The toughest challenge for municipal candidates is the problem of getting some decent publicity during the campaign. You sometimes get the feeling that all reporters hate you and you are just wasting your time. It always seemed that it was only the really dumb ideas that can break down barriers. What proves that theory is the latest effort by Toronto mayoralty candidate Jennifer Keesmaat.
We hear that the erstwhile candidate wants to shut down three of the city’s public golf courses. It seems that since the three are operated at a loss by the city, she thinks they should be put to other civic use. (That would likely cost us more.)
Reading her suggested uses, it would more likely increase the costs for taxpayers than to save any money. And why does she want to annoy Toronto golfers? Those golfers really appreciate the city providing facilities for many different recreations. And the candidate had better stay away from baseball diamonds. All that would get her would be thousands of little league mothers after her scalp.
I have played the public course in the Don Valley at the 401 and Yonge Street many times over the years. It was less than ten minutes from where I lived. I can also report that reaching par on that course was a fond hope that I never came close to achieving. I always felt that if I just held back a bit on my swing, I could have saved a lot of golf balls. I can assure you it is not just the green fees for golf that cost so much.
Remembering the Dentonia Park course, I always thought of it as a par three course for mountain goats. I think I played the Scarlett Woods course once but it must have been a long time ago. I usually rated courses by how many balls I lost and Scarlett Woods is in the ‘not bad’ category.
But if Keesmaat thinks she is going to get the hoi polloi to revolt against the elite with doing away with a few public golf courses, she must be kidding. If she wants to expropriate the Toronto Hunt, Rosedale, Weston and St. Georges, she might have a point. All those restrictive courses are sitting on prime land for development. I think you even had to have a pedigree as a Torontonian to just get to caddy at those courses.
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Copyright 2018 © Peter Lowry
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