With the election now 10 days away and polls being increasingly unkind to anyone but the front-runners (that’s you, Pants), Toronto is settling somewhat uncomfortably into a predictable two-man race: George Smitherman gaining support as the anyone-but-Rob Ford candidate. The poll earlier this week showed it, Rocco Rossi’s departure showed it, and now the latest news is that the Smitherman camp is getting the endorsement of Adam Vaughan, councillor for Ward 20 and one of Ford’s most prominent opponents on council.
The Toronto Star reports:
“I like Joe and I consider him a friend, but you have to fight the election you’re dealt, not the one you want,” Vaughan said in an interview Friday morning.
“The only way to deal with Rob Ford is George Smitherman. I’m prepared to work with George Smitherman,” he said.
“It’s not so much an endorsement as a frank and realistic look at the way the polls are breaking. Not only do they say George Smitherman is the only candidate who can beat Rob Ford, they say he is beating Rob Ford.”
If Vaughan’s endorsement sounds kind of bloodless, that’s because it is. He’s been saying for a while now that he’ll be voting for whoever can beat Ford. Certainly, this move doesn’t match Giorgio Mammoliti’s for sheer realpolitik, but hey, we can’t fault Vaughan for having a clear read on the state of the campaign. Whether he can carry any left-wing voters who’ve been struggling with strategic voting—let’s call them the AAV (anguished Annex vote)—remains to be seen.
• Adam Vaughan backs Smitherman [Toronto Star]
UPDATE: According to Twitter, Senator and former Toronto mayor Art Eggleton is endorsing Smitherman at the Board of Trade, where Smitherman just gave an apparently-impressive speech. No word on whether Eggleton now has to sit on someone’s lap to fit on the bandwagon. (Don’t ask Sarah Thomson to move, Senator: she’s a lady, and she got there first.)
(Images: Smitherman, Shaun Merritt; Vaughan, BriYYZ.)
Here’s what happened when Rob Ford was mentioned at a Thanksgiving day dinner in Toronto. You can also vote on whether Rob Ford ruined your Turkey dinner. So far 70 % of the voters say their dinner was ruined by Rob Ford: https://robfordturkey.wordpress.com/
October 15, 2010 at 1:53 pm | by RobfordturkeyVote for the person you think is best for the city. That should be Joe. Voting for Smitherman will only encourage the forces of evil.
October 15, 2010 at 2:14 pm | by Dennis Raphaelwaste supports waste…increased taxes if these 2 are voted in…..VOTE FORD SAVE OUT TAX DOLLARS….
October 15, 2010 at 5:43 pm | by dsSAVE OUR TAX DOLLAR typo
October 15, 2010 at 5:43 pm | by dsVoting for one candidate, just to hinder another, is a tactic which I think defeats the reason people vote on a democracy. Vote for the candidate who best fits your values and needs, and will work best for the City and not “second best” just for the sake of it! (Bearing in mind that the “second best” may have already proved to be incapable of doing the job in the first place)
October 16, 2010 at 6:33 pm | by Simon Gortanasimon you are correct, who started this tactic, Smitherman no good ideas of his own, inject fear in the voters
October 18, 2010 at 5:47 pm | by ds