John Tory’s worst decision as the mayor of Toronto
For much of his first three years as Toronto mayor, John Tory has received well-earned praise for his handling of one of the biggest political jobs in Canadian politics.
He’s worked tirelessly on easing traffic gridlock, pushing ahead on public transit, including the controversial Scarborough subway, fighting for a fair share of provincial and federal dollars, encouraging private business and much more.
One of most important things Tory has achieved since his election in 2014 has been to restore credibility and civility to the office of mayor in the wake of the scandal-ridden term of the late Rob Ford, his disgraced predecessor.
Indeed, Tory has done such a remarkable job that his approval rating is incredibly high for a mayor at this late stage of a four-year term.
His ratings are so strong that his reelection is seen as certain, with Doug Ford, the brother of the late mayor, likely to be his only major opponent. No serious “progressive” challenger is expected to enter the Oct. 22, 2018 race given Tory’s popularity.
Incredibly, though, Tory risks wasting all the goodwill and respect he has built with voters with his failed move to name a sports stadium in Etobicoke after Rob Ford. Last night, council voted down the proposal.
Still, it was arguably Tory’s worst decision as mayor.
First, it was an offence to residents sickened by Ford’s drug and alcoholfuelled actions that turned himself and the entire city into an international embarrassment.
In an online poll last week in the Star, 65.6 per cent of those responding opposed the move to name the Etobicoke facility as the Rob Ford Memorial Stadium, 28.7 per cent supported it and 5.7 per cent said they didn’t know what to think. More than 9,000 readers responded.
Such overwhelming numbers clearly indicate how unpopular the move would have been and the depth of distain residents still hold for Ford, who died in 2016 after a brief battle with cancer.
Second, and more seriously, Tory’s push to name the stadium after Ford raises grave doubts about his political instincts.
That’s an issue that has haunted Tory since his days as Ontario Conservative Party leader when, during the 2007 provincial election, he promised to provide government funding for all of Ontario’s private Jewish, evangelical Christian, Hindu and Islamic schools.
Tory ran into a firestorm of protest and subsequently changed his position, pledging a free vote in the legislature on the issue. But by then the damage had been done and the Conservatives, who entered the election virtually tied with the Liberals, lost badly. Tory accepted blame for the defeat, admitting his stand on the school funding issue was a huge mistake.
Pushing to name a stadium — used primarily by children — in “honour” of Rob Ford was also a huge mistake, as well as an embarrassment to the city.
What was Tory thinking?
Ford was a disaster as mayor, far from being a lovable oaf with a heart of gold as many Ford Nation fans like to describe him. He was so bad that city council stripped him of virtually all his powers to govern.
And where was the public pressure to name anything after Ford?
It seems it came only from brother Doug, who will run against Tory in 2018. Back in March, he whined about how the city had never “honoured” his late brother. “There’s never been a politician like Rob, good or bad,” he said at the time, adding the Ford family wanted the Centennial Park stadium “to possibly be named the Rob Ford stadium. He coached there . . . He played, himself, there and it’s local. It’s a modest ask.”
There’s some speculation Tory agreed to back to the stadium renaming to appease Ford Nation supporters.
But for what purpose? There’s no way any Ford Nation diehard is going to vote for Tory in a race against Doug Ford. Again, a lack of political instincts.
For his part, Tory says he “erred on the side of generosity in bringing this forward. I thought this was an appropriate local recognition for someone who served locally for a number of years and who served as our mayor for four years, whatever his track record may have been during that time.”
His track record was that he wound up in drug rehab and could likely have ended up in jail if he hadn’t sought the help for his addictions. Is this the type of “leader” the city should be “honouring?”
There was no need for Tory to do this, to put a permanent stain on this city.
What, indeed, was he thinking?
Pushing to name a stadium — used primarily by children — in ‘honour’ of Rob Ford was a huge mistake
Bob Hepburn’s column appears Thursday. bhepburn@thestar.ca