Lobbyist Jeff Lyons schmoozes Mayor Rob Ford, Gus Cusimano

Back in early March we told you how Jeff Lyons, the once-powerful lobbyist virtually banished from Toronto City Hall after being tarred by the MFP scandal, was attempting a political comeback.

We noted how he was active in last year's civic election, and quoted an adviser to Mayor Rob Ford saying Lyons "sold some tables at some dinners and practically vaulted over them to try to get a photo with Rob. He may be putting out there that he has special access, but he doesn’t."

While Ford's office has tried to push back, it's a free country and anybody could buy a $300 ticket to former (and maybe future) Ward 9 candidate Gus Cusimano's fundraiser attended by about 50 people Wednesday night.

Local politicos watching CityNews's coverage were startled to see video of Lyons (left in the photo above) in a small group chatting with Ford and Cusimano.

The Ward 9 byelection set to rematch Cusimano and incumbent Councillor Maria Augimeri (pending the city's appeal of a court ruling ordering the revote) already promises to be an epic donnybrook, with "Ford Nation" marshalling behind Cusimano and local unions doing anything possible to help Augimeri hang on to her seat.

Indeed, John Cartwright, perhaps the city's most powerful unionist as president of the Toronto and York Labour Council -- and a close friend of Augimeri's and husband of her council colleague Paula Fletcher -- was seen talking to a lawyer outside the courtroom before a Ward 9 hearing last week. Augimeri was at council at City Hall at the time. Cartwright did not return calls from the Star to ask what he was doing there. Augimeri said she didn't know, and no union is paying any of her legal bills.

Throwing in legendary "Brother Jeff", a bit of a bogeyman to City Hall's left, who inserted himself into several campaigns last year with varying degrees of success, can only heighten the intrigue.

City calls for Sheppard subway financing plan

The clearest indication yet of how Mayor Rob Ford is looking to finance his Sheppard subway extensions is revealed in a new request for proposals posted by the city on behalf of the Toronto Transit Infrastructure Ltd.

That's the consulting arm of the TTC that was pressed into service to apply for federal funding for privately backed infrastructure projects.

The document shows that TTIL is looking for a consultant that would come up with a plan on how development charges, tax increment financing and development rights over subway stations, could be used to pay for the subway, which Ford wants to extend west of Yonge to Downsview station and east to Kennedy, running seamlessly onto the Scarborough RT tracks.

The $200,000 contract would also include revenue forecasts on each of the city's planned transit expansion routes, including the provincially funded Eglinton Crosstown.

The request for bidder proposals suggests that any increase in value and development charges realized along the Eglinton line could potentially be poured back into the Sheppard corridor, something that raised eyebrows at the Toronto Environmental Alliance, which continues to campaign for a return to the more affordable light rail transit plan that Ford rejected.

"This basically means the benefits of any new development or construction along Eglinton are going to be redirected to the Sheppard West or East," said TEA's Jamie Kirkpatrick.

"If I lived along Eglinton or I was a councillor along there I’d be asking a lot of questions about what does this actually mean for my community," he said.

Transit blogger Steve Munro echoed some of those concerns.

"This begs the question of how we would ever fund rapid transit entirely with TIF revenue when we must raid the benefits of other projects," he wrote.

The other thing that's clear from the document is how many revenue sources would be required to build the project that was seen as a white elephant even before the existing Sheppard stubway was constructed.

"You could raise some money but it's not even in the ball park of what you would need," said City Councillor Joe Mihevc, who was a long-serving TTC commissioner and vice-chair of that board before he was exiled by the Ford administration.

Even those who don't re-develop their properties could be asked to pay more in taxes once the subway is built, he said.

In addition, the idea of charging development premiums along the corridor didn't work before and it won't work now, said Mihevc. The last time the city dug a hole on Sheppard it had the effect of encouraging more development on Yonge St. There's still plenty of alternatives for developers who don't want to pay a special levy, he said.

Consultants have until June 1 to bid on the job. The city has until the end of June to apply for Ottawa's $1.2 billion infrastructure program.

 

Councillor Maria Augimeri's statement demanding a byelection freeze

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 16, 2011
Toronto - In response to the City Clerk's advice to hold a by-ePublishlection I will be moving to set aside the court judgment and will also be seeking to appeal under the Municipal Elections Act.
We hope to have the first court hearing near the end of the week. The details of the case will be dealt with in the materials that my lawyer will file this week.
A by-election in City Council Ward 9 and Trustee Ward 4 (City Council Wards 7 and 8) is estimated to cost over half a million dollars. We believe all alternatives to this outcome have not been fully explored. The Clerk’s advice not to appeal does harm to taxpayers as well as to the integrity of our electoral system.
As well, in the event that the court decision is not set aside, it is in the interest of efficiency and due process that I am allowed to appeal the court decision along with the appeal, which I understand, will also be filed by Trustee Stephnie Payne. This would ensure that I am part of any just and fair outcome that includes due process and complete information.
Regards,
Office of Councillor Maria Augimeri
Ward 9 - York Centre

Transit guru arrives next week looking for TTC gravy

 
David Gunn has finally ended weeks of speculation and said, "I do," to the TTC. He arrives next week to search out the rivers of gravy some believe run through Toronto's subway tunnels.

TTC chief general manager Gary Webster is on the record welcoming the second set of eyes in preparation for what's expected to be a historically difficult budget cycle in 2012. 

But he worked with Gunn when he was at the TTC through the difficult period of 1995 to 1999. So he knows where the transit guru is likely to cast his eyes in search of efficiencies. Webster doesn't believe he's overlooked much.

He buys into Gunn's philosophy that maintaining the system has to come before expanding it. Ideally you do both, he says. But you can't compromise safety in the name of expansion and you can't spend money you don't have.