David Miller’s trademark broom disappeared in this
Toronto election, leaving the sweeping to the voters as the
mayor destroyed his closest competitor, Jane Pitfield,
last night to earn a second term.
Miller is vowing to use his commanding victory as a
tool to extract more money from the provincial and
federal governments, especially with a provincial
election on tap for next year.
More: X Marks The T.dot blog
Miller, 47, the married father of two, Julia, 11, and
Simon, 8, is back for four more years under the new
rules.
The mayor’s salary will rise from $147,857 to $160,000
after council gave themselves a pay increase
Clearly in the driver’s seat from the start, Miller
ran a conservative campaign with no wild promises.
His promises would tack an extra $248.6 million onto
the city’s budget.
His plan to boost the transit system by putting buses
and streetcars on reserved lanes accounts for the
lion’s share of his planned spending — $200 million
over four years.
As part of his anti-crime plan, Miller will spend $13
million over the next term on playgrounds, basketball
courts and other improvements in the city’s 13 poorest
neighbourhoods. He’s also pledged to spend $10 million
next term to waive fees for city recreational programs
in those areas.
Cash earmarked for cleaning and beautifying the city,
Live with Culture and AIDS prevention grants account
for the remaining $25 .6 million of Miller’s proposed
spending.
Miller has also said he’ll be demanding 1˘ from the
PST or GST and will not take no for an answer.
He’s also pledged to increase diversion from landfill
to 70% by 2010 and have all the parks on the
waterfront finished by then, too.
In 2003, Miller called a special council meeting to
stop the island airport bridge. There isn’t a similar
pressing issue this year.
Miller said one of his first priorities is to take
another run at installing a mandatory lobbyist
registry for anyone who wants to bid on a city
procurement contract, including unions and not-for
profit organizations.
Outgoing city budget chief David Soknacki said Miller
has set his goals for the term and — even though they
are safe — he better attain every one of them.
“It’s essential for him to exceed
expectations,” Soknacki said. “If expectations were
too high last time, perhaps they are too low this
time.”
