I wrote Frontier City with 2018 (& beyond) in mind. What happened here can repeat & happen elsewhere, & can be lessons for other cities. Themes/people/issues in the book continue to arise. I’ll highlight pertinent bits in this thread over time. 
First up is Giorgio Mammoliti who has announced he’ll run for an MPP seat with team Doug Ford. Mammo, as he is known, has a long history in Toronto & Ontario politics. Financial troubles here during the 2014 city council race.
There is the time in 1999he protested the Hanlan’s Pt clothing optional beach by taking off his shirt in council (as one does to protest nudity). Then he wanted the island to be a red light district. #NoPants Bonus: a flag pole for his ward.
Strip joint inspection in 2009
Parkdale: Toronto’s paedophile district.
In 2014, while advocating the city stop funding Pride, he showed up at the Dyke March with a video camera and conspicuous filmed participants. (I managed to work Barbra Streisand into this part too). All of this in context of his troubled history w LGBT folk in Ontario.
While an NDP MPP in Bob Rae’s govt he voted against same sex benefits and said gays were prone to AIDS. 20 yrs later he apologized & blamed the Church. Mammo has been all over the politics spectrum. One might say attraction power is his ideology.
Mammo & Ford’s have had a love hate love hate hate love love kiss kiss bang bang relationship. Loyalist to shouting epithets to “the thumb”. Yesterday Mammo said Ford Nation is a religion & he’s been promised cabinet seat. Here’s a sample of some of their relationship. #onpoli
In 2009, Mammoliti created what some called “Toronto’s Saddest Park” - instead of looking for root causes to problems, he limited access to a park next to lower income neighbourhood. Citizen activism has since reopened Rowntree Park.
Regarding wealthy Fords vs “elites” rhetoric it’s illuminating to look to 1949 film All The Kings Men, based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. We paid for permission to use this excerpt - had to deal with a genuine Hollywood lawyer type!
“Former public service union head once again withdraws from a race for higher profile office & returns to flagpoleless Toronto ward”
The Ford’s have a history of skipping certain civic events for the cottage (Pride, historically). The Brothers Cottaging. Doug Ford is likely partially right about who supports him. Here’s @IdilBurale in Ch 3, discussing why Rob Ford had that support in North Etobicoke.
(I think we should have name Frontier City "The Roots of Canadian Populism" or something generic [though it's more than that], cuz it's been funny the surprise in Ontario/beyond at Ford things that Toronto knew. Overlooking city politics, all cities, is such an error nationally)
On Doug Ford’s relationship w the press & various communities as discussed w @MuniraAbukar on a Ward 2 walk. She was running against DoFo before he switched with RoFo to run for mayor. Chapter 3, titled “Out by the Airport, Running Against Giants
