Toronto Mayoral Candidate Ford Launches Website for Angry Taxpayers

The current front-runner among the five remaining major candidates in Toronto's upcoming mayoral race hopes to turn taxpayer frustration into votes in October.

Giorgio Mammoliti's withdrawal from the race this week leaves Rob Ford as the candidate most identified  with cost-cutting as a campaign issue.

Ford's campaign has just launched a website, respectfortaxpayers.com, that hopes to engage constituents angry at steady tax increases and public spending during David Miller's leadership of the city.

During the six year tenure of David Miller, who announced he is not seeking re-election, municipal property taxes skyrocketed and taxes in the form of user fees for garbage collection and mandatory charges for plastic shopping bags were introduced.

Ford must be pleased at the results of recent polls which place him 2 points ahead of George Smitherman, the former provincial cabinet minister, who came into the race as the then front-runner with high name recognition and a well-organized and funded campaign.

Voter recollection of the Ministry of Health's eHealth scandal that occurred while Smitherman held the helm of that ministry and which cost taxpayers one billion dollars, has hampered his campaign.

Working to keep that voter memory alive, the Ford campaign's website includes an animated commercial that portrays his rivals as spendthrifts and Ford as the superhero who will save taxpayers from unfettered public spending.

Not a bad idea, but a shorter, catchier name would have helped. It should be noted that if Ford wants to look like his animated representation in the cartoon, he will have to spend all his time at the gym and won't have much left over for campaigning.