On Oct. 27, towns and cities across Ontario will be voting in the municipal elections, selecting their mayors, council members and school board trustees.

In Toronto, the election is quite simply John Tory’s to lose. He may not want to hear that phrase, given it’s been used twice before with the same result – defeats; first against David Miller for the Toronto Mayor’s seat and then as leader of the official opposition for the provincial Conservatives against Liberal incumbent Dalton McGuinty.

Despite his seemingly endless public gaffes, Rob Ford was still very much in the running to be re-elected until being forced out due to illness, although it’s doubtful he could have beaten Tory. The election of a mayor needs to be about policy; the ability to govern and network with all levels of government, as well as public and business interaction. In Ford, he did save the city millions, there is no denying that – although some still try. Much of the actual work he did in office was quite good and the results would have been more than enough for the average mayor to be re-elected. His real downfall was becoming a vic-tim of his own buffoonery, a sizeable excerpt of which ended up on video. Even some of his most ardent supporters have found it burdensome to remain publicly loyal to Ford Nation, although privately they still no doubt would have voted for him, as evidenced by his substantial showing in virtually all the polls.

Doug Ford automatically gets most all of Rob’s votes, but it won’t be enough to topple Tory. In Olivia Chow, you have a very respect-ful, polite and caring individual with a generous spirit, but who also seems to be running on an economic platform that is little more than pie in the sky fantasy. The vagueness of who will pay for costly programs such as transit enhancements is the first of several major red flags. Chow also erred in spending far too much of her campaign focusing on Rob Ford, when she should have no-ticed Tory quietly meandering his way to the top. He was the real rival. Consistent weak showing in the debates also leads to the conclusion that Chow is not up to handling the job.

In Tory, you have an astute businessman who adeptly comprehends the political landscape and, believe it or not, is someone who espouses many similar economic ideals as Rob Ford, minus the personal baggage. I’ve had the opportunity to meet each of the candidates in person and hear first-hand their answers on running a city, and I can say without a doubt one of them stands out as the best… and it’s John Tory.

Sharing a Birthday: current Toronto mayor Rob Ford and presumptive new mayor John Tory were both born on May 28, although Ford is 15 years younger.

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