It’s hard to believe it was only a year ago when we were talking about Rocco Rossi’s ridiculous campaign ads, Sarah Thomson’s ‘boys, boys, boys’ tut-tutting and Joe Pantalone’s incredible dedication to garden metaphors.
More importantly, it’s one year to the day of Rob Ford’s election to the mayor’s office.
A lot has changed since then. There’s no more Vehicle Registration Tax, garbage west of Yonge St. was just privatized yesterday and council no longer receives snacks, despite the protestations of certain councillors (ames-Jay asternak-Pay).
What’s interesting in this time is how the perception of Rob Ford has changed. He went from being a confident celebrity mayor with very good poll numbers to a mayor with just a 37% approval rating according to a Forum Research poll yesterday. It’s a stunningly low number for a mayor one year in and reflects the anxiety people have going forward.
I wanted to hear where people were coming from so I went out to Bathurst and Lawrence (Ward 15, Josh Colle) and stood outside a Metro (with a Tim Hortons!) to ask people what they thought of the mayor a year later. Ford won this ward with 52% of the vote, slightly more than his city-wide 47%. Here are the results:
AJ, woman in her 30s
Who did you vote for? Oh…I didn’t vote.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? I was iffy.
How do you feel now? I wish I had voted now. I feel we were left in the dark on a lot of issues, like libraries and the police.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? Oh, he better change the course.
Woman, age 60 or so (I don’t ask these things)
Who did you vote for? Ford.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? Very pleased.
Why did you vote for Ford? He’s a strong leader who holds true to his promises. He’s a man of his word.
How do you feel now? About the same. I was glad that he was willing to listen to the public on the Waterfront and find a compromise.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? Stay the course and listen to the public.
Woman in her 30s
Who did you vote for? Ford.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? OK. I don’t follow politics that closely.
How do you feel now? I haven’t really been reading about it.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? I wouldn’t know enough to offer advice.
Tim, Middle-aged
Who did you vote for? Ford.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? Happy, I guess.
Why did you vote for Ford? Good fiscal policy.
How do you feel now? Not dissatisfied.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? Stay the course.
Mike H., owns a barbershop
Who did you vote for? I live in Mississauga
How did you feel when Ford got elected? I don’t know. I kept hearing in the barbershop how he didn’t like gay people, how he didn’t like this or that. So I guess I was hesitant. I like Hazel though.
How do you feel about Ford now? Well I know more about Hazel, but I keep on hearing things at the barbershop about Ford. People say that he’s doing things for the mafia, stuff like that. I don’t know if it’s true of course.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? I’d say look out for the little guy and small business, not big business.
Middle-aged man
Who did you vote for? Smitherman.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? Nauseous.
Why did you not support Ford? He’s mean and mean-spirited. His brother too.
How do you feel now? I feel the same way.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’ on the street and at Tim Hortons. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? I would tell him to get out of my Tim Hortons.
Paul, middle-aged.
Who did you vote for? Not Rob Ford.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? I felt like my city was about to be dismantled.
Why did you not support Ford? He’s full of shit and full of himself. He’s quick to speak and speaks without any research.
How do you feel now? I feel worse. All this ‘gravy train’ stuff, that it was going to be easy, it was all a lie.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? He should resign. The policies he promoted were an illusion. If he has any honour, he would resign. Of course, he won’t.
Joelman, a cashier and security guard
Who did you vote for? I didn’t vote.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? I was surprised; he has a weird style.
How do you feel now? OK. He’s not afraid to say no to strikes, so that’s good.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? I wouldn’t offer any advice.
Tammy, former social worker.
Who did you vote for? Ford.
Why did you support Ford? I like that he’s a normal guy. Like with that whole going to the cottage thing with Pride, that was good. He stuck to his guns and he put family first. We need more of that.
How do you feel now? I feel the same way, he represents me. I’m a Liberal and I feel he looks out for me. Not like McGuinty, he doesn’t. Bob Rae was good too, I liked him. It’s a shame he died (sic)… So long as Ford isn’t cutting social services, I feel good.
Are you aware of Ford promoting cuts on childcare, long-term care, the hardship fund, libraries and community housing? No, that’s not good at all. Times are tough we have to look out for people in poverty.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’ on the street and at Tim Hortons. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? Stay the course, except for service cuts.
Barys, web developer.
Who did you vote for? Couldn’t vote.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? I was not happy. He’s just a populist who plays political games.
How do you feel now? The same, I think he’s proved my assumptions.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? I would say that cutting spending is good, but not libraries. It’s good that Ford cut his own staff budget though.
Alana, employment counselor.
Who did you vote for? Smitherman.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? Not good. He was all gung ho about driving and against bike lanes, which are important to me. And I don’t like Doug at all.
How do you feel about him now? About as bad as before.
Ford says people tell him to ‘stay the course’ on the street and at Tim Hortons. Would this be the advice you give him? If not, what? Try to follow what the people of Toronto
Max, entrepreneur.
Who did you vote for? Couldn’t vote.
How did you feel when Ford got elected? Good. He seems like a good guy.
What do you like about Ford? I like his policies, especially his financial ones.
What advice would you give him? I’m always stuck in traffic, and that need to be fixed. We need more focus on transit, on building a Sheppherd and Eglinton line and another one for downtown.
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