The Professionals vs the Ideologues

[Icebound]

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http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/ ... ut-reports

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... le2105747/




"Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Doug are trying to engineer the ouster of Toronto Transit Commission chief general manager Gary Webster because of his perceived opposition to the Sheppard subway project, according to several TTC sources"


...

[JakeYYZ]

Gary M. Webster, B.Sc. (Hons), P.Eng. is a public transit manager in Toronto, Canada.
Webster graduated from Queen's University as a civil engineer in 1975 and joined the Toronto Transit Commission soon after. He has served in various supervisory and management roles at the TTC, including in the subway and equipment maintenance departments, in the Transportation department, as Manager - Materials and Procurement (1986-1990), Manager - Service Planning (1990-1994), Manager - Human Resources (1994-1996), and General Manager - Operations (1996-2006). He fishes on holiday for salmon.
On June 10, 2006 he replaced Rick Ducharme as Chief General Manager on an interim basis after Ducharme's resignation. A year later, on June 27, 2007, Webster was confirmed in the post on a permanent basis. He is the first TTC Chief General Manager to be promoted from within the organisation; all five previous holders of the position were hired from outside the TTC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Webster_%28TTC%29
Who sets policy, Icebound? Isn’t Webster’s responsibility to support policy or resign?
His contract ends in 2013. Maybe he’s angling for a buy-out?

[North Shore]

Ford is a lifelong resident of Toronto. He is the son of Doug Ford, who was a Member of the Ontario Legislature. The Ford family runs a printing business. Ford studied political science at Carleton University but dropped out after the first year.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ford

You'd think that before politicians set policy, they'd listen to qualified (and widely respected) experts in their field, though?

[JakeYYZ]

Yes. Mr. Webster has his opinion and Mr. Ford prefers his advisors opinion. I don’t know that Webster has gone on record with the media, but if he did, I’d fire his a$$ with extreme prejudice. Besides, I don’t know any engineer who has worked for the same outfit for 36 years. Of course, all the fella’s I know work in the private sector.
I live in YYZ, Northy. Ford cannot catch a break with the left media in this city. I campaigned for Ford and he won by a landslide. But you would never know it reading the media.

[Rockie]

Ford cannot catch a break with the left media in this city.

Well, it's a good thing there's that paragon of unbiased news reporting called "The Toronto Sun" then isn't it?

[JakeYYZ]

I’m not happy with what the media has become. I don’t like opinion presented as news, from a ‘right’ or ‘left’ perspective. Unbiased reporting is what we all should demand. Give facts and only facts, don’t attempt to influence me.

[North Shore]

Ford cannot catch a break with the left media in this city.

Does he deserve one? After the recent 'Core Services Review' (I think that was what it was called) it appears that the only gravy train in town was the one leading to his plate.. (Ok, that was a ad hominem but I couldn't resist )

It's a sad state of affairs for a democracy, though, when only ~ 50% of the population turn up to vote, and we then call a 47% to 35% a landslide.

I have several acquaintances from school whose fathers served long careers with the same engineering firms in Vancouver.. 35 years in one place is to be commended, IMHO; it gives institutional memory and continuity..

[JakeYYZ]

Ford cannot catch a break with the left media in this city.

Does he deserve one? After the recent 'Core Services Review' (I think that was what it was called) it appears that the only gravy train in town was the one leading to his plate.. (Ok, that was a ad hominem but I couldn't resist )

It's a sad state of affairs for a democracy, though, when only ~ 50% of the population turn up to vote, and we then call a 47% to 35% a landslide.

It is what it is (voter turnout). These are nothing more than recommendations for consideration. YYZ media present them as being ‘hidden agenda’ items. I pay property tax (I own two properties) slightly north of 10K, not including user fees. I have never been asked whether I agree to art’s subsidies or a myriad of other make work projects. Heck, I’ve never had a voice, until now, and I pay the freight. If I had my druthers, only property owners would be entitled to vote.

[Icebound]

If I had my druthers, only property owners would be entitled to vote.

You were just born into the wrong century. You want something before about 1850. Something around 13th 14th centuries, perhaps.

Even after the Americans declared independence, you would still be okay for a few years.

But eventually the un-represented working people get annoyed with property owners. Witness the Romanovs, and the subsequent social and economic disasters which THAT brought.

But even with our "enlightened" democracy, I am still pretty sure that David Thomson's vote is worth more than yours, and yours is worth more than the checkout cashier at NoFrills. At least, where it really counts.

[Rockie]

I’m not happy with what the media has become. I don’t like opinion presented as news, from a ‘right’ or ‘left’ perspective. Unbiased reporting is what we all should demand. Give facts and only facts, don’t attempt to influence me.

Take a picture because we're on the same page here. I don't know how personal preference can be completely eliminated though because the people writing the news are human and if they have a brain they likely have an opinion. Thankfully we still aren't as bad up here in Canada as they are in other places. Do like I do and read the left wing and right wing news at the same time. The truth is somewhere in between.