Olivia Chow, mayor of Toronto
June 27, 2023 7:00 AM Subscribe
After two (and a fraction) terms of the inane, waffling, conservative bootlicking John Tory (who resigned after it was discovered he was schtupping a staffer), preceeded by a term of the odious and idiotic Rob Ford resulting in over 13 years of ponderously ineffective governance, Toronto has finally elected a progressive, visionary mayor: Olivia Chow -- immigrant, Chinese, a master of grass-roots organizing, and the widow of much lamented Jack Layton. I'mma editorialize further: we're giddy up here.
There's a lot of interesting discussion to be had about nearish second place Ana Bailão's dominance in the suburbs vs Chow's ownership of downtown, to be sure.
(City by-election results directory here; no permanent link for this election's results is available as of this writing.)
There's a lot of interesting discussion to be had about nearish second place Ana Bailão's dominance in the suburbs vs Chow's ownership of downtown, to be sure.
(City by-election results directory here; no permanent link for this election's results is available as of this writing.)
I still miss the alternate timeline where Jack Layton didn't die so soon and became PM. Hooray for Toronto that Miz Chow is the mayor!
posted by Kitteh at 7:22 AM on June 27, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 7:22 AM on June 27, 2023 [15 favorites]
inane, waffling, conservative bootlicking
If you're concerned about political commentary on the front page, please understand that this is an objectively accurate description.
posted by mhoye at 7:24 AM on June 27, 2023 [33 favorites]
If you're concerned about political commentary on the front page, please understand that this is an objectively accurate description.
posted by mhoye at 7:24 AM on June 27, 2023 [33 favorites]
Great news! She's a political animal of the first order, and at last she has an office worthy of her skills. Chow has a big cleanup job ahead of her, but if anyone can do it, it's her.
Her election is also a breath of fresh air. A new direction was clearly needed. I couldn't understand the candidates on the right arguing that Toronto is a hellhole which needed... more of the same political leadership, praising John Tory as though he had nothing to do with creating the current mess. Chow had all the right people scared, and that's a pretty good endorsement.
On a symbolic level, I'm pleased that a woman won. I'm pleased that an immigrant who speaks in accented English won, as that reflects a good portion of who makes up Toronto.
She ran a great campaign, staying positive but realistic, and for all of her opponents' goading, never took the bait, but just pressed her points relentlessly. I have no doubt she can take on her opponents in council or at Queen's Park. Taking on Dougie is especially important, as he's more interested in running the city than the province.
You've elected a good one, Toronto.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:25 AM on June 27, 2023 [15 favorites]
Her election is also a breath of fresh air. A new direction was clearly needed. I couldn't understand the candidates on the right arguing that Toronto is a hellhole which needed... more of the same political leadership, praising John Tory as though he had nothing to do with creating the current mess. Chow had all the right people scared, and that's a pretty good endorsement.
On a symbolic level, I'm pleased that a woman won. I'm pleased that an immigrant who speaks in accented English won, as that reflects a good portion of who makes up Toronto.
She ran a great campaign, staying positive but realistic, and for all of her opponents' goading, never took the bait, but just pressed her points relentlessly. I have no doubt she can take on her opponents in council or at Queen's Park. Taking on Dougie is especially important, as he's more interested in running the city than the province.
You've elected a good one, Toronto.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:25 AM on June 27, 2023 [15 favorites]
I was very worried that Ana Bailão might pull it out after the last-minute endorsements by Tory and The Star pulled her from a steady 12% over many weeks to 20% on election eve. Looks like she did consolidate quite a few conservatives given her 33% showing. But the progressives seemed to do some strategic voting as well, shifting away from Josh Matlow and Mitzie Hunter to boost Chow. Phew.
posted by pjenks at 7:28 AM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by pjenks at 7:28 AM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
If Bailão had dominated the suburbs, she would have won. Chow had a strong showing in the 'burbs and won most of the Scarborough ridings and took one of the North York ridings as well.
Some other things of note - Amalgamated Toronto has its first woman as mayor, first immigrant mayor, and first racialized mayor, and you have to go down to fourth place to find a white man in the election results.
Bailão's surge seemed like a surprise but the last Mainstreet poll, done the day before the election, got the final results within the margin of error. Because of the order the polls came in, with Bailão having an early lead, it felt closer than it actually was.
posted by thecjm at 7:30 AM on June 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
Some other things of note - Amalgamated Toronto has its first woman as mayor, first immigrant mayor, and first racialized mayor, and you have to go down to fourth place to find a white man in the election results.
Bailão's surge seemed like a surprise but the last Mainstreet poll, done the day before the election, got the final results within the margin of error. Because of the order the polls came in, with Bailão having an early lead, it felt closer than it actually was.
posted by thecjm at 7:30 AM on June 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
The ability of Toronto’s elites to turn a ship around at the last second and consolidate their (and the general public’s) vote behind a single candidate is terrifying. It should have been a total blowout for Chow.
posted by Yowser at 7:34 AM on June 27, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by Yowser at 7:34 AM on June 27, 2023 [9 favorites]
One thing that frustrated me watching the pundits last night was the talk about Chow's "mandate" or lack thereof. She's the mayor now - with a comparable percentage of the vote to what Ford's Conservatives have gotten in Ontario, or what Harper's Cons got nationally. Why don't Canadian pundits question the mandate of a federal or provincial government with 35%-40% of the vote yet full control of the House, but do question when a mayor gets a similar share of the ballot? More people directly vote for Mayor of Toronto than any other political office in Canada.
posted by thecjm at 7:35 AM on June 27, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by thecjm at 7:35 AM on June 27, 2023 [20 favorites]
I’m still incredibly happy about the result, and it wasn’t even close, it’s just that Chow was very far ahead and the status quo candidates were relatively equal at single digits in the polls until the last week.
posted by Yowser at 7:36 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Yowser at 7:36 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
With over 100 names, the ballot looked like something out of one of my anxiety dreams. Lived here since the early 80s and would love to see some kind of movement that supersedes the Conservative's amalgamation of the suburbs with the city.
posted by brachiopod at 7:39 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by brachiopod at 7:39 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
It was about time for some good news!
who resigned after it was discovered he was schtupping a staffer
This was just a footnote appended to a decade's worth of sweaty work: royally fucking this city.
With over 100 names, the ballot looked like something out of one of my anxiety dreams.
We went to an advance poll because my spouse needs to use an accessible voting terminal, and we were joking about how long it would take for it to read out all 102 names.
Fortunately, there's an option to skip through the list of candidate names in the audio menu. We were in and out of the advance poll in less than 15 minutes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:49 AM on June 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
who resigned after it was discovered he was schtupping a staffer
This was just a footnote appended to a decade's worth of sweaty work: royally fucking this city.
With over 100 names, the ballot looked like something out of one of my anxiety dreams.
We went to an advance poll because my spouse needs to use an accessible voting terminal, and we were joking about how long it would take for it to read out all 102 names.
Fortunately, there's an option to skip through the list of candidate names in the audio menu. We were in and out of the advance poll in less than 15 minutes.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:49 AM on June 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
Great news! She's a political animal of the first order, and at last she has an office worthy of her skills. Chow has a big cleanup job ahead of her, but if anyone can do it, it's her.
I like Chow - I've always thought she was a poor campaigner but actually great at doing the job, which is why this campaign was such a surprise as she avoided making basically all the mistakes she made the last time around, which were the same mistakes she made in most of the previous electoral races she lost.
But let's be honest here: the city is a creature of the province and Doug Ford, from day one, will sandbag her in every way possible. Chow's pledge not to use the "strong mayor" override powers aside (which is a stupid thing to do - the powers are there and you'll need them to get anything real done), she will face opposition from Team Do-Nothing, whose various candidates (Bailao, Saunders, Furey and Bradford) got forty-nine percent of the vote in the election, and I have no illusions about the levels to which Ford will be willing to sink, up to and including simply removing her from office because he can do that.
I am not bullish about Toronto's future. We have been in decline for a decade-plus of extremely bad leadership combined with antagonism from the rest of the province/country meaning we are chronically underfunded, and the leaders at the higher levels in Canada are as mediocre-to-awful as they have ever been. Canada seems determined to fuck itself on as many levels as possible, with more than enough agreement from its citizens that that is what we should do, and honestly, each day I want to live here less.
One way or another, we'll know by the end of Chow's term if this place has a future worth sticking around for.
posted by mightygodking at 7:52 AM on June 27, 2023 [18 favorites]
I like Chow - I've always thought she was a poor campaigner but actually great at doing the job, which is why this campaign was such a surprise as she avoided making basically all the mistakes she made the last time around, which were the same mistakes she made in most of the previous electoral races she lost.
But let's be honest here: the city is a creature of the province and Doug Ford, from day one, will sandbag her in every way possible. Chow's pledge not to use the "strong mayor" override powers aside (which is a stupid thing to do - the powers are there and you'll need them to get anything real done), she will face opposition from Team Do-Nothing, whose various candidates (Bailao, Saunders, Furey and Bradford) got forty-nine percent of the vote in the election, and I have no illusions about the levels to which Ford will be willing to sink, up to and including simply removing her from office because he can do that.
I am not bullish about Toronto's future. We have been in decline for a decade-plus of extremely bad leadership combined with antagonism from the rest of the province/country meaning we are chronically underfunded, and the leaders at the higher levels in Canada are as mediocre-to-awful as they have ever been. Canada seems determined to fuck itself on as many levels as possible, with more than enough agreement from its citizens that that is what we should do, and honestly, each day I want to live here less.
One way or another, we'll know by the end of Chow's term if this place has a future worth sticking around for.
posted by mightygodking at 7:52 AM on June 27, 2023 [18 favorites]
"One way or another, we'll know by the end of Chow's term if this place has a future worth sticking around for."
Not for nothing: Toronto expats in Hamilton are staying.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:01 AM on June 27, 2023
Not for nothing: Toronto expats in Hamilton are staying.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:01 AM on June 27, 2023
In my first official act as a Canadian citizen, I voted yesterday! For Matlow and now Chow, but it was a coin flip and I'm happy about the outcome.
posted by tftio at 8:05 AM on June 27, 2023 [22 favorites]
posted by tftio at 8:05 AM on June 27, 2023 [22 favorites]
Why don't Canadian pundits question the mandate of a federal or provincial government with 35%-40% of the vote yet full control of the House, but do question when a mayor gets a similar share of the ballot?
That's not too accurate. I remember a lot of very fair criticism of the Harper government from progressives using exactly this line of reasoning. And my favorite factoid for non-Canadians is that Justin Trudeau's Liberals have formed government in the last two federal elections despite losing the popular vote both times to the Conservatives (yes, I am still extremely bitter that Justin reneged on his promise to look at ending first past the post elections in Canada).
I am not bullish about Toronto's future. We have been in decline for a decade-plus of extremely bad leadership combined with antagonism from the rest of the province/country meaning we are chronically underfunded, and the leaders at the higher levels in Canada are as mediocre-to-awful as they have ever been.
I do not want to spoil the party, but this comment is spot on.
posted by fortitude25 at 8:07 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
That's not too accurate. I remember a lot of very fair criticism of the Harper government from progressives using exactly this line of reasoning. And my favorite factoid for non-Canadians is that Justin Trudeau's Liberals have formed government in the last two federal elections despite losing the popular vote both times to the Conservatives (yes, I am still extremely bitter that Justin reneged on his promise to look at ending first past the post elections in Canada).
I am not bullish about Toronto's future. We have been in decline for a decade-plus of extremely bad leadership combined with antagonism from the rest of the province/country meaning we are chronically underfunded, and the leaders at the higher levels in Canada are as mediocre-to-awful as they have ever been.
I do not want to spoil the party, but this comment is spot on.
posted by fortitude25 at 8:07 AM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
https://trreb.ca/files/market-stats/housing-charts/TREB_Housing_Market_Charts-May_2023.pdf shows the average home sales price has recovered from last year's bubble pop $1.4M -> $1.1M decline to stabilize at ~$1.2M.
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/toronto-elects-olivia-chow-as-mayor-on-affordable-housing-pledge
well, that's good at least. A trap that took 40 years to construct isn't going to be escaped in 4, alas.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:09 AM on June 27, 2023
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/toronto-elects-olivia-chow-as-mayor-on-affordable-housing-pledge
well, that's good at least. A trap that took 40 years to construct isn't going to be escaped in 4, alas.
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 8:09 AM on June 27, 2023
I am not bullish about Toronto's future. We have been in decline for a decade-plus of extremely bad leadership combined with antagonism from the rest of the province/country meaning we are chronically underfunded, and the leaders at the higher levels in Canada are as mediocre-to-awful as they have ever been.
I will just add that much of the manufacturing industry has moved elsewhere, taking employment and tax revenue - that have not been replaced by other industries - with it.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:16 AM on June 27, 2023
I will just add that much of the manufacturing industry has moved elsewhere, taking employment and tax revenue - that have not been replaced by other industries - with it.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 8:16 AM on June 27, 2023
Yesterday morning I voted for Olivia Chow, then ran some errands, during the course of which I walked past a dispirited-looking Ana Bailão, who was wearing one of her ugly yellow campaign t-shirts and had three of her campaign team members with her, on Bloor.
It was a good day.
posted by orange swan at 8:24 AM on June 27, 2023 [11 favorites]
It was a good day.
posted by orange swan at 8:24 AM on June 27, 2023 [11 favorites]
In Chow's interview on Metro Morning, she said that she was looking forward to working with Ford to get housing built. She said that they both have the same goal - getting more housing built - but just have different preferences for how it gets done. She seemed optimistic that focusing on the shared goal would help get things moving. I suppose optimism is her only choice at this point.
One of the pundits also mentioned that Chow and Ford have a warm personal relationship despite their political differences.
If all of this turns into both Chow and Ford getting lots of affordable housing built, I will be very happy. Fingers crossed.
posted by clawsoon at 8:54 AM on June 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
One of the pundits also mentioned that Chow and Ford have a warm personal relationship despite their political differences.
If all of this turns into both Chow and Ford getting lots of affordable housing built, I will be very happy. Fingers crossed.
posted by clawsoon at 8:54 AM on June 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
That was way too close, a nail biter and when drunk-drivin' Ana Bailão with her endorsement from adulterin' John Tory was leading with 2/3 of the polls in my wife said a loud "FUCK, THAT'S IT" because we're so used to the worst outcome at this point. But then YAY Olivia Chow and I at least have a tiny little shred of optimism today, but wow that was not a fun ride.
We went to a town hall where she spoke a few weeks ago and while she seemed to not have solid answers or plans for some of the issues, she was clear and transparent on her intention to partner with and defer to the right people who DO have the expertise in those areas, which I found kind of refreshing actually. Her victory speech last night was very encouraging. Hurray for the end of the long procession of mediocre white men mayors. Good luck Olivia Chow!
posted by chococat at 9:29 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
We went to a town hall where she spoke a few weeks ago and while she seemed to not have solid answers or plans for some of the issues, she was clear and transparent on her intention to partner with and defer to the right people who DO have the expertise in those areas, which I found kind of refreshing actually. Her victory speech last night was very encouraging. Hurray for the end of the long procession of mediocre white men mayors. Good luck Olivia Chow!
posted by chococat at 9:29 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
→
Why would you want that? We voted our mayor in too. If you lock us out, why do you think we deserve to get stuck with Fordites forever? Olivia's campaign office was in my ward, Scarborough Southwest. She took it over from the amazing Kevin Rupasinghe, local bike campaigner and council candidate.
I really dislike the attitude that we don't belong as part of the city. Where I live (at the east end of the subway) has always been Toronto for the 20+ years I've lived here. The Scarberia jokes have slowly faded away. We're not all 4-car families here living in giant lots and paying paltry taxes. If you think downtown transit is bad, try spending an hour on it here --- where people depend on it to get to service jobs downtown.
Amalgamation was bad, yes: but unpicking the bonds would be expensive and hurtful. We are Toronto, despite what some people might say.
posted by scruss at 9:41 AM on June 27, 2023 [15 favorites]
would love to see some kind of movement that supersedes the Conservative's amalgamation of the suburbs with the city.
Why would you want that? We voted our mayor in too. If you lock us out, why do you think we deserve to get stuck with Fordites forever? Olivia's campaign office was in my ward, Scarborough Southwest. She took it over from the amazing Kevin Rupasinghe, local bike campaigner and council candidate.
I really dislike the attitude that we don't belong as part of the city. Where I live (at the east end of the subway) has always been Toronto for the 20+ years I've lived here. The Scarberia jokes have slowly faded away. We're not all 4-car families here living in giant lots and paying paltry taxes. If you think downtown transit is bad, try spending an hour on it here --- where people depend on it to get to service jobs downtown.
Amalgamation was bad, yes: but unpicking the bonds would be expensive and hurtful. We are Toronto, despite what some people might say.
posted by scruss at 9:41 AM on June 27, 2023 [15 favorites]
Not to get everybody down, but we're more than 6 years into a cycle with a very pro-affordable housing party at the helm in Montreal, and things are barely moving. Its a very difficult problem, residential projects in urban core takes a lot of time to develop, so anything you do takes years to show up, and in the core adjacent areas you get into zoning NIMBY issues.
We'll never get anything if we don't elect people who truly care though, I hope she has some creative solutions so we can learn from them.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 9:49 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
We'll never get anything if we don't elect people who truly care though, I hope she has some creative solutions so we can learn from them.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 9:49 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
We are Toronto, despite what some people might say.
Toronto has been majority suburban since amalgamation - in fact, it's quite likely that Mike Harris amalgamated Toronto so that he wouldn't have to deal with downtown Toronto politicians but would instead be working with, for instance, Mel Lastman.
In the last few mayoral elections, downtown Toronto has always voted for a progressive, urbanist candidate, only to see our votes drowned out by suburban voters. Which has led to, among other things, John Tory spending almost all of the Toronto transportation budget for the foreseeable future on rebuilding the Gardiner Expressway, and a noticeable decline in the quality of life in the urban core.
Olivia Chow is the first mayoral candidate in ages who was supported by both downtown and suburban voters. She was beaten fairly handily in Etobicoke, but ran about 50-50 in North York and was ahead in Scarborough. So possibly there is hope for all of us now.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 10:08 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Toronto has been majority suburban since amalgamation - in fact, it's quite likely that Mike Harris amalgamated Toronto so that he wouldn't have to deal with downtown Toronto politicians but would instead be working with, for instance, Mel Lastman.
In the last few mayoral elections, downtown Toronto has always voted for a progressive, urbanist candidate, only to see our votes drowned out by suburban voters. Which has led to, among other things, John Tory spending almost all of the Toronto transportation budget for the foreseeable future on rebuilding the Gardiner Expressway, and a noticeable decline in the quality of life in the urban core.
Olivia Chow is the first mayoral candidate in ages who was supported by both downtown and suburban voters. She was beaten fairly handily in Etobicoke, but ran about 50-50 in North York and was ahead in Scarborough. So possibly there is hope for all of us now.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 10:08 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Ok scruss, Scarborough can stay but whatever is settled on, it can’t include the south end of Etobicoke.
posted by brachiopod at 10:12 AM on June 27, 2023
posted by brachiopod at 10:12 AM on June 27, 2023
and I have no illusions about the levels to which Ford will be willing to sink, up to and including simply removing her from office because he can do that.
When was the law changed? When Doug's brother was in, the rules were that he had to be convicted/imprisoned or absent from council for 3 months and I can’t find any news mentions newer than that.
posted by brachiopod at 10:23 AM on June 27, 2023
When was the law changed? When Doug's brother was in, the rules were that he had to be convicted/imprisoned or absent from council for 3 months and I can’t find any news mentions newer than that.
posted by brachiopod at 10:23 AM on June 27, 2023
Hey brachiopod, joke or not, according to this map, the south end of Etobicoke voted similarly to my ward (York South-Weston), about 40 Bailao, 30 Chow. Are we gonna get kicked out, too?
Meanwhile, York Centre was 40/24 (with 11 for Saunders), Don Valley West was 43/26/10, and Eglinton-Lawrence went 46/24/8. There are LOTS of old-Toronto adjacent wards, not just the the west-inner-suburbs, that tilted well away from Chow. She did well in her usual downtown and east-west edges of downtown, as well as lots of Scarborough that has been absolutely screwed on transit. Smart woman: she campaigned in Scarborough first, she kept her campaign office there, and this helped get her the win.
posted by maudlin at 10:28 AM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Meanwhile, York Centre was 40/24 (with 11 for Saunders), Don Valley West was 43/26/10, and Eglinton-Lawrence went 46/24/8. There are LOTS of old-Toronto adjacent wards, not just the the west-inner-suburbs, that tilted well away from Chow. She did well in her usual downtown and east-west edges of downtown, as well as lots of Scarborough that has been absolutely screwed on transit. Smart woman: she campaigned in Scarborough first, she kept her campaign office there, and this helped get her the win.
posted by maudlin at 10:28 AM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
That settles it. It’ll be like Kitchener-Waterloo. Toronto-Scarborough.
posted by brachiopod at 10:36 AM on June 27, 2023
posted by brachiopod at 10:36 AM on June 27, 2023
In other good news, former city councillor and human trash fire Giorgio Mammoliti came 13th with a resounding 1,105 votes. Considering that a dog (Molly, who is a very good girl) got 593 and was just six spots off his pace, I'm rummaging through my image folders for the nelson-ha-ha jpeg,
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:51 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Quindar Beep at 10:51 AM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
In other good news, former city councillor and human trash fire Giorgio Mammoliti came 13th with a resounding 1,105 votes
Too many!
Also way too many votes for that anti-vax bro who is now on social media saying it's the greatest voting scam in Canadian history, but is being aggressively laughed at by many, some responding that maybe the voting machines were vaccinated.
posted by chococat at 11:18 AM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Too many!
Also way too many votes for that anti-vax bro who is now on social media saying it's the greatest voting scam in Canadian history, but is being aggressively laughed at by many, some responding that maybe the voting machines were vaccinated.
posted by chococat at 11:18 AM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
It is genuinely nice to feel hopeful about the mayoralty again. Like I have no idea if any of the many other structural issues in this city can be adequately addressed, but it's good to know someone who actually cares about those issues is at the helm.
That was way too close, a nail biter and when drunk-drivin' Ana Bailão with her endorsement from adulterin' John Tory was leading with 2/3 of the polls in my wife said a loud "FUCK, THAT'S IT" because we're so used to the worst outcome at this point.
I don't know about anyone else, but for me and I think a bunch of people I know, the twin disasters of the 2010 Toronto mayoral election, where Rob Ford made the "unite the left" question completely and utterly moot within minutes of the first results coming in, and the 2016 US presidential election where "Hilary is a lock" gave way to the nightmare we are all by now very familiar with, has given us a certain amount of pessimism when it comes to election results.
posted by chrominance at 12:17 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
That was way too close, a nail biter and when drunk-drivin' Ana Bailão with her endorsement from adulterin' John Tory was leading with 2/3 of the polls in my wife said a loud "FUCK, THAT'S IT" because we're so used to the worst outcome at this point.
I don't know about anyone else, but for me and I think a bunch of people I know, the twin disasters of the 2010 Toronto mayoral election, where Rob Ford made the "unite the left" question completely and utterly moot within minutes of the first results coming in, and the 2016 US presidential election where "Hilary is a lock" gave way to the nightmare we are all by now very familiar with, has given us a certain amount of pessimism when it comes to election results.
posted by chrominance at 12:17 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
I didn't think Chow was that bad in her last attempt at running for mayor. The thing is that she was honest about what she would do while Ford and Tory were peddling fantasies that gullible voters ate up. I think the difference between now and then is that the other contenders all accepted that the city is pretty broke so there weren't going to be any free subways or highways that they could realistically campaign on.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:21 PM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:21 PM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Tangential: The NDP has hit me up for donations three times today on account of Chow's win.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:10 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
When was the law changed? When Doug's brother was in, the rules were that he had to be convicted/imprisoned or absent from council for 3 months and I can’t find any news mentions newer than that.
Those rules haven't changed, no.
But what people are worried about is the fact that the provincial government can change the relevant provisions of the Toronto Act, Municipal Elections Act, or the Municipal Act to change the conditions under which a mayor can be removed if it wanted to (e.g., introducing a provision whereby a "Minister's order" could do it, or something similar). Given that Ford has a clear majority, this wouldn't be that hard - he's engaged in similar fuckery before.
As for whether or not it would survive a constitutional challenge is a hypothetical, but his last bit of interference in a municipal election did survive one: he had no compunction about -- suddenly and without warning -- passing legislation that amended the Toronto Act in the middle of a municipal election (slashing the number of council seats and redrawing ward boundaries with the stroke of a pen) knowing full-well the chaos and extra work that would entail. From that standpoint, definitely not an "efficiency," to use Dougie-speak.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:26 PM on June 27, 2023 [5 favorites]
Those rules haven't changed, no.
But what people are worried about is the fact that the provincial government can change the relevant provisions of the Toronto Act, Municipal Elections Act, or the Municipal Act to change the conditions under which a mayor can be removed if it wanted to (e.g., introducing a provision whereby a "Minister's order" could do it, or something similar). Given that Ford has a clear majority, this wouldn't be that hard - he's engaged in similar fuckery before.
As for whether or not it would survive a constitutional challenge is a hypothetical, but his last bit of interference in a municipal election did survive one: he had no compunction about -- suddenly and without warning -- passing legislation that amended the Toronto Act in the middle of a municipal election (slashing the number of council seats and redrawing ward boundaries with the stroke of a pen) knowing full-well the chaos and extra work that would entail. From that standpoint, definitely not an "efficiency," to use Dougie-speak.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:26 PM on June 27, 2023 [5 favorites]
Is there a map that shows how each candidate did at a glance? This is all I could find, where I have to click on each riding to see the results. I'm not that much of an outlier when it comes to processing more than one data item at a time, and would prefer a map that color-codes each ward so one could see at a glance which suburbs Chow did well in and by how much, because that's what it takes to win amalgamated Toronto.
Update:It's right here. So winning the city and one of the former outlying cities is good strategy?
I haven't paid much attention since I left many years ago (ignoring it as much as was possible when Ford was mayor). What happened to the numbered wards? The districts on the map look more like federal ridings than the good old Wards 6 and 7 I fondly remember, not to mention the other 9 wards or so.
I definitely give CBC radio news credit for the morning newscasts in which they told a national audience several things about Ms. Chow but didn't mention her late husband.
posted by morspin at 1:38 PM on June 27, 2023
Update:It's right here. So winning the city and one of the former outlying cities is good strategy?
I haven't paid much attention since I left many years ago (ignoring it as much as was possible when Ford was mayor). What happened to the numbered wards? The districts on the map look more like federal ridings than the good old Wards 6 and 7 I fondly remember, not to mention the other 9 wards or so.
I definitely give CBC radio news credit for the morning newscasts in which they told a national audience several things about Ms. Chow but didn't mention her late husband.
posted by morspin at 1:38 PM on June 27, 2023
What happened to the numbered wards?
When the number of wards was slashed in the middle of the 2018 election, the ward boundaries were redrawn to reflect provincial riding boundaries (pdf) within the City of Toronto, and they were given the same name as their respective provincial riding (so no more numbers).
a map that color-codes each ward so one could see at a glance which suburbs Chow did well in
The closest thing I've seen to what you're looking for is the map in this CBC story that shows the ward-by-ward results for Chow vs. Bailão (all wards were won by one or the other, and mousing over or clicking on each ward shows the result).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:48 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
When the number of wards was slashed in the middle of the 2018 election, the ward boundaries were redrawn to reflect provincial riding boundaries (pdf) within the City of Toronto, and they were given the same name as their respective provincial riding (so no more numbers).
a map that color-codes each ward so one could see at a glance which suburbs Chow did well in
The closest thing I've seen to what you're looking for is the map in this CBC story that shows the ward-by-ward results for Chow vs. Bailão (all wards were won by one or the other, and mousing over or clicking on each ward shows the result).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:48 PM on June 27, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ok scruss, Scarborough can stay but whatever is settled on, it can’t include the south end of Etobicoke.
Boo, hiss. Btw our councilor (Amber Morley) endorsed Chow. Progressivism is alive and well in Beaches West.
posted by Artful Codger at 1:49 PM on June 27, 2023
Boo, hiss. Btw our councilor (Amber Morley) endorsed Chow. Progressivism is alive and well in Beaches West.
posted by Artful Codger at 1:49 PM on June 27, 2023
Mod note: One comment deleted. Please avoid turning the thread into a 1-on-1 discussion and Be considerate and respectful
posted by loup (staff) at 2:02 PM on June 27, 2023
posted by loup (staff) at 2:02 PM on June 27, 2023
So winning the city and one of the former outlying cities is good strategy?
I voted for Chow but I'm betting she won my riding (Willowdale) and the north Scarborough ones because she's from China (Hong Kong) more than anything else. Maybe the only way we get progressive mayors going forward is if they're also from an East or South Asian community.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:32 PM on June 27, 2023
I voted for Chow but I'm betting she won my riding (Willowdale) and the north Scarborough ones because she's from China (Hong Kong) more than anything else. Maybe the only way we get progressive mayors going forward is if they're also from an East or South Asian community.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:32 PM on June 27, 2023
Both women had large winning margins in some wards, as expected, but several wins were razor-thin. Checking that map again, here's some "Chow"/"Bailao " wards where the gap between first and second was 1% or less:
Etobicoke: A narrow Bailao win
Ward 7: Humber River-Black Creek: Bailao 28.16%, Chow 28.14%
North York: Two narrow Bailao wins and a narrow Chow win
Ward 16: Don Valley East: Bailao 33.58%, Chow: 33.51%
Ward 17: Don Valley North: Bailao 34.81%, Chow: 33.83%
Ward 18: Willowdale: Chow: 34.86%, Bailao: 34.66%.
Scarborough: A narrow Bailao win
Ward 25: Scarborough-Rouge Park: Bailao 32.53%, Chow 32.37%
In addition, Toronto-St. Paul's was closer than you would expect from the "downtown" narrative (Chow: 33.55%, Bailao: 30.30%), but that really is a capital "L" Liberal ward/riding, so it's not a huge surprise that Bailao kept it close there.
posted by maudlin at 6:33 PM on June 27, 2023
Etobicoke: A narrow Bailao win
Ward 7: Humber River-Black Creek: Bailao 28.16%, Chow 28.14%
North York: Two narrow Bailao wins and a narrow Chow win
Ward 16: Don Valley East: Bailao 33.58%, Chow: 33.51%
Ward 17: Don Valley North: Bailao 34.81%, Chow: 33.83%
Ward 18: Willowdale: Chow: 34.86%, Bailao: 34.66%.
Scarborough: A narrow Bailao win
Ward 25: Scarborough-Rouge Park: Bailao 32.53%, Chow 32.37%
In addition, Toronto-St. Paul's was closer than you would expect from the "downtown" narrative (Chow: 33.55%, Bailao: 30.30%), but that really is a capital "L" Liberal ward/riding, so it's not a huge surprise that Bailao kept it close there.
posted by maudlin at 6:33 PM on June 27, 2023
I bought some donuts to celebrate Saunders losing so conclusively.
posted by rodlymight at 6:52 PM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by rodlymight at 6:52 PM on June 27, 2023 [3 favorites]
Upon Rob Ford's election in 2010, the guy I was dating at the time posted something like "Good job, Toronto!" on Facebook. I wasn't following Toronto politics (I've never lived there) and was surprised to see my boyfriend cheering on the election of a right-wing mayor. (No, the relationship didn't last long.)
Anyway, I'm pretty pleased that 14 years later, I can sincerely say, "Good job, Toronto!" I had the chance to spend some time with some Torontonians over the weekend, and I hope they can breathe a sigh of relief at this news.
posted by invokeuse at 8:32 PM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Anyway, I'm pretty pleased that 14 years later, I can sincerely say, "Good job, Toronto!" I had the chance to spend some time with some Torontonians over the weekend, and I hope they can breathe a sigh of relief at this news.
posted by invokeuse at 8:32 PM on June 27, 2023 [2 favorites]
Does the per warding results matter or is it strictly on total votes across the city?
posted by Mitheral at 9:01 PM on June 27, 2023
posted by Mitheral at 9:01 PM on June 27, 2023
Winning the overall vote count was the only requirement.
I'm posting about wards because 1) I'm tired of this bullshit "X ward didn't vote for my candidate -- to the pit with them!" discourse, and 2) the media is still fucking fascinated by wards. Really. Chow won 14 of 25 wards -- is that a mandate? If you add in the 4 wards where a few votes tipping over would have made a difference to a colour on a map, is that more of a mandate?
Chow got the most votes. People voted for her all over the city. She's the mayor.
posted by maudlin at 9:16 PM on June 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
I'm posting about wards because 1) I'm tired of this bullshit "X ward didn't vote for my candidate -- to the pit with them!" discourse, and 2) the media is still fucking fascinated by wards. Really. Chow won 14 of 25 wards -- is that a mandate? If you add in the 4 wards where a few votes tipping over would have made a difference to a colour on a map, is that more of a mandate?
Chow got the most votes. People voted for her all over the city. She's the mayor.
posted by maudlin at 9:16 PM on June 27, 2023 [7 favorites]
Yeah perhaps a more useful map using wards would highlight ones that went significantly one way or the other for one of the candidates. So you'd have a map for Olivia Chow showing where she did better than her average vote and where she did worse, and the same for Ana Bailao, and Mark Saunders, or anyone else. That way you could see which areas liked or disliked the various candidates and then see if there's a story as to why.
That being said the wards themselves are large enough that I doubt you could find a single narrative for most of them. My ward, Willowdale, has a bunch of condos centred on Yonge Street and the rest is pretty much single family houses. I'd like to know how Chow did in the Yonge corridor compared to the suburban areas around it. Or a ward like Don Valley West which has both Thorncliffe Park as well as much wealthier areas like Leaside in it.
Maybe the better thing is to do the maps by polling station so that the votes don't get averaged out over such big areas.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:09 PM on June 28, 2023
That being said the wards themselves are large enough that I doubt you could find a single narrative for most of them. My ward, Willowdale, has a bunch of condos centred on Yonge Street and the rest is pretty much single family houses. I'd like to know how Chow did in the Yonge corridor compared to the suburban areas around it. Or a ward like Don Valley West which has both Thorncliffe Park as well as much wealthier areas like Leaside in it.
Maybe the better thing is to do the maps by polling station so that the votes don't get averaged out over such big areas.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:09 PM on June 28, 2023
Say what you will about John Tory, I will always enjoy the fact that in the 2018 mayoral election, he beat Faith Goldy by a factor of 20, without breaking a single bead of sweat. (Yes, I know that the outcome is mainly to the credit of the electorate, but he can take some pride in having helped steer such a public humiliation of that vacuous racist).
posted by senor biggles at 1:09 PM on June 28, 2023
posted by senor biggles at 1:09 PM on June 28, 2023
Say what you will about John Tory
Ok!
He’s a mealy-mouthed corporate shill rich guy with zero ideas who spent millions of dollars having cops evict and beat the shit out of unhoused people living in park encampments; he’s the supreme bootlicker to Doug Ford, with whom he had back room meetings in order to get “Strong Mayor Powers” so they could do whatever the fuck they want. Spent tons more money propping up a crumbling, stupid downtown highway and more raises for cops while no one can afford a house or rent and public transit needs serious attention and funding. That dumb long hair he grew after Covid started. And oh yeah there’s the affair (sorry, “error in judgement”) he had with his staff member 37 years younger than him, resigned in shame and then had the gall to endorse a candidate in this election.
And beating a white supremacist in an election has to be some kind of low bar but I guess it’s not anymore.
posted by chococat at 1:57 PM on June 28, 2023 [6 favorites]
Ok!
He’s a mealy-mouthed corporate shill rich guy with zero ideas who spent millions of dollars having cops evict and beat the shit out of unhoused people living in park encampments; he’s the supreme bootlicker to Doug Ford, with whom he had back room meetings in order to get “Strong Mayor Powers” so they could do whatever the fuck they want. Spent tons more money propping up a crumbling, stupid downtown highway and more raises for cops while no one can afford a house or rent and public transit needs serious attention and funding. That dumb long hair he grew after Covid started. And oh yeah there’s the affair (sorry, “error in judgement”) he had with his staff member 37 years younger than him, resigned in shame and then had the gall to endorse a candidate in this election.
And beating a white supremacist in an election has to be some kind of low bar but I guess it’s not anymore.
posted by chococat at 1:57 PM on June 28, 2023 [6 favorites]
Sorry, that just came outta me almost involuntarily. Yay new mayor!
posted by chococat at 2:17 PM on June 28, 2023
posted by chococat at 2:17 PM on June 28, 2023
The city clerk today certified the by-election results. Just, you know, following up to make sure it's really happening, and it is.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:20 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:20 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Rumor is Olivia Chow does not have a driver's license. Here she is on her bike in a snowstorm.
posted by clawsoon at 4:23 PM on June 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by clawsoon at 4:23 PM on June 28, 2023 [2 favorites]
That's pretty cool! I don't trust drivers enough to ride during a snowstorm.
I wonder how the city would change if councillors had to take transit or use active transportation for all work-related trips.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:32 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
I wonder how the city would change if councillors had to take transit or use active transportation for all work-related trips.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:32 PM on June 28, 2023 [1 favorite]
Rumours are that Olivia's new chief of staff is going to be someone central to Progress Toronto
posted by scruss at 2:51 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 2:51 PM on June 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
There's a link at the bottom of this blog posting to a map that has polling station results. The map shows that in my ward Chow won the polling stations that had the condos in it and Bailao the ones that were all houses.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:39 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:39 PM on July 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Mayor-elect Olivia Chow is now Mayor Olivia Chow.--- Matt Elliott, 11:36
posted by scruss at 8:41 AM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Chow, who frequently cycles to work, biked to work on her first day.
an interesting sight following a contentious mayoral campaign, in which several of her opponents vowed to rip up existing bike lanes and halt work on a further expansion of Toronto’s cycling network.posted by Mitheral at 4:58 AM on July 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
I only caught a little of the live stream but the part of it I did catch had Chow saying Toronto needed to reclaim its swagger, and doing a little shimmy dance, which was just god damn adorable. Yes, Toronto should swagger a little, politely, as a Canadian should, and should be proud of itself, becoming an extremely diverse and welcoming city, aside from the lack of affordability, despite all attempts by the pabulum golems who have marched it in tiny little circles for the last decade.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:29 AM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:29 AM on July 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
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