John Tory Tribute

by John Laforet
posted on June 27th, 2009 at 18:48:40 pm

I’ve written about John Tory before, and I’ve often said that I don’t dislike him and have often been critical immediately following my expression of not disliking him. Fundamentally John Tory is a good guy who means well and has made real sacrifices to participate in public life. He is thoughtful, hard working, honest and has gone through far more in a shorter period than many politicians do in an entire career.

When John Tory stepped down after his bi-election defeat, I felt for him. The raw emotion he displayed at his final press conference as leader made it very difficult to not see the well intentioned man who was unfairly pilloried right out of public life.

Over the last number of weeks, as speculation has mounted about whether Tory will run for Mayor of Toronto – its an idea, I frankly think is a good one, and a candidacy I could easily find myself supporting and encouraging others to.

I spoke with John Tory today after his tribute and had a really good chat with him about a number of topics. He shared with me that two of his proudest accomplishments as leader of the Ontario PCs has been the work the party did on outreach, making the PC Party a bigger tent, and the fundraising work he undertook to clear the party of it’s debt and prepare for the fight in 2007.

We spoke about the intense political career he’s had, the six elections in five years he’s faced and the great challenge and impact on his ability to do other things as leader. On that point, if viewed through the lens of John Tory’s commitment to public service and participation, it is nothing but admirable.

Tory recognizes the need for a clearer message when facing voters, and I made a point of not asking or talking about the religious education funding thing and instead focussed on Tory’s timing issue. In 2003 when he ran for Mayor, Torontonian’s were close but not totally open to the idea. In 2006, many Torontonians had wished Tory had not become Leader of the Opposition so he could re-contest that fight. I suspect with the current economic crisis, folks who cared and voted based on religious education are re-thinking their decision.

Now that John Tory has left public life and isn’t a candidate for anything for the first time in five years, I think someone like me would be ready to give a guy like John Tory a try. I guess that’s what being post partisan has done to me at least.

Tags: John Tory, John Tory Mayor, John Tory Tribute, Markham, Ontario PC Leadership Convention, PC Leadership Convention