Decisions Decisions

I have made my choices for the Toronto municipal elections being held tomorrow.

Mayor. The incumbent mayor David Miller has been an utter disappoinment. There's been no leadership; no initiatives; no vision. During the 2005 "summer of the gun" violence which rocked the city, the mayor was slow to react, and never offered any concrete ideas, let alone plans, to address the situation.

The problem is, the supposed frontrunners are also duds. Challenger Jane Pitfield doesn't know which end is up, and Johnny-come-lately candidate Stephen LeDrew is a joke.

I looked through the list of 38 candidates and saw a name I recognized. John Weingust has campaigned for better control of city parking, which has been a mess. The rules change from one street to another, and if you don't watch the signs like a hawk, you'll face a hefty ticket or even get towed. For a time in the 1990s, the private towing industry made millions of dollars in towing fees when the city permitted tows to be ordered from private property for the most spurious of reasons.

Maybe Mr. Weingust is a one-issue candidate, but it's an important one, and he has my vote.

Councillor. Incumbent Howard Mosoce has got to go. He's a loudmouth, a blunderbuss, a bully. He's been accused of using city property for his pesonal use. But the final straw was when his crew put campaign signs on every front lawn in the ward, without asking. His response? "Just let us know if you don't want them and we'll take them away." I pulled up my sign and trashed it immediately. I'm voting for Ron Singer. He seems a little too conservative for my liking, but if he works hard for the ward, I'll be happy.

School Trustee. I'm voting for Mark Riczu. Whenever a smear campaign comes along telling me I must not vote for a certain candidate and offers up another slate which will vote as a block, I get nervous. I spoke to Mark - he's young and intelligent and involved with a volunteer organization dedicated to teaching math to youth. He's got my vote.

The polls close at 8 pm tomorrow. Get out and vote!