They've GOT to be kidding!!
Glen Murray eyes Toronto mayor's chair
'I think people are getting to the point of tax exhaustion in the city'
Last Updated: Monday, September 28, 2009 | 5:46 PM CT
CBC News
Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray is considering running for the top job in Toronto, a city he says is close to being unable to sustain itself financially.
Murray told CBC News in an interview he has been asked by a number of people in Toronto to go for the position. While he wouldn't commit to announcing his candidacy, he said he's been giving a run "the very serious consideration that I think it deserves."
Toronto Mayor David Miller announced last week he would not run for re-election.
Toronto faces a number of challenges, Murray said, chief among them moving "from a city that's been building the tax burden on businesses and residents to a strategy that builds the tax base."
"Because the decline of the city really starts when it fiscally no longer can sustain itself," he said. "And I think Toronto is walking dangerously towards the edge of that right now. And I think people are getting to the point of tax exhaustion in the city."
'A hard balancing act'
Murray served as mayor of Winnipeg from 1998 to 2004. He was the first openly gay mayor in a large North American city.
He also served as a city councillor from 1990 to 1998. When he was elected to council for the first time, he defeated Sam Katz, the city's current mayor.
Murray said that whether he's a candidate or not in the Toronto race, he believes he can help increase the city's tax base. He touted his work as a consultant with the Canadian Urban Institute, where he developed a financial strategy for Hamilton and an energy strategy for Calgary.
But changing things won't be easy, he said.
"I think having been a mayor who cut debt, who cut taxes and who built a lot of affordable housing and really enriched and expanded the quality of city services — that's really a hard balancing act," he said. "And it's something that everyone that is leading a city government right now is struggling with."
In May 2004, Murray announced his resignation as mayor of Winnipeg — becoming the first mayor in the city's history to resign mid-term — and took a run at a Parliament seat in the 2004 federal election.
He was billed as a star candidate for the Liberal Party in the riding of Charleswood-St.James, but was defeated by Conservative Steven Fletcher.
Soon after, he moved to Toronto and accepted a position as visiting fellow at the University of Toronto's Massey College. In 2005, he was appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin as chair of the national round table on the environment and the economy.
He is currently president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, Canada's national non-partisan urban policy institute. He also serves on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's advisory panel on climate change.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/s...en-murray-mayor-toronto-winnipeg.html?ref=rss
Glen Murray eyes Toronto mayor's chair
'I think people are getting to the point of tax exhaustion in the city'
Last Updated: Monday, September 28, 2009 | 5:46 PM CT
CBC News
Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray is considering running for the top job in Toronto, a city he says is close to being unable to sustain itself financially.
Murray told CBC News in an interview he has been asked by a number of people in Toronto to go for the position. While he wouldn't commit to announcing his candidacy, he said he's been giving a run "the very serious consideration that I think it deserves."
Toronto Mayor David Miller announced last week he would not run for re-election.
Toronto faces a number of challenges, Murray said, chief among them moving "from a city that's been building the tax burden on businesses and residents to a strategy that builds the tax base."
"Because the decline of the city really starts when it fiscally no longer can sustain itself," he said. "And I think Toronto is walking dangerously towards the edge of that right now. And I think people are getting to the point of tax exhaustion in the city."
'A hard balancing act'
Murray served as mayor of Winnipeg from 1998 to 2004. He was the first openly gay mayor in a large North American city.
He also served as a city councillor from 1990 to 1998. When he was elected to council for the first time, he defeated Sam Katz, the city's current mayor.
Murray said that whether he's a candidate or not in the Toronto race, he believes he can help increase the city's tax base. He touted his work as a consultant with the Canadian Urban Institute, where he developed a financial strategy for Hamilton and an energy strategy for Calgary.
But changing things won't be easy, he said.
"I think having been a mayor who cut debt, who cut taxes and who built a lot of affordable housing and really enriched and expanded the quality of city services — that's really a hard balancing act," he said. "And it's something that everyone that is leading a city government right now is struggling with."
In May 2004, Murray announced his resignation as mayor of Winnipeg — becoming the first mayor in the city's history to resign mid-term — and took a run at a Parliament seat in the 2004 federal election.
He was billed as a star candidate for the Liberal Party in the riding of Charleswood-St.James, but was defeated by Conservative Steven Fletcher.
Soon after, he moved to Toronto and accepted a position as visiting fellow at the University of Toronto's Massey College. In 2005, he was appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin as chair of the national round table on the environment and the economy.
He is currently president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute, Canada's national non-partisan urban policy institute. He also serves on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's advisory panel on climate change.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/s...en-murray-mayor-toronto-winnipeg.html?ref=rss
