There's another world out there

A local backdrop to TIFF this year is the municipal election. Traditionally, the Labour Day weekend is the official start of the campaign, although candidates can file papers as soon as Jan 1.

This particular election will produce a new mayor, as the incumbent, David Miller, announced that he would not run. Five "serious" candidates are in the running at this time, long with the usual plethora of fringe candidates.

I had to get from the AMC to the Scotiabank yesterday afternoon, so set out along Dundas for the first leg.

At the Ryerson School of Management, I passed through milling clumps of supporters for each of the five, carrying signs and wearing the colours of their favourite -- purple for George Smitherman, red for Rocco Rossi, white for Rob Ford, etc.

I presume that there was a debate on when I passed, but hopefully there was more energy and passion in the room because there was neither on the street. There weren't that many non-supporters on the street, so they were spending most of their time circling each other without intent of any kind.

As I continued my journey westward, I saw a large purple Smitherman cube van coming south on Bay and a white Ford cube van coming along Chestnut behind City Hall. They were the only vehicles on the street at the time, odd for a Saturday afternoon. Add some minor chords and some good editing and a battle could have been arranged at the point where they would have met. (we weren't so lucky. The election grinds along)


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