Pantalone Offers His Green Vision For Toronto
Posted September 22, 2010 1:21 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Promises to eliminate wasteful spending and improve customer service at City Hall, freeze taxes and new spending, a plan for a Toronto tunnel and Sopranos-inspired campaign posters are being used to gain voters’ attention.
On Wednesday mayoral hopeful Joe Pantalone put forward his vision for a greener Toronto in an effort to win support.
“A green Toronto is a prosperous Toronto,” he said. “It would enable all of us to have a better society.”
Pantalone noted he’s the only candidate, other than Rob Ford, to have recently experienced an increase in support in public opinion polls. The latest survey put Ford ahead with 45.8 per cent support from decided voters. Pantalone gained a few points, up to 16.8 per cent support.
At a press conference held in the pedestrian zone at Gould and Victoria Streets on the Ryerson campus Wednesday morning, Pantalone vowed to build on and expand the city’s green initiatives, which includes ensuring all new structures built in the city meet the highest green standards. He also promised to keep Toronto Hydro in public hands.
Pantalone also said he’s dedicated to the Transit City plan, a European-style system of high speed train lines around the city that he says will cost a fraction of a subway project. Transit City has been approved by the city, the province and Metrolinx.
The mayoral candidate also wants to increase Torontonians’ access to locally grown food by doubling the number of community gardens and farmers markets and by planting thousands of fruit trees.
Pantalone described a Toronto with Ford as mayor as “scary” and “a nightmare”.
“I think Rob Ford is scary, frankly. He scares the heck out of me … the old slash and burn and less gives you a better city is not the way to go,” he said.
