What a lousy lead-up to Valentine’s Day it’s been for Adam Giambrone. His week-old mayoralty campaign was rocked by the revelation of an affair with a young woman not his partner. His credibility was shattered by his initially dishonest handling of that revelation.

His mayoralty campaign finally ended in a confused news conference in which the 32-year-old Giambrone seemed constitutionally unable to read aloud the necessary words: “My mayoralty campaign ends today.”

Only later did we learn the second page of his prepared speech was still in the printer in his City Hall councillor’s office. He came to the end of the first page, and running out of words, ran off. The unpleasant business of quitting the mayor’s race, he left to his stalwart assistant Kevin Beaulieu (who really should get Assistant of the Year Award for standing up as he did).

Giambrone left a good deal of other business in the hands of others.

First, there is the matter of the mayor’s race. Giambrone’s departure is as damaging to the left on council and in the city as John Tory’s 11th-hour decision not to run was to the right.

The experts on getting a left-of-centre mayor elected were all with Giambrone: John Laschinger, Patrick Gossage, Robin Sears. Will they find another candidate? Will they gather around Joe Pantalone, Mayor David Miller’s deputy and probably the best bet to continue the left-of-centre elements of Miller’s agenda? Or will they convince budget chief Shelley Carroll to mount a campaign?

It’s conceivable they won’t gather anywhere to convince anyone; the scandal may have sufficiently tarnished the already scuffed mantle of Miller progressivism that it’s to the benefit of no one’s career to wear it.

That, of course, is the business of only a portion of Toronto politicos.

The matter of the Toronto Transit Commission is a worry to everyone, from one end of the political spectrum to the other.

There’s a growing chorus of voices urging Giambrone to step down as chair of the TTC. But Giambrone indicated he intends to continue, and Miller agrees.

Miller’s thinking is a straightforward calculus. Giambrone is the steward of much of Miller’s legacy when it comes to transit: that being the massive expansion of Transit City, the new streetcars and subway cars, the technological tweaks and upgrades that together will take the antiquated system a few steps closer to the 21st century.

Compare that to Giambrone’s sins: he’s betrayed his longtime partner through liaisons with an indeterminate number of women. He’s sent caddish text messages. And he’s lied about it all when confronted.

As a councillor and TTC chair, the worst he’s alleged to have done is engaged in pillow-talk about a widely anticipated fare increase, and engaged in consensual sex on his City Hall office couch.

Those are reasons not to vote for a candidate, and in some organizations they might be reason to fire an employee. But Giambrone’s not running for anything right now. And Toronto’s integrity commissioner – who may yet be investigating this – has reported on far worse behaviour by councillors. Those councillors’ colleagues have without exception excused it.

And yet…

The TTC is in crisis right now. Riders are fed up enough with lousy service to start shooting video of snoozing ticket takers and incontinent operators; operators and collectors are fed up enough with irritable riders to threaten to photograph them right back. TTC management is scrambling to fix it all.

When Giambrone was running for mayor, he was an asset to those hoping to improve the TTC. He had every reason to push for fast improvement in customer service – and the commission had every reason to respond – because there was so much at stake. The campaign and the transit system were poised to feed off one another, ultimately, one might have hoped, for the betterment of public transit.

Now, we have the spectacle of a damaged transit system led by a damaged chair, and nobody with the will to change that course. If the commission itself decides to enter a non-confidence vote next week, as some members might wish to, that will affect change, but oh, it will be ugly.

And that ugliness will only further destabilize the TTC’s leadership, at a time when the system needs it most.

The best thing would be for councillor Giambrone himself to prepare another speech next week, in which he clears the field. It need not be long, to say the right thing.

– David Nickle

Posted in Mayoral race