Toronto Mayor John Tory has been the perfect mayor for Toronto during the pandemic. No doubt many Torontonians were pleased to hear that he will stand for re-election this fall. John can certainly get the city on the right track for progress over the next four years.
It really means little that John is a conservative. His instincts are those of the late Bill Davis. Bill Davis’ legend was decency. And you can’t beat that at any level of political endeavour.
John found his niche when he entered the mayoralty race eight years ago. He has shown what a good mayor should be. He has been there for city council and for the citizens. Initially, he went up against Doug Ford, who was standing in for an ill brother Rob, and Olivia Chow, widow of the late NDP leader Jack Layton. It was soon obvious that he was by far the leader in the race.
He had tried provincial politics first. It was just poor timing. No conservative was going to follow in the footsteps of the disavowed premier Mike Harris. His adventures at Queen’s Park were not encouraging.
Yet in Toronto, as incumbent in the 2018 civic election, Mayor Tory won 64.49 per cent of the vote. He proved that planning was not all that important for ‘pie-in-the-sky’ parks over rail lines and future transit solutions.
Tory proved that it is being there that works. It was almost as though there was a batman signal that went up every time a crowd gathered and the Batmobile arrived with the mayor. Whether it was down the Danforth, on upper Yonge Street, or Dundas Square, John Tory was there.
Even in a pandemic, John Tory led the public to the inoculation sites, encouraged everyone to get their shots. In a city of 2.8 million, he set a record in vaccinations.
I think there was a collective groan from the left-wing of city politics in Toronto when John Tory made his intentions clear. Toronto is John Tory’s town and don’t you forget it.
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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
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