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I have been following the Toronto mayorial race and my favourite if I had the chance to choose is Rocco Rossi. He was first out of the gate, has a good campaign budget and a platform focusing on voters wallets. Rocco has been at virtually every comunity event, had his picture taken thousands of times, maintains a big web presence and has a smile that could light the city. And yet he languishes in the polls behind two experienced politicians who have made the papers in a less than positive light. Then there is John Tory already being promoted as the best Mayor Toronto never had and he is not running.
There is a saying that all politics is local (Tip O'neill) and it should be. However, municipal politics has traditionally been a non-participatory event for voters. Voter apathy at all levels of governments is increasing and we sit idly by as our wallets are nibbled, complaining in local coffee shops and at the kitchen table that things never change.
Sure we get up in arms periodically over a subdivision proposal or change of land use. A scandal here or there lasts about 2 weeks in the news and conversation quickly returns to an event in Hollywood or the latest televised talent show. Local politics is hard to follow (I know I spend a lot of time at it) and quite boring at times (Rogers Cable anyone?) and yet taxes at all levels consume the greatest portion of our income except for perhaps housing.
Ingersoll council will likely spend $50 million of taxpayer money over the next 4 years just to keep the current town services going. Ingersoll has been blessed with many government grants in the last 4 years but the tap is being turned off. Decisions will need to be made on either service cuts or tax increases. The current choices for Mayor are 2 very visible and popular hometown men. The incumbent Mayor Paul Holbrough will no doubt run on his record and experience. The current challenger Ted Comiskey has publicly stated that land aquisition is key to our growth as well as making Ingersoll the hub of the earth and he will no doubt leverage his experience running the highly successful Canterbury Folk Festival. In the 2006 election there was not much of a spread between these two gentlemen and leadership and vision will no doubt be the focus of their campaigns.
Me, I have been the self appointed 8th councillor since the 1991 fire downtown. I'll be the first to admit that I am not a normal politician. Councils in the past know that I am not afraid to speak my mind, that I do my research and that I think that the public has a right to know. Work has kept me out of elected politics, but if you work for a living, internal politics gives you lots of experience dealing with conflicting ideas. My biggest strength is actually something I think is missing from politics which is the ability to have an adult conversation about an issue. Being elected to a public office is not a licence to do what you want but rather what you should. I think that is something that has been missing in local politics and the upper tiers.
I also have quite a bit of experience in driving costs out of an organization (Getting a phone call from your boss, that your paycheque might bounce sort of gives you focus). Anybody can cut staff or services but grasping the big picture and engaging the survivors requires a lot of hard work to rebuild. Been there, done that and have quite a few T-Shirts. I've found that there are no magic wands, no knights on white horses and ignoring a problem does not make it go away.
Now back to the question? I know Paul and Ted are more popular (visible anyways) and I have no doubts on their ability to outspend me on a campaign. Will voters look at a third option? Will voters take the time to read campaign brochures and listen to public debates as they look to the future and determine who best can help them get there? Hmmm!
Cheers
Tim Lobzun (Mit)
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