Ford ousted the only woman on the powerful 13-member committee, Councillor Jaye Robinson. He also bumped Councillor Paul Ainslie to a lesser role.
Robinson had publicly urged Ford to take a leave of absence to deal with an ongoing crack cocaine scandal. Ainslie confirmed to the Star in March that the mayor was asked to leave a military ball at which organizers were concerned that he was intoxicated.
Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, told CP24 that the shuffle was long-planned and not an attempt at retribution. The mayor himself did not offer an explanation.
“These changes will help my administration continue delivering results for the taxpayers of Toronto,” he said in a written statement.
Robinson, a centrist who had been arguably the most liberal member of the executive, was removed from her post as chair of the community development and recreation committee. Ainslie, a once-loyal ally who had drifted this year, will stay on executive, but was removed as chair of the government management committee and made chair of the lower-profile parks and environment committee.
The executive is a cabinet-like body that gets to vote on many major policy matters, such as the budget, before they are debated by the full council.
Ainslie said the mayor summoned him to his office around 3 p.m. “He said I was doing great work but he needed to patch some holes,” Ainslie said.
The councillor said he is disappointed to abandon incomplete government management initiatives, such as his push for a ranked-ballot voting system for mayoral elections, but is confident he can “continue to do good work at parks,” which he said would be his “other choice” of chair positions.
A record 15women were elected to the 45-person council in 2010. Two of the three conservative women continue to serve in prominent positions for which Ford chose them: Frances Nunziata as council speaker, Karen Stintz as chair of the TTC. Ford also worked closely with centrist Ana Bailao on the issue of affordable housing.
But he has repeatedly castigated Stintz and has called his decision to appoint her a “mistake.” He has been frosty to Gloria Lindsay Luby, a moderate conservative from Etobicoke. Michelle Berardinetti, a Liberal, resigned from the executive late last year.
Ford appointed Norm Kelly, an ally, as the new chair of the government management committee. He named Anthony Perruzza, a former NDP MPP, the new chair of the recreation committee — the first time he has given a leadership position to a left-leaning foe.
Praise for Ford’s nod to ideological diversity was eclipsed by a torrent of criticism for his decision to abandon his attempt to maintain a semblance of gender diversity.
“I count seven women on (Toronto council) who might participate in a centre-right administration, so they pick an NDP dude?” conservative strategist Jim Ross wrote on Twitter.
Councillor Janet Davis said Ford “needs to understand that he represents all of the people of Toronto.”
“It’s shameful that there isn’t a single woman on the executive committee of the largest city in the country when we have elected the largest number of women, in this term of council, ever,” said Davis, a Ford opponent.
Councillor Frank Di Giorgio, Ford’s budget chief, said it is difficult for Ford to find female councillors who support his agenda as consistently as he expects of a member of the executive. Di Giorgio noted that the women of council regularly attend executive meetings as non-voting participants.
“While it would be nice to have one or two women, I don’t think it’s especially critical, simply because, as you know — notwithstanding it’s a matter of who gets a vote — a lot of the women do attend the executive committee anyway, like Janet Davis, Shelley Carroll, Pam McConnell. Most of them do attend anyway. So no, I don’t think it makes a huge difference. It would have been nice to have one or two on there,” Di Giorgio said.
Ford, like many conservatives, has a higher approval rating among men than women. In April, he was mocked and denounced for a spontaneous radio offer to “explain” to women “how politics works.” He had advised women to run for political office.
“I encourage people, I encourage people, I’ve always encouraged people — especially females. We need more females in politics. And it seems everyone says, ‘Oh, it’s male-dominated.’ Well, call me,” he said.
Ford called the Star’s report on the military ball an “outright lie.” The Star reported nearly a month ago on a video that appears to show him using crack cocaine; he denies that he uses crack cocaine and denies that a video exists.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Daniel Dale
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