Voting for the next Mayor of Toronto

*Toronto Election - Mayor results*

Today's a big day in the city of Toronto, it's the 2010 Mayoral Election.  Current Mayor David Miller has been around since 2003, which is before I arrived in the city as a permanent resident.  I've never really had an issue with Mayor Miller and on one occasion, our groups enjoyed a scotch at the Liberty Cafe before a chilly TFC game.  When compared to the leading candidates in the race, I probably would have voted for David Miller...if he was running for the job again.  He wasn't.  The Big 3 getting all the media attention are Rob Ford, Joe Pantalone, George Smitherman.  I like to think I did my homework, or at least my version of homework; read a few websites, watched a little bit of the debates and spoke with a few friends about the candidates.  I focused on the leading candidate, those few that are generally acknowledged as legitimate candidates.  One of my friends takes "doing your homework" to the next level.  My pal's gone back and looked at how each of the candidates voted previously on different topics & things voted on by city council...he was an interesting guy to chat with.  Being happy with the knowledge I'd obtained, I had a good idea for whom I was going to cast my ballot when I got to the voting centre.

I arrived, showed my ID, got my ballot and was instructed to walk over to the private little spot they've decided is secret enough for me to cast my vote.  I've always found it a little funny how much we try to hide who we're voting for while we're actually voting.  If you look up when other people are around voting, you'll see people hiding their ballot like they're sheltering a frightened child.  A part of me has always wanted to smile and say, "don't worry dear...I'm not trying to cheat off your paper".  Anywho, I cast my vote and brought the paper back to be scanned into the system.  The process was pretty painless and overall, I'm pleased with my voting experience.  I did my part and now I'm allowed to bitch & complain about whoever gets elected into office and all the bad stuff they're bound to do while on the job.  You gotta love democracy!

Pedro wasn't running...this time

What surprised me most about the whole thing was the number of candidates running for Mayor.  I didn't only have 3 choices...I didn't only have 5 choices...I didn't only have 10 choices...I had 40 choices!!!  

Seriously?  40 peoples names made the ballot to be the next Mayor of Toronto? WTF?

Maybe it's just me but it feels like elementary school where everyone got a role in the Christmas play...even Billy, the horrible actor & Suzy, the sweetheart with stage fright.  I wrongly assumed that the interviewing process for the role of mayor, for Canada's largest city, might narrow down the list to the top 5 or even top 10 candidates before coming to the public for a vote.  I didn't know anything about 34 of the candidates until I got my ballot.  When I left this morning to exercise my civic responsibility, I figured maybe I'd see a few extra names I hadn't heard about but I never imagined 30 extra names.  Before I went to vote, I knew about Ford, Smitherman, Pantalone, Sara Thomson, Rocco Rossi, and Daniel Walker - a dude supported by the Dean Blundell show, a member of the Church of the Universe and a guy that believes strongly in the legalization of Marijuana.  I'm no expert but I'm not sure Dan Walker is really up for the job of mayor for the city of Toronto...but I'm up for sharing a joint with him and giving him the chance to make his pitch.

I'm happy, and fortunate, to have the opportunity to vote for my leaders.  I make every effort to get informed for all elections and believe every vote counts (this time, it was 1 of  about 814,00).  I hope you made it out to the polls and made your voice to be heard...with 40 people on the ballot, there was a candidate for everyone!  Here are a few folks that want to lead Toronto for the next few years and why they deserve your consideration:

Ratan Wadhwa - 290 votes

Ratan Wadhwa - great moustache and a interesting plan for the city.  CP24 asked, How do you plan on bringing "new life" to the city? Ratan replied, "I want to legalize prostitution and marijuana and create a legalized red light district; I believe that will bring in new tourists. I want to legalize all of this to eliminate pimps and johns, and I want prostitutes to pay taxes. I also want to encourage the adult film industry here and have it coordinate with the industry in California; it would generate all sorts of employment."

David Valance - 444 votes 

David Vallance - the guy reminds me a little of Donald Sutherland but I'm not sure if Donald agree that Canada needs an 11th province.  From Mr Vallance's website: "We appeal to the fair and intelligent people in all parts of Canada to understand that Toronto should be permitted, if its citizens so choose, to assume a separate and equal station among the provinces of this country for reasons that are neither light nor transient."  Would this help Hamilton get an NHL franchise?

James Di Fiore - 655

James Di Fiore - This guy was charged under the Canada Elections Act but he's still under consideration for the job of Mayor of Toronto.  James tells the story like this, "My most notable piece was an avant garde project where I voted three times in the 2004 Canadian federal election to shine a spotlight on flaws in the system. As a result, the Canadian Parliament credited me with the amendment that finally forced voters to show proper identification at the polls."