In a interview with the Toronto Sun reporter ANTONELLA ARTUSO Mr Gord Perks made two statements about the political left not having a candidate for the current municipal election. Mr Perks as makes well thought and rational statements, mayoral statements, and as a reporter ARTUSO let’s the public down in not asking the obvious question, [ms_highlight background_color=”#81d742″ border_radius=”2″ color=”#000000″ class=”” id=””]Mr Perks why are you not running for mayor?[/ms_highlight]
Highlights from the article at The Toronto Sun newspaper.
Councillor Gord Perks said he’s “disappointed” the left has not produced a mayoral candidate, but he always goes into an election hoping the city will elect councillors supportive of more spending on public services and equity measures.
“I think in this election there’s more room than usual for a significant change in the balance of council,” Perks said.
Still, Perks believes that an election that’s not dominated by a big mayor’s race with its simple slogans gives those on the left an opportunity to reach each neighbourhood in meaningful debates.
He remains convinced, and said the polls back him up, that people will support higher taxes if their neighbourhood and others in the city see improved services.
“A key thing is that the areas of the city that are the most built up tended also to be the ones that had the most progressive representation. And because that’s where all the new seats are going to be – Willowdale and the downtown – it’s quite possible that the portion of progressive councillors will increase.
“I think also as we saw in the recent provincial election being a progressive isn’t just a downtown thing,” he said.
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/balance-of-power-at-toronto-city-hall-up-for-grabs
