Toronto, why are outsiders interfering in our municipal elections by trying to shape people's decisions, often through deceit and sophistry?
UPDATE:On TVO's The Inside Agenda Blog, Steve Paikin is reporting on what to me may be the penultimate Conservative attempt to interfere in Toronto's Election and see Rob Ford re-elected in 2014.
"Could Stephen Harper do something to help his ideological soul mate, Rob Ford? The answer is, absolutely yes. One of the things he could do is remove the front runner from the race, at least, the front runner according to recent polls.
"Here's the 'something else.' David C. Onley's tenure as Ontario Lieutenant-Governor is coming to an end later this month. Lieutenant-Governors are appointed by the prime minister."
"I'm told Chow has been offered the job by Prime Minister Harper."
Well, it there's one thing that can convince me that Chow is the ONLY candidate to back, this is it. The Conservatives are very good at identifying where they are vulnerable. I believe Harper erred in offering the Lieutenant-Governorship to Olivia.
Outside Conservative Money Flows into Toronto
During the 2010 Toronto Election campaign, Rob Ford received the support of many Conservative party backers from outside of Toronto, now in 2014 many of those same Conservative party backers are once again poised to interfere in our Toronto's Municipal Elections to foist their agenda on our community.
I'm not just speaking about the large number of conservative trolls who beat all opposition viewpoints into submission, I'm speaking about the financial contributions to Ford's campaign... some of which raise as many eyebrows as Ford's infamous Billboard.
According to Press Progress 33.5% of Rob Ford's 2010 campaign contributions came from outside of Toronto. Below is a map of the source of Ford's 2010 contributions:
Outsiders, you have an opinion, you're entitled to it, but that's about it.
We don't deserve outside dollars flowing into Toronto political campaigns, in order to drown out local political messages, or to create noise and voter apathy. Our election finance laws need to be changed to prevent outside financial contributions flowing into communities.
Yes, Toronto, is an accepting community filled with generous people possessing open minds, we're polite and friendly. We welcome fair honest discussion and debate among ourselves and outsiders.
BUT, only Torontonian's can claim to have a legitimate vested emotional and financial interest in the outcome of Toronto Election 2014. The rest of you are nothing more than interested observers. As such, you have neither the right to make demands or the right to be heard in your effort to troll our election
#TOpoli doesn't welcome anonymity, obfuscation, abuse or people trying to hide the fact they are mostly conservative agitators from outside of Toronto city proper. Nor do we welcome funding those same activities.
Torontonians are the ones who reside here, own businesses here, attend school here, rely on Municipal services such as water & waste water and trash collection, and we are the ones who pay property taxes here. It's our finances that Toronto Council's make-up and decisions will impact not yours. Unless you wish to pay the taxes for a Torontonian, you're just an observer.
The 2014 Toronto municipal election is about OUR choice, not that of outsiders. We find it offensive when outsiders troll twitter to disseminate false information and lies. I don't troll your Municipal poli thread please don't troll mine unless prepared to be outed and ostracized.
Oh and this belief applies to trolls of any political persuasion with both pro and anti-Ford views. Stick to polite factual engagement and declare outsider status if it applies to you.
Say no #TOpoli, don't engage out of town or out of province trolls. I recommend similar policies for other communities as well. Move on, don't engage trolls it's a no win scenario just like the Kobayashi Maru. They want to tie you up in knots and create white noise that puts people off.
Non politically engaged people flee in the face of conversations like that contained in the following brilliant piece How Conservatives Argue: A Case Study. Don't fall prey to them. Please pay more attention to you addressing the issues without acknowledging trolls exist. People tend only laugh at ranting lunatics rather than listen to them...
Don't flunk out of Starfleet Academy.
Thank You.
