The other day Andrew accused me of focussing too much on the Mayor. I was a mite ticked. After all not only do I not have the resources to cover 44 wards, but also the Mayor is the visible leader, the one who represents our city to the upper echelons of government, our vision (or not, as the case may be) in spite of being only one vote. And, anyway, I had several times blogged on the city council. And then it hit me — that was on my personal blog. D’oh! So herewith is my first MetBlog posting on a city councillor who for some reason manages to use his incumbency to win despite having “poorly served in council.”

This is a man who has interfered in TTC management, who benefits the union at the expense of fare riders and the General Manager, who got himself in such hot water back in June that the papers were full of his backroom shenanigans, and finally the piece de resistance, not taking the subway car purchase to tender, but unilaterally awarding the contract to Bombardier.

Yet Ward 15 voters vote for Howard Moscoe time and time again. It boggles my mind. This election I thought for sure they would throw the bum out. Why did they not? Do these voters en masse not read the papers or watch the news, especially that time when the union worker confronted Moscoe, dragging the media behind him? Did they already forget? Do they not care? Or was there just no credible alternative? Given the voting numbers reported, it looks like half of Ward 15 voted for Moscoe; half voted for 5 other contenders.

Memories are short, and it’s the media’s responsibility to remind us of what went on in the last 3 years. Yet as Andrew pointed out, the focus (including mine) was mostly on the Mayor’s race — the media didn’t hammer any of the Councillors who in the last 3 years had done a disservice to our city. Moscoe, in my opinion, was the worst because he influences the TTC, raised fares needlessly, saw nothing wrong with not taking the subway cars to tender, speaks about listening to the riders as a sop to having to wait endlessly for service, and is already back at it, suggesting we spend money automating the subway cars when (a) everyone says we don’t have those kinds of bucks and (b) we need more subway lines far far more urgently. Furthermore, what causes subway train bunching? It isn’t the drivers solely. They close the doors practically on people’s butts in an effort to get going. And I’ve watched them run the flashing reds many a time in the long tunnels — they time their speed so the light turns amber right as they hit it.

As usual, Moscoe is all bombast and no bright ideas. His is a prime example and reason why we ought to start seriously considering term limits. I’ve always believed that 10 years is a good length to be a productive politician, especially a leader. Frank McKenna knew that when he stepped down after 10 years as New Brunswick Premier even though he could easily have kept going. Sometimes, the odd politician will come along who will have something to contribute and continue to make a positive difference to our lives beyond the 10-year mark. Sometimes. I propose we start thinking of 3-term limits. Given Toronto voters’ propensity to vote in incumbents like Moscoe, it’s the only way to get fresh blood into Toronto City Council and get rid of the deadwood.

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