November 17, 2008: THE NATIONAL POST

By Allison Hanes
      

Frequent critics of Toronto Mayor David Miller alleged today they are being punished for failing to whole-heartedly embrace his sweeping agenda through slight snubs and major rebukes that may cause lingering tensions about his leadership style to erupt into civil war at city hall. 

From a memo on garbage collection that only went to councillors considered “friendly” to the mayor, to the sacking of opponents on city committees, there is a sense among some council members that they are being frozen out.

Councillor Michael Thompson (Scarborough Centre) found out from the media late Friday he has been turfed from the Toronto Transit Commission board.

“I contacted the chair of the striking committee to find out … why that decision was made and he indicated that the mayor had made that decision,” he said. “The mayor simply wants people to basically do what they want him to do, to not speak out, to essentially be cheerleaders for him. I will never be a cheerleader for anyone, and particularly I will not be a cheerleader for Mayor David Miller.”

Mr. Thompson called his dismissal “vengeful” – directly linking it to his support for a motion to have the TTC declared an essential service, which was only narrowly defeated at city council in a tight 22-23 vote.

“I’m not angry about it, what I am is circumspect in the sense that it really purports to show the true colours of David Miller as a petulant person that does not have the ability to lead this city and to provide a real vision,” he said.

Mr. Miller’s tone quickly frosted over today when asked about a memo sent from his office last week to 22 of 44 councillors offering advice on how to address citizen complaints about the problem-plagued rollout of a new garbage system.

The 22 councillors who received the e-mail are among those who promote the mayor’s agenda. 

“Running a city with 40,000 employees, I don’t know every memo that goes out. Let’s be reasonable,” Mr. Miller responded, his impatience barely concealed. “All it says is if you need some help, here’s some people to call. I think it’s appropriate for my office to tell people who to call. I don’t see what you’re talking about.”

Mr. Miller has been under fire over the beefed-up powers vested in his office under the City of Toronto Act. But some councillors accuse him of seizing more authority, by acting preemptively to name a new city manager and freeze development charges.

Mr. Miller’s reply is that he received a strong mandate in the 2006 election and that Torontonians voted for a strong mayor.

But Councillor Mike Del Grande (Scarborough Agincourt) vented frustration over being labeled from the very start of Mr. Miller’s administration.
“I think the watershed was the issue with the bridge and how we were going to vote. I felt right from that moment when I didn’t support his position that I was kicked out,” he said referring to Mr. Miller’s 2003 election promise to cancel a planned bridge to the Toronto Island airport. “He has only regard for people who support his position blindly.”

Mr. Del Grande said he has no interest in being just a critic, but complained the mayor isn’t interested in discussing alternative approaches or sharing credit for ideas. 

Mr. Del Grande said he was the originator of a proposal just adopted by the public works committee to ban the sale of water bottles on city property. But his motion sputtered and died at the all-powerful executive committee.

“He seems to be somewhat jealous of anybody else having an opinion, even if it’s a green initiative. He’s not too happy that someone else would jump the gun or bring something else in place,” Mr. Del Grande said. “He’s a ruler, he’s not a leader.”