So what happened?

The fact that we now have a mayor that supposedly the majority of people didn’t want leaves a lot of us wondering what really happened?

What indeed? Some are already blaming the suburbanites for coming out and droves and voting Rob Ford in.

If this is the case, has the ghost of Premier Mike Harris come back to haunt us? After all, city amalgamation was one of his initiatives, which does indeed mean that the suburbs have a greater say in what is done in downtown Toronto.

Yet the figures for voter turnout are yet to be disclosed, and the fact remains Rob Ford is now Mayor of Toronto.

The fact that George Smitherman flinched halfway through his campaign, changed his tune from one of fear mongering to a “I’ll do one better,” message. Didn’t help him.

Despite Joe Pantalone’s “Local lad makes good, and I know how this city works,” strategy, his appeal wasn’t there and sadly, charisma and hard sell are determinant factors in an election.

To his credit Rob Ford ran a better campaign. He stuck with his message of “tax cuts, clear out the fat cats and let’s give the people what they want.” Loud and clear.

To our discredit, we believed or believe Rob Ford, and therein lies the problem, it’s not that simple. You cannot run a government like a business as Ford purports he can. We’re not dealing with a hard product, or hard sell. You’re not dealing with demographics or consumer trends, we’re dealing with real people and depending on your perspective, people are a real liability, or a natural foundation that shifts and evolves adapting to the changes that are an inherent part of life. Yet we continue to buy into election campaigns like misinformed consumers buying the package that looks and sounds the most appealing.

The fact remains though that Rob Ford is now Mayor of Toronto.

It is now no longer a question of, “what happened?” It is now, “what happens?”

Indeed what does happen? Rob Ford does command a majority vote, it was even said it was a landslide victory, but what does that say really?

Our previous mayor David Miller won a majority the first time he ran and was reelected for a second term. In each case it appeared as though it was a mandate; that the people were on his side for him to “sweep clean the city,” and make Toronto a healthy and vibrant place to live. Miller had his share of opponents in city hall though, and his plans were frustrated. Despite having the people on his side it was evident that the municipal machine has its particulars on how things are run.

This will be the case with Rob Ford, he will not be able to saunter in, wave a magic wand and expect council to acquiesce to his demands. If anything Mr. Ford has a far larger contingent of opponents at city hall, and the unions did not back him during this election.

Do you remember the grief the unions gave Miller over the garbage strike? Do you even remember the wrath exacted on Ontario Premier Bob Rae, by CAW union leader Buzz Hargrove? Unions can break a politician, no matter how noble and well intentioned they are.

There’s also what I call the “Dirty Dishes,” factor. It’s like moving into a new place only to find that the previous tenant has left you with a filthy apartment with dishes in the sink. You can’t move in till it’s clean. In the case of politics, the dirty dishes are comprised of left over issues from the previous administration, that no political stripe or mandate can ignore. If you want to run the city, you inherit an additional batch of problems and projects that you were oblivious to prior to you being elected.

There’s also evidence of Ford’s record, there’s clips on YouTube, showing how belligerent and antagonistic the man can be. Type in “Rob Ford in action,” and see for yourself. I had the opportunity to talk to some of the councilors and they all said Rob Ford, “does not play well with others.” One councilor went so far as to say he’s never, ever seen Rob Ford break bread with anyone on council; he always eats alone. It also remains to be seen if Mr. Ford can indeed cut expenses and taxes while still having sufficient funds to not only keep the city running, but to improve it as well.

So Mr. Ford, you may very well try and do away with programs and amenities that I feel are important to this city, you claim to have a fiscal strategy that will put money back into my wallet and that you will make yourself accountable to the people. I’ve outlined the challenges you face as mentioned above and who knows what other obstacles await you?

So Mr. Ford, you are now mayor of this city. Yours is not an enviable task, and you will indeed have to learn to cooperate with others and play nice in the sand box if you expect to get anything done. If you can indeed do anything good for the city, good luck, you’re going to need it.

The fact is Mr. Ford, you are now mayor of Toronto and you may very well have bitten off more than you can chew.