Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly offers irrelevant endorsement of Wynne
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Oh, well. That clinches it.
If Toronto’s unelected mayor is endorsing this provincce’s unelected premier, then I sure as heck know who I’m voting for.
And it won’t be either of them.
How presumptuous of Kelly, a low-profile councillor few had even heard of until Rob Ford’s troubles propelled him into the mayor’s chair, to throw his puny support behind Wynne.
Here he is, a little known Scarborough-Agincourt councillor few people actually voted for, telling the world that he forgives Wynne the gas plant scandal. Apparently, $1.1 billion down the toilet to save two Liberal seats just west of the city doesn’t faze him one bit.
That $1 billion wasted on eHealth? Nothing. The millions lost in Ornge. He doesn’t care.
He was gushing in his praise for the premier Thursday.
“I think that this city needs a city-friendly leader. The province needs a city-friendly province,” he said fawningly.
What was he thinking?
He’s a backdoor mayor. He lucked into the job on the back of someone else’s bad behaviour.
He wasn’t elected across the city. He has no moral authority to speak on behalf of the residents of this city.
Inserting himself into provincial politics at this critical point is inappropriate beyond belief.
Look, I can’t imagine why anyone would be swayed by such a pipsqueak endorsation.
The people he’s making most unhappy are New Democrats.
Clearly he’s joining forces with the Liberals in an attempt to unseat some downtown New Democrats.
There are dogfights going on in ridings such as Davenport, where rookie NDP MPP Jonah Schein is in trouble. Even Trinity-Spadina, a downtown NDP fiefdom that’s home to long-time incumbent Rosario Marchese, is in play.
In Etobicoke Lakeshore, Kelly’s former council colleague Doug Holyday, the PC candidate, is in a tight fight with another councillor Peter Milczyn, who’s running for the Liberals.
When it comes to hard work, integrity and public service, Holyday is head and shoulders above Kelly. But Kelly dares to tell voters to support Wynne?
Now we have Stormin’ Norman busting in with his hamfisted attempt to sway downtown voters.
What a joke.
Wynne said other mayors are supporting her across the province.
“I met with a group of mayors this morning and made it very clear that the way we have been working and my partnership with municipalities in this province is extremely important,” she said.
Well, that’s not what I’ve heard from small towns across this province.
Many of them are outraged at the huge costs foisted on them by the massive police pay hikes Wynne and her predecessor Dalton McGuinty negotiated with them. They’re outraged by the Green Energy Act that’s ruined rural areas with expensive and ugly wind turbines.
Many rural municipalities are still reeling from the loss of the horse racing industry through the Liberals’ cancellation of the revenue-sharing slots program.
Kelly’s throwing his support behind a government that’s facing two criminal investigations. He sees nothing wrong in a party bailing out U.S.-based real estate company to the tune of $317 million over the failed MaRS project.
The good thing is I don’t think anyone really cares what Kelly thinks about anyone.
He’s over-reached himself.
This puffed up, self-promoting popinjay should go back to Scarborough-Agincourt and stay out of provincial politics.
His smug endorsation is unwanted, out of line — and irrelevant.