But sir you have too often grabbed a PR defeat from what ought to have been a policy victory. You too often promised too much and delivered explanations instead of the elegant solution. I support transit expansion. I support green roofs. I support using the powers of the City of Toronto Act (thank you Premier McGuinty) to creatively benefit the city. So we should have little argument. Still if the new taxing powers were indeed necessary you ought to have gone from ward to ward to make the case. You ought to have worked with developers to sell the green roof program (yes photo ops and sector-friendly announcements do matter).

And where are the things we could do but have not done: our own appeals board for Committee of Adjustment matters (one less round of OMB appeals). Where is our push for inclusive zoning, tax increment financing et al to engage the private sector comprehensively in city-building. Vancouver has created schools, parks, and cultural facilities on its downtown waterfront through the application of clear and consistent rules and incentives. Of course the planning act is different here, and yes the lament of the OMB, but indeed much more could be done.

Union Station is finally getting it’s re-do. But 6 years. Six years went by as marble crumbled.

If things on the Waterfront are indeed moving (and they are) they could have used a focused consistent nudging that it seems you have not provided; instead there has been micro-management and duplication of effort that has too often slowed things down.

Green bins that are filled with toxic mysteries that cannot make good compost; a problem one things could have been solved with attention to the file and an unequivocal directive to staff to fix it.

Yes TEDCO has been replaced by Invest Toronto and Build Toronto but surely that was a first-term item.

I’ll be more charitable in another post. But in thinking ahead to the 2010 contest I’d say to all contenders remember that buses need to run on time, the potholes need to be fixed, the parks need to be safe, and the fountains need to work. We need innovative programs and policies. We need transit expansion However, it must be built on a solid, sustainable plan that rolls out measurable achievements in every year. We need to have a mayor who commits to equal opportunity for all but also one who will be strategically deft and tactically flexible.

We need to be once again the City That Works and be a City That Shines.