The Ford Factor

by Amoy WynterDA-site-IMGS-dividerThe Fords: michael, Rob and DougIf you voted “Ford” in the last election you are a part of the majority in the Downsview area.Even though Doug Ford lost the election with a respectable 34 per cent support, he was favourite in Ward 7 (66 per cent support), Ward 8 (61 per cent support) and Ward 9 (62 per cent support) showing the great divide in opinions across our city. The Ford brand was apparently so strong this election that a number of candidates with the Ford name had successful campaigns including Rob Ford winning his old Council seat, Michael Ford (the outgoing Mayor’s nephew who had changed his last name from Stirpe to Ford) beating a seasoned incumbent Trustee, Tiffany Ford winning an open Trustee seat here in Downview, and Russ Ford who came very close to beating a long-time Councillor in Etobicoke.As a young adult who is deeply interested in politics, I spent a great deal of time discussing the election with my peers (mainly other young adults in the Jane-Finch area). There was a great deal of disenfranchisement for many, stating “politicians are all the same” or “my vote doesn’t matter” and showing no interest in voting. For those who expressed interest in the election, the conversation was all about the mayor. For them, the election was a referendum on his track record even though it was his brother running for the big job.I was amazed at how people would simply summarize the entire election and the candidates themselves into catch phrases like “he/she is for the little guy”, “he/she will tax us to death” or “he/she hates this/that”. For the majority of people I spoke to, they were unable to list anyone’s platform even though they claimed they were very familiar with who they were voting for.