti-people-getting-hit-by-cars candidate has never hurt anyone.
Lowlight: The pedestrian plan includes a proposal to let neighbourhoods request speed-limit reductions, which seems like it could leave Chow open to attacks from car-friendly candidates.
Power Rating: Four
Crayola Crayon Colour: Purple Pizzazz
Rob Ford is still in rehab. We think.
Highlight: Not applicable. His campaign has flatlined and his few attempts to keep a hand in the race backfired terribly.
Lowlight: Probably the "Rehab is Amazing" Toronto Sun cover. Add it to the list of quotes that will haunt Ford for the rest of his career.
Power Rating: One
Crayola Crayon Colour: Outer Space){kind=link}