First poll since the election gives Rob Ford a 60 per cent approval rating—but people love his policies even more
Rob Ford won the 2010 election with 47 per cent of the vote, and has since entered a nice stretch of political honeymoon, where he’s eliminated the Vehicle Registration Tax, blown up Transit City and frozen the city’s property taxes. So how do people like him? According to a new poll [PDF] from Forum Research, pretty well: 60 per cent of respondents told the pollster they approved of his job so far.
Some other details from the poll released this afternoon:
- Ford is most popular in Scarborough (with a landslide 71 per cent, proving that as-yet-imaginary subways are good politics); still gets 60+ per cent in North York and Etobicoke.
- His only thumbs-down is from Toronto-East York, with 54 per cent disapproval rating. We’re only surprised at how unsurprising that all is.
- Declaring the TTC an essential service is even more popular than Ford himself, with 72 per cent approval rating.
- Private money for the Sheppard subway is basically tied with Ford at 61 per cent, though more popular in North York and Scarborough (no shocker there).
- About the only Ford policy that gets the thumbs-down is his $3-million contract for efficiency consultants, which gets 62 per cent disapproval.
Some of the questions use some questionable language—respondents were asked what they thought about “jobs for life” for city workers, and while private cash is said to build subways “faster” than public money—an open question at the very least—there’s no mention of the fact that the city will move fewer people for its money with subways over Transit City. Then there’s the fact that while these numbers are very high, they’re still (as Globe and Mail reporter Kelly Grant points out) well below the whopping 82 per cent approval rating David Miller had a few months in to his first term.
All that said, the results don’t seem obviously absurd, and we’re happy that the city has left fictional pro-Ford polls in the distant past.
• Forum Research poll on Toronto politics [via Globe and Mail—PDF]
(Image: Ford, Shaun Merritt)
In other news: 60% of people are idiots for supporting Ford and his ‘race to the bottom’.
Rob Ford and his ilk are destroyers, not builders. While I didn’t always agree with Miller, I could respect and commend his desire to build something for the benefit of the citizens of Toronto, i.e. Transit City.
This polling also goes to prove that the smartest Torontonians — who strongly-est oppose Ford — live in the East end. Go east!
To the commenters above, please get over yourselves — he was fairly elected. If you hate him so much and think he is the apocalypse, please save yourselves by leaving Toronto.
To the first two posters,
Seriously, you need to move on. Rob Ford is the mayor. Twisting the news stories to smear Ford and the people who voted for him is very “Tea Party”-like in execution. I didn’t think Torontonians could stoop so low.
The sooner you try to live with and UNDERSTAND the platform/policy, instead of twisting words and opinions to console yourselves, the better off you will be.
So lets get this straight – we have the car tax scrapped which raised 60 million from people in Toronto, no increase in property taxes for Toronto homes but at the cost of taking our reserve fund leading to an estimated 700 million deficit next year and he has the audacity to ask the province to give Toronto 195 million. This is a fiscal disaster in the making.
City of Toronto spends money, they do not make moneys.
The City can collect moneys. Rob Ford got the office after he promised to save avg. Torontonian $ 60 per year on private automobile tax, and freeze ppty taxes. He kept his promise but at what cost ?
He bullied managers of various unions into agreeing not to ask for more moneys, increasing their staff under threat of job losses. Most managers complied.
How ? Some tried to reduce the workforce. Others hired people with the idea to use them to break the worker’s unions. They hired their drinking buddies, Mr. Lu G., investigated in Hamilton region for impropriety and mismanagement of funds, hired as Toronto Water Director, without having to compete for the job as the job opening was never posted. What qualifications and educations has he to run Toronto Water ?
Forcing workers to operate City’s three large water treatment facilities alone, with no back up during the 12 hour shifts – having relied on a fabricated report that an automated monitoring system called SCADA works flawlessly – which is untrue, in fact SCADA is even turned off during the on going construction at the water treatment sites.
Is Rob Ford making our drinking water unsafe by exposing the workers who mind the water quality and safety to unnecessary dangers – working alone cannot be safe even if the City provides and trains workers in using Defibrillator Life saving devices. Rob Ford recognizes the need for a Defibrillator, would he be able to demonstrate its use on himself ? What if there was an unauthorized entry, what chance would a lonely Plant technician have ? How safe is our drinking water under Rob Ford ?
Council has given their consent under the previous major of our great City Mr. Miller.
SCADA operating system was not working dependably, and to our knowledge still is not.
Plant technician, almost daily, must make adjustments which SCADA should control and take care of, exposing the Plant Technicians to many possible hazards. If expected to work alone, is a hazardous to their health / life situation waiting to happen.
But even if SCADA worked efficiently, which it is not, evidenced by the carefully logged incidents of SCADA failures, a person working alone ( 7 pm to 7 am shift )
may find himself/herself in a situation when they may require someone to call for them in case of urgent medical need, or emergency.
I am informed that Plant technicians are provided with telephones, and are confirm every hour they are “OK”, however the facilities are made of solid concrete, and the phone signal is unavailable in some parts of the facility.
I agree with you that working alone introduces unprecedented hazards to Plant Technicians, also to the City Water if the technician was unable to make needed adjustments – for whatever reasons. Your suggestion of possible mischief, possibility of unauthorized entry scare me as a citizen who pays increased water fees, has to put up with stinking tap water in the summer time due to algae growth, and now aware we cannot be 100% sure our water quality is not guaranteed ?
The Fair wage policy
Listen to him First pls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F4c8jKU29A&feature=player_embedded
I for one was working for water meter program which started at $150,000,000.00 NOW is at $228.500, 000.00
And asked Rob Ford to prevent the Violation of such terms with city’s contractor. 5 days later I was fired. looooooool
Please listen to him talking about $20 dollars an hour.
I have to use my own car, my own gas and other cost associated with it Plus pay income TAX from the $20 an hour.
Somebody pls explain to Rob Ford what is the minimum wage in Ontario?
Why City hall has THE FAIR WAGE policy?