The Three Main Candidates for the Toronto Mayor Position - Essay Example

The difference and similarities in the ideological position by the main candi s in the of Toronto election for Mayor Instructor Date The Difference And Similarities In The Ideological Position By The Main Candidates In The City Of Toronto Election For Mayor (2014) The three main candidates for the Toronto mayor position judging by popularity are John Tory, Olivia Chow and Doug Ford. In the various debates and campaigns, the contestants were put on the spot on the tax policies that they intend to employ. Taxes are the main source of revenue for the town and therefore it is an important aspect in the election campaigns. This paper analyses the political stands and ideologies of the aforementioned candidates; comparing and contrasting these ideologies. Property tax John Tory is for the idea of keeping the residential property taxes at a low rate. He proposed that they shall be kept below the rate of inflation to reduce the cost of owning residential property. On the other hand, he proposes a steeper increase of commercial taxes as compared to residential property so as to reduce the ratio between commercial taxes and residential taxes (Peat 2014). Olivia chow another favorite contestant intended to keep the tax rates of residential property pegged on the rate of inflation such that they are either slightly higher, lower or in line as compared to the increases or decreases in the inflation rates. Her policies on property tax favor small businessmen as she intended to decrease the rates of taxes for these businesses by a total of 2.5% by the year 2020 (Peat 2014). This she believed would service as an incentive for more people to join the market. Just like his fellow contestants for the seat John, Doug Ford promised to ensure that the residential property taxes are maintained at a level below the comparative fluctuations of the rate of inflation (Peat 2014). All the three main candidates aimed to reduce the amount of taxes that residential property pay to make them more affordable to home owners and tenants. John Tory and Doug Ford planed to adopt the exact same policy of keeping the rates lower than the comparative rate of inflation at any given time. The Policies of Olivia chow are almost similar in that she also intended to use the inflation rate at the yardstick to determine the rate of tax for residential property (Peat 2014). The only difference is that she did not promise to keep increases in the rates strictly below the relative increases in inflation rates. She said the changes in the rate could be above or below the changes on the rate of inflation but by a very small margin (Peat 2014). Another difference in Olivia`s policies manifested in her plans for boosting small businesses by progressively decreasing the taxes required from them (toronto mayoral election promise tracker 2014). Tory`s property tax policies also included an elaborate difference on the amount of taxes levied between commercial and residential property. This aspect is not present in the policies of his competitors. Land transfer tax The issue of land transfer taxes in Toronto is one that has been in the spotlight constantly with the Toronto land transfer tax coalition advocating that it be done away with to encourage both residents and nonresidents to purchase landed property. However, this tax seems like it will not be done away with completely any time soon with some candidates proposing to increase it by a small margin. John Tory proposed to retain the land transfer taxes at their current prevailing rate. Olivia chow intended to increase the land transfer tax of homes that are sold for more than $2 million by 1%. The increase would be from 2% 10 3% (toronto mayoral election promise tracker 2014). Doug Ford`s intended policies on land transfer taxes were good news to the relevant parties and more so the Toronto land transfer tax collation. He proposed to reduce the tax by 15% during the first year at the first council meeting and a further 15% for three consecutive years to bring the rates at an all time low (toronto mayoral election promise tracker 2014). Candidate John Tory had no intention of altering the taxes while Olivia seemed to intend to make matters worse for the disgruntled parties by selectively increasing the taxes further. These two candidates have almost similar views when it comes to Land transfer tax. The difference comes in with candidate Ford whose intentions were to reduce the taxes by huge margins over his term if elected (Peat 2014). This did not seem practical because it could have resulted into budget deficits which are not desirable. Correction of the same would necessitate collection of the lost taxes from other means. From the tax point of view, there appears to be more similarities among the candidates than differences. Their ideologies are highly similar though not completely the same. All three of them seem to be aware of the heavy burden of tax being borne by the people and therefore promise to reduce the rates or at least keep them at an affordable rate. The small differences in their policies are what distinguish them as individuals with independent brains and different political and problem solving ideas. In general the candidates are driven by certain ideological frameworks. Frameworks which they as individuals with political minds believe are the best way to lead if they are elected into office. Dough ford can easily be described as a classical liberalist because of what he stands for (Pierre 1999). For instance, he promised to complete the construction of the Sheppard subway, to extend the airport, to cut down on unnecessary spending, to reduce the tax rates and to pump money into service delivery improvements. These are steps towards economic freedom. He also pledged to invest in the legal system and thus promote application of the law (toronto mayoral election promise tracker 2014). Olivia Chow can be labeled a social liberalist driven by reforms. She is driven by the possibility of equal opportunities this is seen throughout her political career. She is seen to advocate for the rights of the homeless, youth and children. She also advocated for conservation of the environment and promoted sustainable development (meet Olivia Chow 2014). Olivia also promised to create opportunities for the young people by making it a law that all businesses should sign youth benefit agreements to facilitate creation of jobs. Olivia Chow also comes off as being driven by social conservatism. This can be attributed to the fact that she promised to build a Canadian hall of fame (toronto mayoral election promise tracker 2014). This promotes and enhances the culture, it`s beliefs, values and practices. John Tory`s political career has been based on progressive conservative ideologies (Don 2014). He is mainly conservative but also promises to implement policies that are progressive. He promised to advocate for the youth by cutting the red tape for business and connecting the youth to a vast number of job opportunities. He also intends to boost the economy and make it independent by improving the infrastructure and reducing the taxes to make life more affordable (Peat 2014). In conclusion, it is imperative that contestants in any given election have different and divergent views which contradict those of one another on key sectors of the political arena. It is these differences create the basis of debates and campaigns to convince voters that a certain aspirant’s policies and are the best in the wake of the circumstances that prevail in the economic, political and social platforms. Reference List David, Akin. "Straight talk: Toronot`s safe word:Liberal." Sun News. October 28th, 2014. www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/straighttalk/archives/2014/10/20141028-152931.html (accessed November 17th, 2014). Don, Peat. "Ex-liberal MPP Cansfield endorses John Tory." Toronto Sun. October 2, 2014. m.torontosun.com/2014/10/02/former-mpp-donna-cansfield-endorses-john-torry (accessed November 17, 2014). meet Olivia Chow. 2014. www.oliviachow.ca/about (accessed November 17th, 2014). Peat, Don. "What Cow, Tory and Ford have promised." Toronto sun. October 26th , 2014. m.torontosun.com/2014/10/26/what-chow-and-ford-have-promised (accessed November 8th , 2014). Pierre, J. 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