The campaign for mayor of Toronto hit a new low this morning and unfortunately I suspect Toronto will see much more mud and dirt slung about before the votes are finally counted on Oct. 27.
Doug Ford called a news conference at his campaign headquarters this morning and proceeded to launch a full scale attack on John Tory. His attack includes a new ad and allegations that Tory caused a huge American company to go bankrupt causing “ordinary shareholders to lose everything.”
But that isn’t true. In fact, Tory was brought on as a member of the Board of Charter Communications after the company’s financial problems forced the company filing for creditor protection. That is backed up by the company’s founder, Paul Allan. Ford went on to charge Tory with putting negative billing into effect during his tenure at Rogers. The Tory campaign was quick to point out that the negative billing flap happened before Tory joined Rogers.
Before this afternoon’s rowdy candidate meeting, Olivia Chow supported and reinforced Ford’s charges against Tory. Ford and Chow have taken turns attacking Tory for weeks but now Chow seems happy to take Ford’s charges and run with them. On the Rogers allegations, Chow piled on saying if Tory brings that kind of customer service to City Hall, “God help us.”
Attacking the front runner is politics. For the candidate in second place to attack the front runner with half-truths is a sign his election campaign will stop at nothing. Chow’s attack on the front runner by picking up and parroting another candidate’s allegations is the role of a desperate third place candidate.
The response from John Tory sharpened as the morning went on. In his first answer, Tory calmly stated his version of what happened at both Charter Communications and Rogers. But after the debate Tory called out Ford saying Ford is telling “bald-face lies” and then went on to allege “Ford has told a lot of lies … he is Mr. Divisive himself.”
The debate at George Brown College degenerated into a shouting match that left no one better informed than at the outset. Except that it is now clear that nothing will be left unsaid, no charge is too outrageous, everything is fair game and buckle up because the ride to the finish is going to be rough.
The TV ads are coming just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend.
It will be interesting to see which candidate has the money to buy advertising time and where the ads will play.
Both Tory and Ford unveiled new TV ads today. Tory’s ad is focused on his Smart Track plan with the slogan to get Toronto “Back on Track.” Tory presents his plan directly to camera with a graphic illustrating where the new trains will run. Ford’s ad is an attack ad – essentially a storybook reading of what the Ford campaign alleges happened at Charter Communications during Tory’s tenure on the Board of Directors. As in Ford’s earlier ads, a woman presents the story against Mr. Tory. It ends promoting “Doug for running a tight ship, Doug for the people.”
The question now is how Toronto voters will respond to the gutter politics playing out. Will the allegations made by Ford and Chow against Tory move voters? Is the support for Tory soft enough that this kind of politics will deliver their support to one of the other candidates? The stakes are high and for true politicos, Toronto is the prize plum. Whoever wins this race is sure to enjoy the influence and prestige that comes with running Canada’s most populous city.
