The South Bayview Bulldog

The Ford brothers shouted and threatened “all-out war” today as they became more and more isolated at City Hall, Queen’s Park and in the Conservative hallways in Ottawa. Council voted in large majorities of as much as 36 to 5 to remove budgetary elements of Mayor Ford’s powers. The council transferred these powers to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly. It was a frequently erratic process which began Monday morning and was not over until nearly dinner time. It has enraged the two brothers. The mayor was both frightening and comical as he compared council’s actions to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. He summoned up images of the first president Bush warning Saddam Hussein to stop and of the dramatic war that followed. Mr. Ford said if councillors think that American politics is dirty they have yet to see what he and his brother Doug will inflict on the members of council. This bellicose bluster drew laughs from many members. Later, Doug Ford called on the City of Toronto to rise up against the end of democracy at City Hall. “The war is not done”” he said ominously. Deputy Mayor Kelly said that although the Mr. Ford wanted to make war, he wanted to practice peace. He then went to a meeting of the executive committee bearing his new powers as its chair. At Queen’s Park, Tim Hudak, leader of the Progressive Conservatives, said that he would certainly support council’s action in the face of an inability of the body to function. In Ottawa, the prime minister’s office said it found revelations about the mayor “troubling” and  the government does not approve of the use of drugs  

It certainly wasn’t a perfect period, but around City Hall things were somehow more productive in the 1970s than they are now. This bit of nostalgia is prompted not just by the prospect of Monday’s unhappy business with the present  mayor. The mayor then was David Crombie (right) and he was speaking in Hamilton last night. Crombie, a Conservative, is 77 now and his topic was the future of cities. It recalls Crombie’s  most notable achievement in six years as mayor (1972-78).  He was able to stop out-of-control apartment builders and give them a framework of rules that both saved neighborhoods and fostered good development. There was money, unlike now, and so Toronto financed the Bloor Street subway line. But the seeds were also planted for a Streetcars Forever state of mind at the TTC.  It was a folly that made this 19th century concept synonymous with rapid transit. In Hamilton, Mr. Crombie said there is no template for the perfect municipal future. In the end, the people have to choose good politicians, he said. Amen.