One year after election, Tory has set a new tone
Minnan-Wong says mayor’s goals still a work in progress
This time last year, Mordecai Bobrowsky and 395,123 other Torontonians cast votes for John Tory.
Bobrowsky wanted a mayor who would bring a businesslike approach to the job and restore “stability” to Canada’s largest city — minus the drama and hijinks of Tory’s predecessor. The real estate lawyer has not been disappointed. “His general approach kind of gives me a sense of comfort,” says Bobrowsky, a self-described small-c conservative who donated $250 to Tory’s campaign.
Though the married father was pleased Tory nixed bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics, he draws a blank on the mayor’s other first-year achievements.
“If you had to sort of say ‘well, what has he (Tory) implemented, what has he done specifically,’ I would have to be honest that I couldn’t point to anything specific and say ‘oh, here’s what he’s done,’ ” says Bobrowsky. He emphasizes that might also be because he has spent much of the year “under water” with work and his private life.
David Soknacki, a mayoral candidate in last year’s election, says if Tory’s first year lacks anything “of a signature scope,” he has given people exactly what they were looking for: a mayor who is not Rob Ford.
“There has not been any embarrassment to the city. He has fulfilled his role as responsibly as he can,” says the former Toronto councillor and budget chief. “I believe that John has acted consistently with his values and his persona, and I think the first year has unfolded much the way people could have expected a year ago.”
The biggest change under the Tory administration has been the “tone” of council, says Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, the second-most powerful politician at city hall.
“The public is so happy and relieved to have a mayor we can be proud of and who is running the city in a civil and businesslike way.”
The things that will ultimately define Tory’s term are works in progress, he said.
“You don’t build a subway line in a day, and you’re not going to turnaround the city in 12 months,” said Minnan-Wong.
“It takes a good amount of time to make real and substantial change, and there are a lot more challenges. But in the first year, he’s done what he’s promised. He’s on his way to keeping his promises.”
Tory’s key campaign pledge was to build a 53-kilometre, 22-stop rail line called SmartTrack. Eleven months later — Tory was sworn into office last December — several major SmartTrack studies are underway and funding commitments secured. Minnan-Wong calls this one of Tory’s most significant accomplishments.
“It’s a real credit and personal achievement for the mayor to have the capacity to go and be a credible voice to the provincial and federal governments to establish that we need to build more transit.”
While waiting for his rail plan to roll out, Tory earned lots of TV and radio airtime with tag-and-tow traffic blitzes and speeding up construction on the western portion of the Gardiner Expressway. He also made good on his promise to pursue a “hybrid” proposal for the eastern section of the Gardiner, though a decision on its actual configuration has been punted down the road.
Soknacki said the fact the federal Liberals will form a majority government bodes well for Tory’s second year — and for a city hungry for major infrastructure investment.
“There is no better opportunity than the present,” said Soknacki, who has returned to running his spice importing business. “I think, whereas you could see the first year was the delivery of stability, we can hope that the second year will be the delivery of investment.”