Posts Tagged ‘Toronto Mayor’s Race’
Adam Giambrone Launch Video Demonstrates Power of Social Media
I’m not supporting any candidate for Mayor, but am watching the race with great interest as I am sure many others are as well.
Love him or hate him, or even his video for that matter, Giambrone’s campaign in my opinion has demonstrated the best understanding of social media of all major campaigns in the race so far. Sure the video content is doesn’t necessarily paint Giambrone looking mayoral but it has been seen by over 30,000 people in just over a day. Compare with George Smitherman’s official launch video on his youtube page with closer to 500 people, or Rocco Rossi’s Empire Club speech with around 400 viewers over a considerably longer period of time.
A lot of folks are debating the content, whether Giambrone struck the right cord or not, but this early in the game the ‘say anything you want about me, but spell my name right’ approach to public relations applies. For a Mayor’s race getting out there and getting noticed is a good first start.
Even if you’re Rocco Rossi and you’re suggesting it is a stunt unworthy of a campaign that should be about policy, the cold hard reality that Giambrone’s team was able to make a video go viral and get their unedited message (regardless of content or quality) to a group that big that quickly AND get traditional media coverage of the whole thing should have you taking him more seriously than you did before.
If you’re George Smitherman – you need to be worried Giambrone will be able to excite the 30,000 or so folks who tuned in in the first 24 hours, because they are an audience you surely need to be able to reach out and win over as well if you’re to maintain a commanding lead.
Finally if you’re Joe Pantalone, your ability to be the main candidate for progressives and those on the left of the spectrum could prove to be a lot more difficult as the new media types that have tuned into watch are a constituency you need to reach if you’re to compete.
Giambrone’s video is certainly not a game changer and likely doesn’t put him any closer to sealing the deal, but it surely will create a good turn out for his launch, and allow him to connect better with individuals early, making it easier to get his message out, unfiltered to a larger audience than the other big name candidates in the race.
At the very least it makes the case for an exciting race to come.
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1 Comment »A Good Race For Mayor Important For Toronto
Having solid candidates vying for Mayor, presenting differing visions for the City is an important step for Toronto to take every two or three terms. This is absolutely an open an election that sees many candidates no one would have guessed would run two years ago, and few if any candidates that could have been assumed to run.
Being Mayor of Toronto is a difficult job, and one that with years of sidestepping serious structural challenges by Council becomes that much harder with each passing day. I was hoping we’d have a race between David Miller, John Tory and George Smitherman. I felt a race like that would give the City the opportunity for a proper ‘battle of titans’ and clear choices on what kind of person and leader the City wanted.
With Smitherman, Giambrone, Rossi and Pantalone in the race, this does seem to have a lot of the characteristics of the 2003 election that saw the emergence of David Miller – the question now is simply, who is the candidate that has the staying power and ability to rise above the pack and convince enough Torontonians that they are the one to lead.
I know in my community there is one candidate who is out for many voters, but even of the other remaining options, it still isn’t clear who would be the champion of people, someone who gets it and is prepared to govern responsibly and with respect for voters. Those are the qualities I will seek in a candidate for Mayor.
No Comments »George Jumps Ship, Sort of – Risks Run in With Law to Keep Paycheque
I write this as a resident of Toronto. I’m sure as President of Wind Concerns Ontario I will be providing comment on the impact of Smitherman’s departure on the renewable energy file later.
So George Smitherman decided today after eHealth, OLG and the royal mess up that has been the Ministry of Energy it was time to move on to see what kind of damage he could do in Toronto.
Smitherman being Smitherman has decided to turn the office of MPP for Toronto Centre into his piggy bank while he rolls out his campaign. There is a problem with his strategy and I want to point it out before I go any further. Smitherman is planning to file in March, so five months from now.
The law is very clear – you can’t spend any money when running for office in any municipal election without first filing your nomination. It’s not like a federal or provincial election where riding associations can spend outside the actual election period to get over the limit and run a longer campaign.
Just how Smitherman plans to be declared as a candidate and not file, and still expect to do anything is beyond me. He is running for Mayor – that means events, rallies, staff, polling – all things that cost money.
I get that he would like to keep his paycheque, but that doesn’t mean he can get creative with the municipal elections act to preserve a paycheque he will no doubt not be earning as he prepares his bid.
I don’t care what party you belong to – watch this and watch it closely. How will he run and not spend a penny before he files in March? No money means no website, no flyers, no room rentals, no events, no staff.
Does anyone honestly believe he won’t spend any money running for Mayor for five months? He also can’t raise money legally either.
Beyond the fact that I think he is walking into a situation that will make him look ethically suspect at best, his media stuff today demonstrated exactly why this is a bad idea.
Smitherman demonstrated duplicity in his first interview as a candidate.
1) Smitherman criticized Council for not rolling back their cost of living increase. He is a member of a government that voted to raise their salaries by 25%, even while the government was in deficit. No vote on a rollback has been planned.
2) Smitherman attacked the Council for it’s first instinct being to tax to solve it’s financial problems. McGuinty’s government has never seen a balanced budget in over five years in office, and has added tens of billions of dollars to the debt. Smitherman has headed up the two largest ministries, each which surely have relied on deficit financing. Unlike the Province which raises the taxes of our grandchildren to solve their financial issues, the City has to balance the books at the end of the year. As far as I am concerned both deficit financing of an operating budget and tax increases are the same thing.
3) Smitherman shot at Councillors’ sense of fiscal responsibility. That’s not a statement I will dispute, but this is the pot calling the kettle black. The 2.4 billion dollar Pan Am Games is a joint venture with all three levels of government, meaning Smitherman and his friends in cabinet are responsible for enabling Toronto to blow $800 million on sixteen days of sports six years from now. His Ministry will be funding much of the province’s share, just as they funded $400 million of a $1.2 billion streetcar order of which the City is on the hook for $800 million. Those are two projects where Smitherman has enabled the drunken sailors to spend $1.6 billion.
4) On referring to the Mayor’s chair as ‘a bully pulpit’. So much for ‘post-ideological’ governence. Smitherman is proposing to scare half of Council into doing what he wants as a means of governing. I doubt members of Council are going to be up for this, and expect and hope they will vigourously oppose him on the ground as they seek re-election.
Smitherman has enemies. He has attacked a number of constituencies in the City and province and what better opportunity than an election where the guy is vulnerable to respond.
It will be a very sad day for our city if Smitherman is elected.
I encourage everyone to look at the other candidates as they emerge and consider your choices wisely.
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