Originally published in the Globe and Mail on August 11th, 2010. To go to the Globe and Mail please click here
The Globe’s city hall bureau chief tweets from the debate at Ryerson University
The major candidates for Mayor of Toronto will be appealing to one of the city’s most reliable voting blocs Wednesday as the Canadian Association of Retired People hosts a debate at Ryerson University.
Globe’s city hall bureau chief, Kelly Grant, tweets from the debate, beginning at 2 p.m. ET
kellygrant1: The debate is about to get under way. Audience has a “survey card” to rate the candidates. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:15
kellygrant1: Moderator Susan Eng encourages a “civilized debate” — that gets a laugh from the audience. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:15
kellygrant1: What not to do: Eng shows a video of CP24’s last shoutfest. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:15
kellygrant1: Intros begin and the candidates offer their capsule bios: Ford calls himself a business-owning waste-fighter, Pants touts his senior plan. [via Twitter]
2:15
kellygrant1: Weird effect: when candidates run out of allotted time, host has instructed audience to clap. Sounds like everyone loves every candidate! [via Twitter]
2:19
kellygrant1: I love that the logo for this event is an angry purple fish at a podium. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:22
kellygrant1: Now Mr. Tiny Perfect himself — David Crombie — weighs in by video. “Just because you’re old, doesn’t mean you’re not useful.” #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:24
kellygrant1: Smither touts his plan to let seniors ride the TTC for free between 10 pm and 2 pm, boasts about efforts to keep seniors at home as HM. [via Twitter]
2:26
kellygrant1: Thomson: Seniors policy? Subways! Ford: My mom can’t afford to stay in her home. (That’s the palatial Ford compound he’s talking about.) [via Twitter]
2:31
kellygrant1: Eng: we do want all these things for seniors, but tell us how you’re going to pay for it. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:35
kellygrant1: Apparently we’re skipping the how would you pay for it question and going straight to a triple-barrel about, um seniors, stuff. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:38
kellygrant1: Wait! Pay question is back! Pants says he’d ask for more money from prov and feds; Ford says he’d save $300-million by cancelling … [via Twitter]
2:40
kellygrant1: …Gardiner teardown, which council has not approved, nor allocated money for. No savings to be had there. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:42
kellygrant1: Smither is socking it to Ford: You voted to eliminate snow-clearing, voted to gut 311 service, on which seniors rely. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:45
kellygrant1: Ford says he moved to end snow-clearing on dead-end streets; Smither busts out a failed Ford motion to kill ALL sidewalk plowing. Zing. [via Twitter]
2:51
kellygrant1: Um, did Pantalone just compare lack of Transit City to elder abuse? Must have heard that wrong. McGuinty as abuser, Miller as victim? [via Twitter]
2:52
kellygrant1: Oh god, it’s a Tory video! [via Twitter]
2:55
kellygrant1: Eng loves to ask 3 Qs at once: Solve construction delays, budget woes at city hall, and what do u think of term limits? GO! #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:58
kellygrant1: Ford is on about in-camera meetings and the “weather study” and “gravy train” again. Sigh. #voteTO [via Twitter]
2:59
kellygrant1: Smitherman to Ford: Woodbine is the only project you ever brought other councillors along on, calls it a tax giveaway. #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:01
kellygrant1: RT @JProskowGlobal: Ford claims city spending $500k on weather study. Its actually $250k. How do I know? I’m the (cont) http://tl.gd/32igt7 [via Twitter]
3:06
kellygrant1: Rossi jumps on the term limits issue — doing the same thing over and over and expecting things to change is “definition of insanity” [via Twitter]
3:07
kellygrant1: Closing statements already? [via Twitter]
3:08
kellygrant1: Lots of ganging up on Ford today, Smitherman sharper and clearer with his attacks on the front-runner than usual. #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:11
kellygrant1: Smitherman says that when Tory was asked who from the Liberal benches he’d draft, apparently said Smitherman. Says Smitherman. #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:14
kellygrant1: Rossi ends with his mom’s immigration story, Pants counters with his story of arriving here with two words of English: Ya and No. #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:17
kellygrant1: Pantalone calls his opponents “Four mini Mike Harris” #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:17
kellygrant1: Pantalone calls his opponents “Four mini Mike Harris” #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:18
kellygrant1: Every candidate is being made an honourary CARP memeber. I’m sure they’re thrilled about that. #voteTO [via Twitter]
3:22
kellygrant1: Candidates are off to sign CAR@ pledge, and the show is over. I’m out. #voteTO [via Twitter]
Keywords: seniors, election, social media
