Thoughts on today's municipal chaos

I'm not going to comment on Ford's reduction of Toronto's city council. I think anyone who follows me knows exactly how I feel; that the proper procedure should always be followed. Saying any more is simply a waste of space.

I will comment on the chaos of today.

Patrick Brown has filed to run for Mayor of Brampton. It's very unlikely he can win, but anything can happen. What happens will depend quite a bit on how mad people are at him. He could take a quarter of the vote quite easily, but if people view his move as selfish, he could finish third, fourth, or worse.

Stephen Del Duca has not yet done anything; I keep checking the Vaughan election website, and his name is not appearing; but it is interesting to note only a single person so far is running for Mayor of Vaughan, and a two-person race would certainly get him some attention. It should be noted that none of the other websites have been updated for the latest information I'm bringing you in this post, so Del Duca may not be running, or, may have slipped under the radar in this chaos; my money is on not running.

In Toronto two new Mayoral candidates have caught attention. Faith Goldy, the racist euro-canadian nationalist who is famous for appearances on rebel media is running for Mayor. Of more significance is Jennifer Keesmaat. She was the chief planner of Toronto for quite some time, and has announced today she is running for Mayor. She, apparently, is running on a platform of Toronto being its own Province.

Keesmaat's problem is her appeal is limited. She's a part and parcel "twitter progressive", but "twitter progressives" only go so far. Some have tried to compare her to Valerie Plante, but I do not see it, as Plante had both grassroot support and a history of competent political leadership. Keesmaat, however, is much more similar to Jane Pitfield. She is not a Naheed Nenshi or a Melanie Joly, and I have strong doubts that she can go far, especially with such a radical platform.

A Tory victory of 10 to 20 points is much more realistic.