WARMINGTON: Is it a change election or stay the course? Toronto will soon decide

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This fight for this title has been a slugfest. But there can be only one champion.

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The debates are over, the campaign is winding down and the arguments have been made. Now it’s all up to the voters who they want as mayor?

Torontonians have two quality choices: It’s the incumbent Olivia Chow, who people have known for many decades and someone who is a successful cheerleader for socialist-style governance, versus a young, centrist family man, Brad Bradford, who has served two terms on council and seems to be a common-sense, best-practices operator who will try to sit in the middle between the money people and the people wanting public money.

Late Monday night, we should find out if this is a stay-the-course or change election. If you believe the opinion polls, it shows Bradford has jumped out in front. This weekend will be key. Meanwhile, what is the ballot question is the question? Thursday night’s final CTV debate did not define that.

Water privatization? Chow spent the debate and much the day earlier trying to say selling Toronto’s water to business interests is the hidden agenda.

“My opponent cannot promise what the water bill will be, he cannot promise that Toronto will remain in control.”

Calling it “wild accusations” and “dishonesty” Bradford denies this: “I think that is below you because I think you’re a good person. I think it’s below the office of mayor, and I don’t think that’s a productive conversation to have here in our debate or this election.”

Yawn. It’s too a complicated a subject for the public to dive into. As long as the water tap turns out and bills are not exorbitant, people won’t be swayed to vote one way or another on this issue.

Strong mayor powers

There was a tussle over using the “strong mayor” provisions Premier Doug Ford has given the Toronto chief magistrate. Chow’s suggests Bradford will use those powers on things like on water delivery changes and Bradford doesn’t really deny it.

“I am going to deliver on the mandate that I am elected to with the tools that I have available to do that,” he said.

The answer is yes, he will use those strong mayor tools if necessary, as he should. If he is surrounded by a union and environmental-activist run city council that won’t let him do anything, you better believe he will use what is available to him.

So will Chow. This is unlikely to sway any votes.

Housing

In her campaign Chow has “made building more affordable housing” a priority so “we can keep bringing the cost of homes and rent down” and proposes “getting the city back into building through City-led development and new incentive programs that cut fees for developers in exchange for affordable units” to create “thousands of affordable, rent-controlled and market-rate homes under construction across the city.”

Bradford, meanwhile, turned his whole campaign around when he announced cutting the City of Toronto’s land transfer tax on the first $1-mllion of a house purchases which could save families $18,000 in tax per purchase.

On Chow’s dream of building “65,000 purpose-built rental units by 2030” Bradford reminded “today, only 1,500 have been delivered” to continue at that pace, it would take 115 years.”

Yikes. They both won this one. Renters will like Chow’s plan but for those wanting to buy a house or condo, move up or downsize, it’s Bradford all the way.

Cost of living

On Newstalk 1010 Friday with John Moore, who with CTV anchor Michelle Dube moderated the debate, Chow talked about “affordability” while not mentioning she raised taxes some 18 per cent in her three years as mayor.

“My plan is about the costs you feel every single day,” Chow says regularly. “Cheaper transit, lower grocery bills, and more free places for families. That’s how we build a city people can afford to live in.”

Food banks should not be the solution.

In the debate, Bradford argued one place to start to bring costs down is to look at what city hall under Chow spends and has called for a “line by line” review.

“The idea that in a $19-billion budget there is no savings available is the same can’t-do attitude that we hear time and time again from this mayor, the status quo thinking,” Bradford said. “You handed a contract, half a million dollars, to your friends at Progress Toronto. So, there’s lots of things that we can save.”

If you came at it from the right, the win cost of living goes to Bradford. The left and unions and city hall insiders certainly don’t want a line-by-line review or less spending.

Who won this debate and who’s going to win the election? It’s a tossup.

“I think Brad Bradford smoked incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow in the debate,” said lawyer and journalist Caryma Sa’d who is running for council herself.

But she makes the point, however, the debate “format isn’t necessarily her strength” and Chow’s “base is motivated” and it will come down to “which machine gets it’s vote out?”

It also comes down to what kind of numbers Bradford can draw from his own Beaches-East York ward. Chow’s home team votes will be there. Will Bradford’s? Having spent four-years campaigning, will his own area feel neglected or decide they want to reap the benefits of having a local mayor?

Bradford will have to work his butt off this weekend in his home turf to make sure those who have elected him twice as councillor, do the same Monday.

Meanwhile, Chow would be wise to accept invitations to go on with Greg Brady and Ben Mulroney on AM 640 because lots of voters listen to them.

Final analysis?

The city has fallen into looking like a drug and rat infested zombieland of homelessness and while Chow has done nothing to fix it, Bradford hasn’t in his eight years on council either.

The question, however, is who offers the best chance to turn Toronto around?

Whoever voters think that is, will be the next mayor!

ELECTION IS NOT JUST ABOUT MAYOR’S RACE

Two different agendas which gives people a clear choice.

But who wins mayor is not the whole story.

The key for the future might be on who is elected to council. If upstart CTV reporter Natalie Johnson can upset Nate Erskine-Smith in Ward 19 Beaches-East York And Daniel Tate can do the same against Chris Moise in Toronto Centre, Ward 13, and if Caryma Sa’d in Ward 14 Toronto Danforth can benefit somehow from a split of the three top candidates, Sara Ehrhardt, Dianne Saxe, Mary Fragedakis, then you could have some new faces on council that could steer things differently.

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