Where Joe stands on the big issues facing Toronto:
1. What are your thoughts on Transit City?
"You need a Transit City, it all depends though on how efficient the service is. The first thing I will do is request all TTC drivers go through weekend workshops and be a bit more courteous to the public."
2. Bike lanes have become a heated topic during this campaign. Where do you stand on the issue?
"I'm in favour of bikes, however if they're going to be on main roads they should be licensed and have insurance. I'm not talking about people who use bike lanes or side roads; I'm talking about those who are on arterial roads where injuries are a possibility."
3. How do you feel about the idea of charging road tolls?
"I'm not a big fan of road tolls; I think putting them on the Gardiner or DVP will cause major gridlock. If you're going to put them somewhere they should be put on the 905 border, people in Toronto pay high enough taxes already."
4. What "big idea" do you have that will be part of your platform?
"I'd like to see how we can get our highways heated, so when the snow falls, you flick on a major switch and the highways start to melt. It will cut the number of accidents and fatalities."
5. How do you plan on cleaning up the city?
"I want PSA announcements on TV and radio, be proud of your city, don't litter, help keep the city clean. If you see a wrapper on the ground, throw it out."
6. How do you plan on bringing "new life" to the city?
"I want our airlines to offer better rates, if you're coming in to town for a special event, you get a special rate. I want to talk to the hospitality sector as well about lowering their rates to bring in more tourists."
7. How do you feel about the crime level in Toronto? How do you plan on addressing it?
"I'm in talks to bring back the Guardian Angles and have them join the schooling system, develop anti-bullying programs and look after the subways."
8. How important is accountability while you are in office and how do you plan on monitoring this?
"I want to work with the unions, and I also want to avoid strikes, the only way to do that is to be transparent. To do that, I want to have our books open to the unions."
9. What are your plans for the city's budget including property taxes?
"I think by redistributing the city's $9.2B budget we can get a lot of things done and make the city a lot more exciting to bring in tourists, corporate dollars and make the city alive again. Nobody likes to have their taxes raised, so I have other ideas up the sleeve so people don't have to pay taxes. I would like to put a few public services (like TTC and Hydro) in the city on to the stock market, if I can pull that off, people will never have to pay property taxes again."
