Anyone-but-Ford movement gathers steam: Joe Mihevc jumps off Pantalone’s ship and onto the deck of the S.S. Smitherman
As the early polls opened today, Sarah Thomson made good on her endorsement of George Smitherman and cast her early ballot for the candidate she hopes can beat Rob Ford in the mayoral election. But that’s not the only news in the anyone-but-Ford movement. Team Smitherman got an extra boost this afternoon when TTC vice-chair Joe Mihevc announced that he is endorsing Smitherman. And, as it was with Thomson’s endorsement, the shadow of Ford looms large over this one.
From Mihevc’s press release:
I know some residents are supporting Joe Pantalone. I do feel that Joe would make a fine mayor and that he has the skills, smarts, and experience to lead the city. The stars, however, have not aligned for Joe as revealed in the polls. Given the strength of Rob Ford in the same polls, and given the need to have all hands on deck to defeat him, I believe that this is a time for Torontonians to rally around a single candidate who has the best chance of defeating Ford. Joe Pantalone’s standing in the polls requires us to look elsewhere. To say this frankly is very difficult for me as I have known and worked with Joe for 20 years and can affirm that he is a person of integrity and that his work has really built the city. It is not Joe’s moment right now and he is not in a position to defeat Ford. Thus people of good will who are committed to community values have to speak up and act in a very pragmatic way.
I have known George Smitherman for over a decade and do believe that he has the skill set needed to make a good mayor. Further and key to my position, he is in the best position to win.
Mihevc goes on to say that his endorsement of Smitherman in no way means he agrees with everything in Smitherman’s platform, but that he agrees with enough of it to make this thing work between them.
With Smitherman collecting endorsements from the left and right, it looks like the anyone-but-Ford train is leaving the station. Mike Smith, spokesperson for the Pantalone campaign, wasn’t surprised by the endorsement, even though Mihevc was making encouraging noises as recently as August.
One poll can lie, but so far none of the polls have showed Pantalone in anything but third, and most of them a distant third at that. Add to that the report from the National Post that John Tory’s two sons, who both worked for the Thomson campaign, will be endorsing Smitherman tomorrow, and suddenly things start to look pretty tense for the Rocco Rossi and Pantalone campaigns.
The thing about these kinds of strategic voting campaigns is that they can backfire. Apparently Doug Holyday is trying to revive the anyone-but-Smitherman dynamic of the early campaign. Good luck with that.
• First votes cast in Toronto election [Toronto Star]
• Mihevc Press Release [Re-elect Joe Mihevc]
• For Doug Holyday, it’s “anybody but Smitherman” [Toronto Star]
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/anyone-but-ford-movement-gathers-steam-joe-mihevc-jumps-off-pantalones-ship-and-onto-the-deck-of-the-s-s-smitherman/&title=Anyone-but-Ford movement gathers steam: Joe Mihevc jumps off Pantalone’s ship and onto the deck of the S.S. Smitherman&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/jmihevc.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_42822" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Joe Mihevc gives the thumbs-up to Smitherman"][/caption]
As the early polls opened today, Sarah Thomson made good on her endorsement of George Smitherman and cast her early ballot for the candidate she hopes can beat Rob Ford in the mayoral election. But that’s not the only news in the anyone-but-Ford movement. Team Smitherman got an extra boost this afternoon when TTC vice-chair Joe Mihevc announced that he is endorsing Smitherman. And, as it was with Thomson’s endorsement, the shadow of Ford looms large over this one.
From Mihevc’s press release:
I know some residents are supporting Joe Pantalone. I do feel that Joe would make a fine mayor and that he has the skills, smarts, and experience to lead the city. The stars, however, have not aligned for Joe as revealed in the polls. Given the strength of Rob Ford in the same polls, and given the need to have all hands on deck to defeat him, I believe that this is a time for Torontonians to rally around a single candidate who has the best chance of defeating Ford. Joe Pantalone’s standing in the polls requires us to look elsewhere. To say this frankly is very difficult for me as I have known and worked with Joe for 20 years and can affirm that he is a person of integrity and that his work has really built the city. It is not Joe’s moment right now and he is not in a position to defeat Ford. Thus people of good will who are committed to community values have to speak up and act in a very pragmatic way.
I have known George Smitherman for over a decade and do believe that he has the skill set needed to make a good mayor. Further and key to my position, he is in the best position to win.
Mihevc goes on to say that his endorsement of Smitherman in no way means he agrees with everything in Smitherman’s platform, but that he agrees with enough of it to make this thing work between them.
With Smitherman collecting endorsements from the left and right, it looks like the anyone-but-Ford train is leaving the station. Mike Smith, spokesperson for the Pantalone campaign, wasn’t surprised by the endorsement, even though Mihevc was making encouraging noises as recently as August.
One poll can lie, but so far none of the polls have showed Pantalone in anything but third, and most of them a distant third at that. Add to that the report from the National Post that John Tory’s two sons, who both worked for the Thomson campaign, will be endorsing Smitherman tomorrow, and suddenly things start to look pretty tense for the Rocco Rossi and Pantalone campaigns.
The thing about these kinds of strategic voting campaigns is that they can backfire. Apparently Doug Holyday is trying to revive the anyone-but-Smitherman dynamic of the early campaign. Good luck with that.
• First votes cast in Toronto election [Toronto Star]
• Mihevc Press Release [Re-elect Joe Mihevc]
• For Doug Holyday, it's "anybody but Smitherman" [Toronto Star]){kind=link}
I am wondering what nice opportunity awaits Sarah Thompson as a Liberal but I digress…
We have to make a choice as to whether we vote for someone that has just jumped on board fiscal responsibility bandwagon as an election ploy or someone that has walked the walk and talked the talk for many years. Smitherman has his historical record of spending money irresponsibly and Ford has always maintained a budget and sees where money is slipping away like water in a bucket full of holes. I think the press confuses being articulate with being intelligent. I’ll give Smitherman the articulate grade but give a much higher grade to Ford for intelligence. What a startling revelation if customer service, something that successful businesses have adopted for years, might finally come to City Hall, Toronto. That will only happen if we elect Ford, so lets be intelligent and cast our ballots for Rob Ford!
@Fed Up
First of all, Smitherman called for a hiring freeze and spending freeze back in February; this isn’t new.
Secondly, he is widely credited by Torys for having eliminated $600-million in waste PER YEAR as health minister, bending the health care cost curve down.
Smitherman is the consensus candidate.
Ford, in comparison, offers nothing but populist anger, and no plans no how to make council work.
So what if he is endorsing Smitherman, we the TTC users will vote for anyone that the head of the TTC is not endorsing Pantalone Ford Rossi anything BUT SMITHERMAN
Well, anyone but FORD means voting for the best candidate who has a chance. Joe is another David Miller, can he just collect his CPP/OAS and go away!
As for Ford being budget concious etc and not spending his budget, remember, this guy Ford is loaded – we dont know if he is using his family $$$$. Ford is not a visionary and this city needs one. Yes, we are fed up of City Council and the games and mismanagement, but how can we have a mayor who will have no one on council supporting him ? We will be the true laughing stock of canada. Sure, let the westcoasters hate us even more, not that we care but PLEASE dont elect ROB FORD!!!
If I were Pants or Slither – I would publically demand that anyone wishing to throw their support behind them, ask first!
Miller is supporting Pantelone – Not that he had a shot in the first place, but that completely nukes the Pants campaign – Voters are tired of Miller – now they’ll want ABP…Anyone but Pantelone
Mihevc is bland – not much wrong with the guy, except that he’s been in council for eons – isn’t change what we want? Mihevc is really only doing this for the ABF (Anyone but Ford) vote, and in the end Slimeyman had better hope that people stop calling it that, because the public has already shown that they want “Anyone but the Status Quo” and that’s all the other’s seem willing to bring to the table.
Has anyone out there spoken with any of the hopefuls in their ward yet? All of them in my ward are saying that they will work with whoever is elected Mayor – except the incumbents, who are all (seemingly) supporting Smitherman, Pantelone or Rossi…And I don’t see a lot of these incumbents returning for another term myself.
Clearly, Joe is an opportunistic unprincipled back stabber.
I suggest all of Joe Mihevc’s opponents in Ward 21 St Paul’s get together and choose one of themselves to stay in the race to beat Joe and the others drop out (for a payback later). Joe should get a taste of his own medicine. Anyone but Joe.
I don’t understand why Toronto would bother voting for someone who is known to lack good polish. We do realize that that we’d be paying for Rob Ford’s image consultant and etiquette coach for years to come, right? If he can’t present himself well in public, why bother?
IF FORD BECOMES MAYOR ALL HIS SUPPORTERS WILL BE BITCHING BY THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR WHEN THE CUTS TRICKLE DOWN AND AFFECT THEM. THEY’LL BE SAYING “NO…ITS ONLY SUPPOSE TO HURT OTHERS…NOT US…WE’RE SUPPOSE TO BE IMUNE”. WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN AND EVERYTHINGS CUT AND FORD DONS’T KNOW HOW TO RUN THE CITY….PERHAPS YOU’LL ALL SHUT UP.
someone who can run a $100M business knows where the BS is and cuts it out, you speak of services cut what do we get for our money now,,,,it’s been less and we keep paying MORE vote for ford
Dear Tim,
Your poor logic, spelling and all capital letters shouting in an e-mail won’t “shut up” Ford supporters…
Who really cares who Toronto’s Elite back. It is the average citizens that really counts not a bunch of has bins.
Smitherman certainly is not the candidate that I would vote for. He has a proven track record and in my opinion is no different than his Liberal cousins in Queens Park.
Toronto needs Ford not Smitherman who is just another socialist who likes to spend.
Cynthia Says
IF FORD BECOMES MAYOR ALL HIS SUPPORTERS WILL BE BITCHING BY THE END OF THE FIRST YEAR WHEN THE CUTS TRICKLE DOWN AND AFFECT THEM. THEY’LL BE SAYING “NO…ITS ONLY SUPPOSE TO HURT OTHERS…NOT US…WE’RE SUPPOSE TO BE IMUNE”. WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN AND EVERYTHINGS CUT AND FORD DONS’T KNOW HOW TO RUN THE CITY….PERHAPS YOU’LL ALL SHUT UP………………………………………………….
I got a better idea Cynthia you shut up. I see that you can see into the future. Bet you voted for McGuinty too
Not anyone but Ford – VOTE SMITHERMAN to keep Ford out! If we split up the vote that neanderthal is going to win. If you think Ford thinks like you than I suggest you get yourself a moral and ethical compass. And a brain! Here are some quotes from Ford below just to remind you of this embarassing ignorant man:
Rob Ford on AIDS prevention…
“(AIDS) is very preventable, if you are not doing needles and you are not gay, you wouldn’t get AIDS probably, that’s bottom line.” With respect to the increasing rates of women contracting the disease, Ford said; “How are women getting it? Maybe they are sleeping with bisexual men.”
Rob Ford on bike lanes…
“I can’t support bike lanes. Roads are built for buses, cars, and trucks. My heart bleeds when someone gets killed, but it’s their own fault at the end of the day.”
Rob Ford on why oriental people are taking over…
“Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out. They are workers non-stop. They sleep beside their machines. That’s why they’re successful in life. I went to Seoul, South Korea, I went to Taipei, Taiwan. I went to Tokyo, Japan. That’s why these people are so hard workers (sic). I’m telling you, the Oriental people, they’re slowly taking over.”
July 23, 2005: During a council debate over a pothole, Mr. Ford calls fellow Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby “a joke. She’s a waste of time. A waste of skin.”
April 17, 2002: During a council debate on whether there should be homeless shelters across the city, rather than only downtown, Mr. Ford says: “This is an insult to my constituents to even think about having a homeless shelter in their ward. And you want me to have a public meeting to discuss this? Why don’t we have a public lynching?”
That’s just to name a few people!
This would be a huge embarassment for our great city to elect this ignorant, small minded, foul-mouthed fool for our Mayor. SMITHERMAN keeps Ford Out!
Pick any ONE of the above examples (and there are many, many more…) and it will be crystal clear why Rob “Doofus” Ford cannot be Mayor. He’s a crass, boorish loudmouth who has alienated almost all of City Council (except for the few…cough, cough…Mammoliti…)who are trying to pander to him now (to no avail of course) as when Robbie heard of Giorgio’s endorsement he basically…well, sneered. Remember Karl Rove, the “architect” of good ole George “Dubya’s” campaign…he even looks like Ford. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he was consulted in all of this as he and his “ilk” are all cut from the same cloth. Racist, bigoted, homophobic slags who will do whatever it takes to win and then promptly flush it all down the crapper. The Bush years were THE WORST in American history and if, God forbid, the “doofus” wins, the Ford years will be the worst in Toronto’s history. We can invite Sarah Palin up for “tea” and watch our city become divisive, redneck and the laughingstock of the nation. I don’t care how we do it…strategic voting, strange alliances, summoning all of our collective will…Ford must be stopped. If he isn’t…goodbye “Yorkville”, hello “Redneckville”. S’long “Forest Hill”, hello “Hamburger Hill”. This one is REAL important folks…don’t think for a second it isn’t. I want to live in Toronto…..not Wasilla, Alaska.
Funny, how people like Joe and Sarah waver so much, no doubt for the cause of self interest. Why on earth would you support someone you never publicly agreed with in the first place???!!
I will stick to the only candidate that doesn’t waver on issues …and that’s Ford.
Slitherman already disrespected our seniors and wasted tons of money on e-heath…one would have to be insane to support this guy….now trust him with our tax dollars???? Soon we will see his pretty ads that cost a pretty penny on television….doesn’t this also foretell what you would be looking forward to when it comes to your tax dollars again????
MY VOTE IS FOR FORD! SOLID, GROUNDED, AND UNWAVERING!
You know what you are getting with FORD smitherman is a sheep in wolves clothing…fall for his bs and you’ll get what he has already given us EHEATH SCANDAL >>>> WASTE >>>NO ACCOUNTABILITY