Giambrone tracks top TTC post - Toronto Star
Giambrone tracks top TTC postFrequent transit user, who doesn't own a car, appears set to become the new chair of North America's 3rd-largest systemDec. 5, 2006. 01:00 AMDONOVAN VINCENTCITY HALL BUREAU
He's 29, an archeologist, and a high achiever, and if all goes as expected, Adam Giambrone will succeed Howard Moscoe as chairman of the third-largest transit system in North America tomorrow.
A city hall source yesterday said Councillor Giambrone, currently vice-chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, is Mayor David Miller's choice to direct the system. It's expected the nine members of the TTC will be named tomorrow. After that, the new commissioners will choose a new chair and vice-chair from among their group.
Giambrone and Councillor Joe Mihevc, another member of the commission, had been touted as frontrunners for the chair post.
Long-time chairman and TTC commissioner Howard Moscoe surprised many fellow councillors last week by not submitting his name for membership on the transit body, though most believed he would not have been returned to the key spot had he stayed on the commission.
Giambrone, who said yesterday he hasn't been told by the mayor that he'll be the new chairman, and so "nothing's official until it's official'' said nevertheless he would be thrilled to be named to the position.
He would lead the commission, which oversees the transit system's operating budget of about $1 billion, at a time of enormous change for the TTC and rising demands for service.
The city is awaiting funding from Ottawa to embark on a $2 billion subway extension to York University, Miller has outlined a plan calling for more light rail transit and right-of-ways for buses and streetcars, and recent polling of Toronto residents identified traffic and public transit among the top concerns.
Giambrone, who doesn't own a car and uses the TTC about four or five times a day, says transit is a demanding file.
"It (public transit) is one issue that unites the city. You can't escape it. It's so central to the city in terms of its economy and social fabric. It affects each and every member of society in the way few issues do,'' he said yesterday.
The TTC faces decisions concerning cleanliness, security, questions about whether to pay $800 million for a fleet of new streetcars, or nearly $230 million to refurbish the existing stock, Giambrone said, naming just a few issues.
"There's a new challenge coming up all the time. There's the base challenges of keeping the system running without enough financial resources, but then there's always surprises, like the illegal strike (this summer).''
Giambrone would be replacing Moscoe, someone who came under fire for meddling too much in the management of the TTC, and who was also known for a style that was at different times prickly, confrontational and authoritarian.
When asked what type of style he would bring to the chair, Giambrone said: "Sometimes the chair has to know when to be combative and when to be diplomatic, and the chair has to exercise that judgment working with the federal government, province and other councillors.''
Being named chair wouldn't mark the first time Giambrone (Ward 18, Davenport) was thrust into a demanding political role. He was president of the federal NDP until stepping down in September.
Aside from politics, he is fluent in Arabic and French and his work as an archaeologist has taken him to digs in Libya, Yemen, Tunisia. Days after the Nov. 13 municipal election he flew to Sudan as part of a project excavating a buried city there.
Mihevc, also a TTC commissioner, has told Miller he's interested in being chair, and has heard "rumours'' that Giambrone will be getting the title. He says he "will work with whoever is chosen to make it the best possible transit commission."
Mihevc came face to face this past election with a transit issue that could have spelled his political doom: the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way, now going in his ward. His rivals tried to use the issue to defeat him. But Mihevc said he was "willing to take the hit'' for backing the project.
After this article was printed, Moscoe was named chair or the Licensing and Standards committee, and Joe Mihevc was named chair of the Community Development and Recreation committee. By those appointments, they automatically become members of the mayor's executive committee - the municipal equivalent of a cabinet. This means that it's unlikely Mihevc will be named chair, paving the way for Giambrone to rise to greatness.
With Giambrone as a chair, expect to see a new, less confrontational TTC.
With Giambrone as a chair, expect to see a new, less confrontational TTC.
posted by Andrae Griffith @ 7:55 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home